<P> A common modern version of the rhyme is: </P> <P> 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 away with the spoon . </P> <P> The rhyme is the source of the English expression "over the moon", meaning "delighted, thrilled, extremely happy". </P> <P> The rhyme may date back to at least the sixteenth century . Some references suggest it dates back in some form a thousand or more years: in early medieval illuminated manuscripts a cat playing a fiddle was a popular image . There is a reference in Thomas Preston's play A lamentable tragedy mixed ful of pleasant mirth, conteyning the life of Cambises King of Percia, printed in 1569 that may refer to the rhyme: </P>

Hey diddle diddle the cat had a fiddle