One of the officers recited and I have never laughed so much as I did that night she told us about the woman who swallowed a fly and then swallowed a cat to eat that fly and a dog to eat the cat, and so on: her "swallows" each time were so realistic.Shortly afterwards, the journal Hoosier Folklore published three versions of the story from different parts of the United States (Colorado, Georgia and Ohio) in its December 1947 edition.

The editor calls it a "cumulative tale", and asks readers for information on its origins.

"[3] A widely distributed version of the song was released on Brunswick Records in 1953, where it was sung by Burl Ives.

Ives' rendition appears on his album, Folk Songs, Dramatic and Humorous—which debuted in late summer, 1953.

[4] According to the album liner notes, the song was "derived from an old ballad", rewritten by Alan Mills, and passed to Ives by Edith Fowke of CBC Radio.

[5] The 1961 illustrated book by Rose Bonne also indicates that the lyrics are hers, whereas the music was composed by Alan Mills.