The Cat and the Fiddle: Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon! The little dog laughed To see such sport, And the dish ran off with the spoon!

'Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon! The little dog laughed to see such sport and the dish ran off with the spoon.' Perhaps you think this verse is all nonsense, and that the things it mentions could never have happened; but they did happen, as you will understand when Frank Baum has explained them all to you clearly.

Little Bobby was the only son of a small farmer who lived out of town upon a country road. Bobby's mother looked after the house and Bobby's father took care of the farm, and Bobby himself, who was not very big, helped them both as much as he was able.

It was lonely upon the farm, especially when his father and mother were both busy at work, but the boy had one way to amuse himself that served to pass many an hour when he would not otherwise have known what to do. He was very fond of music, and his father one day brought him from the town a small fiddle, or violin, which he soon learned to play upon. I don't suppose he was a very fine musician, but the tunes he played pleased himself, as well as his father and mother, and Bobby's fiddle soon became his constant companion. To find out how the cow and the cat and the moon became involved, you will need to listen to this delightful talk and be much the wiser.