
Mitch4 sends this in: “I guess it’s his own shadow he’s seen to be catching in the last panel. But how could he have snagged it in the previous panel, when he was on that medium-distant hill and not casting a shadow at all, as far as the drawing suggests?”
Similar shadow physics:

If the sun is at the proper angle, someone on the hill and someone on the shore could have the same point as the top of their shadow.
And you’re right about him apparently NOT having a shadow in the first panels… But that would have given away the joke.
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It is just absurdist humor. If you feel the need to have an explanation, make something up. For example, in the 2nd panel a fish was snagged on the line. He ran down to pull it in, but when his shadow came over the river the fish quickly unhooked himself and hooked the shadow and laughed as it swam away, leaving Peter (is that his name?) dejected.
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That’s not Peter, it is B.C. Peter has a different hairstyle and doesn’t end up as the butt of a joke as often as B.C. does.
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I can see that the shadow might be hidden on the hill, based on the positioning of all the elements. But yes, I guess the shadow should have extended into the river. But as has been noted, it would have telegraphed the joke.
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