his voice to
a whisper, "when the fun is at its highest, let us run away from here
altogether, and get married and live happily ever after," and he
twirled round on his edge, just to show what he could do.

"Yours is a delightful plan, my sweet!" said the Spoon. "You are
indeed a lordly Dish," and she simpered charmingly.

"I could think of as good a plan as that and a better," bellowed the
Cow through the window. "I could think of a plan as big as the sky."

"What's the odds, so long as we're happy!" chortled the little Dog.

"Hey, diddle, diddle! how vulgar he is!" squeaked the Fiddle.

"I quite agree with you," said the Cat, politely.

"Spoon, my love," began the Dish once more, "shall we ask the Cat and
Fiddle to sing and play for us, while we dance?"

"Certainly, my sweet," said the Spoon, and added coyly, "I am sure if
_you_ asked them, they could refuse you nothing."

"I can sing and play as well as they can and better," bawled the Cow
again through the window. "My top notes reach the stars."

"You may all sing and play till you're hoarse for all I care!" said the
little Dog.

"Hey, diddle, diddle! don't let's pay any attention to him," squeaked
the Fiddle.

"But we may as well oblige the others," said the Cat.

So the Cat and the Fiddle struck up a lively tune in which they each
strove as to who would squeak the highest. The Dish and the Spoon
danced and klinked blissfully together on the centre of the kitchen
table.

As the music got louder and louder, and wilder and wilder, the little
Dog joined in the dance, and at last even the Cow tossed up her four
legs and started dancing too.

"Spoon, my love, see how high I can spring," said the Dish, coming down
on the table with such a thud that he nearly cracked from top to
bottom. "When I do that again," he added in a lower voice, "it will be
the signal for you to run away with me. What a night we are having!"
and he twirled round faster than ever.

"Yes, my sweet," answered the Spoon, "everything that you do is right.
Wherever you run I will run too. I would that I could spring as high
as you do," and she turned gracefully on her handle.

"I can jump as high as that and higher," roared the Cow through the
window. "I can jump over the moon."

"All right, old girl, do it then," said the little Dog, skipping out
into the yard, when the moon was shining in all her splendour, and
reflected round and bright in the cow-tub.

"Hey, diddle, d