"The Whingdingdilly came out of a guessing game when I visited schools years ago to talk with the kids and draw pictures for them. I made animal drawings on an over-sized sketch pad so everyone could watch - and as soon as I started a drawing the kids all tried to guess what it might be. I liked to keep them guessing as long as possible and put off drawing the most recognizable parts of the animal until the last minute. But I could never fool them for long, especially when it came to elephants. Even if I avoided the trunk and ears and started with a foot and a few toe nails someone in the group would whisper, 'Elephant' and the word was out. And suddenly they were all shouting 'Elephant! Elephant! Elephant!' and the guessing game was over. Being a poor loser, I finally resorted to trickery, and after starting a drawing of an animal they were sure to recognize I'd switch to another animal. For instance, I might start with a rhino's head with a horned snout and have them shouting, 'Rhino! Rhino!!', then quickly add moose horns, a shaggy lions mane, a giraffe's neck, or whatever came to mind. Then there were shouts of 'Not fair!! Not fair! That's cheating!' But their protests were always in fun, and as I continued to add odd parts to the 'thing' the kids were laughing all the way. And the spontaneous laughter from a room full of kids is no less than joyful beautiful music. If the 'whatcha-ma-call-its' I drew were funny to the kids, it seemed to me one belonged in a storybook. So I designed a combination rhino, giraffe, elephant, camel, zebra, reindeer, and last but not least, one part dog. For as it turns out the dog is the most important part of the 'thing' since the story is about and old farm dog named 'Scamp', and the hodgepodge of an animal finally became 'The Whingdingdilly', which is also the title of the tall tale."

Rama was the inspiration for the dog Scamp. He would come into his studio and stare at Bill until he took Rama for a walk. On one of their walks in surrounding hills, Rama found a rattlesnake, an encounter that Bill recalled in the sketch at the right. Bill dedicated the book to Rama - "In memory of a wonderful dog."