By L. Frank Baum
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 thethings it mentions could never have happened； but they didhappen， as you will understand when I have explained them allto you clearly.
Little Bobby was the only son of a small farmer who livedout of town upon a country road. Bobby’s mother looked afterthe house and Bobby’s father took care of the farm， and Bobbyhimself， who was not very big， helped them both as much ashe was able.
It was lonely upon the farm， especially when his fatherand mother were both busy at work， but the boy had one wayto amuse himself that served to pass many an hour when hewould not otherwise have known what to do. He was very fondof music， and his father one day brought him from the towna small fiddle， or violin， which he soon learned to play upon.
I don’t suppose he was a very fine musician， but the tunes heplayed pleased himself； as well as his father and mother， andBobby’s fiddle soon became his constant companion.
One day in the warm summer the farmer and his wifedetermined to drive to the town to sell their butter and eggsand bring back some groceries in exchange for them， andwhile they were gone Bobby was to be left alone.
“We shall not be back until late in the evening，” said hismother， “for the weather is too warm to drive very fast. But Ihave left you a dish of bread and milk for your supper， and youmust be a good boy and amuse yourself with your fiddle untilwe return.”
Bobby promised to be good and look after the house， andthen his father and mother climbed into the wagon and droveaway to the town.
The boy was not entirely alone， for there was the big blacktabby-cat lying upon the floor in the kitchen， and the little yellowdog barking at the wagon as it drove away， and the big mooliecowlowing in the pasture down by the brook. Animals are oftenvery good company， and Bobby did not feel nearly as lonely ashe would had there been no living thing about the house.
Besides he had some work to do in the garden， pulling up theweeds that grew thick in the carrot-bed， and when the last faintsounds of the wheels had died away he went into the gardenand began his task.
The little dog went too， for dogs love to be with people andto watch what is going on； and he sat down near Bobby andcocked up his ears and wagged his tail and seemed to take agreat interest in the weeding. Once in a while he would rushaway to chase a butterfly or bark at a beetle that crawledthrough the garden， but he always came back to the boy andkept near his side.
By and by the cat， which found it lonely in the big， emptykitchen， now that Bobby’s mother was gone， came walkinginto the garden also， and lay down upon a path in the sunshineand lazily watched the boy at his work. The dog and the catwere good friends， having lived together so long that they didnot care to fight each other. To be sure Towser， as the little dogwas called， sometimes tried to tease pussy， being himself verymischievous； but when the cat put out her sharp claws andshowed her teeth， Towser， like a wise little dog， quickly ranaway， and so they managed to get along in a friendly manner.
By the time the carrot-bed was well weeded， the sun wassinking behind the edge of the forest and the new moon risingin the east， and now Bobby began to feel hungry and went intothe house for his dish of bread and milk.
“I think I ‘ll take my supper down to the brook，” he said tohimself， “and sit upon the grassy bank while I eat it. And I‘ll take my fiddle， too， and play upon it to pass the time untilfather and mother come home.”