There is mischief-making going on here! A group of children are teaching a cat to dance, to the music of a shawm, a 17th-century wind instrument. They are clearly enjoying themselves, but the cat is screeching its displeasure, and the dog is barking loudly. An old man angrily reprimands the children from a window high in the wall of the room. Jan Steen knew how to reproduce the ear splitting din of the scene.