Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 38, No. 4. Whole No. 215, October 1961

At first, we may suppose, it was a night

Like any other in the village year

Calmly, no doubt, upon its listening ear

Fell the accustomed silence, left and right;

Until the cat came fiddling, do si do,

Telling his longing in a gypsy tune,

Whereat the cow leaped nimbly o’er the moon

And strange events went forward, as we know.

What shall we say of this peculiar matter?

There are two schools of thought: one holds the cat

May have been drinking, and the other that

There was connivance with the spoon and platter.

One curious incident remains to mention:

The dog did nothing to attract attention.