Ernest the monkey turns the handle of a piano roll; the punched holes in the roll of parchment provide the melody.

Ernest has the mind of a middle-aged human, the result of a prank involving the organ grinder, his pet monkey, a leprechaun, and a great quantity of brambleberry wine. The organ grinder’s mind was swapped with his monkey’s, but the jest turned to disaster when his body ran off with the monkey’s mind inside, never to be seen again.