At the daycare Truman's mother runs, he explains that the episode's vocabulary is about music, then it cuts to morning in the Lorraine house. Helen wakes up and sees Martha twitching in her sleep, then wakes her up to ask about her dreams. Martha explains that she dreamt everything she said was in song... in song. She is now worried that something is wrong with her and then Daniel and Mariella come in, having heard the singing. They join in, and Mariella wonders if they should call the news. This causes Martha to wonder if they caught her singing, but they explain (speaking) that they were just joining in for kicks.
The Lorraines take Martha to the vet, but she finds nothing unusual except for the singing itself. Martha asks for something to cure the singing, but the vet cannot think of anything. She claims to be a "doctor, not a musician", which gives Helen the idea of asking an actual musician for help.
Martha thinks she can hear someone playing music, but it's only a vinyl record playing. They then hear more music, and follow it into the park where a live band is playing. Helen asks them how to stop a vocalist from singing, and they don't know. Martha explains her problem, and the leader of the band suggests singing slower. It doesn't work, so the band leader suggests asking a real vocalist. As if on cue, Helen and Martha hear yodelling, so they follow it to a man, who's yodelling and playing the uke with his toes. However, upon hearing how weird his lyrics are, they decide he doesn't have any answers, and leave.
Helen and Martha then hear opera, and follow it to a Viking-themed busker. Helen asks the busker how she makes herself stop singing, so she explains that she waits until the end of the music. Martha points out that she has no music, so she fears she's sick or cursed. The busker offers no help and is more concerned with Martha's enunciation, so Helen and Martha give up and go home.
At home, Danny is excited to have a singing dog, but Mariella just gives him a blank stare. Helen and Martha go up to Helen's room, where she finds her toasted muffin and her music homework gone. Martha realises she ate them in the middle of the night the previous night, which must be what's causing her singing. Helen realises that it will wear off, since that's what happens when she goes too long without soup, except now she (Helen) has the homework problem to deal with.
The next day at school, Helen brings Martha to school and explains what happened. Mrs. Clusky doesn't believe that Martha ate Helen's homework, until Martha confesses in song. Then, Helen, Martha, Skits, T.D., and Truman make a band and sing a song about how Helen doesn't have her homework, since Martha ate it.
This episode provides examples of
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: When in Helen's band, Martha wears a dress and a hat but no shoes.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: "Hooray for you!" is the catchphrase of a little girl, and then her father says it to her.
- Canine Confusion: When singing a long note, Martha somehow blushes through her fur.
- Catchphrase: One little girl keeps saying, "Hooray for you!" to the musicians and Martha.
- Cheerful Child: When talking to the band, Helen and Martha meet a little girl, who loves dancing to music, who carries a balloon, and whose catchphrase is "Hooray for you!".
- Cloud Cuckoolander: The yodelling guy plays the ukulele with his toes, sings Word Salad Lyrics, and doesn't seem to mind being dragged into the water by a fish he caught.
- Contrived Coincidence: Helen and Martha hear the yodeller the moment they want to find a vocalist.
- Crashing Dreams: Martha dreams about only being able to sing... then wakes up only able to sing.
- Death Glare: Martha frowns at the busker for critiquing her singing instead of giving her advice.
- A Dog Ate My Homework: Martha really did eat Helen's homework, but Mrs. Clusky doesn't believe Helen until Martha sings about it.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Upon hearing the vet say that she's a "doctor, not a musician", Helen then decides to ask a musician for help stopping Martha's singing, since "musicians know how to play music, so they must know how to make music stop."
- Flashback: When Martha remembers eating Helen's muffin and homework, we see it happen.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: In the band, Skits wears only a shirt.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: When Martha asks for a cure for her singing, the vet says, "Sorry, I'm a doctor, not a musician."
- Melancholy Musical Number: After the busker proves no use, Martha sadly sings about how nobody knows how to stop her singing.
- Midnight Snack: Martha ate Helen's muffin (and homework) in the middle of the night.
- Mistaken for Disease: When Martha finds herself only able to sing, then the Lorraine parents start singing, she wonders if it's some kind of "musical flu", but actually they were only singing for fun and she had eaten Helen's music homework.
- Musicalis Interruptus: When the synthesiser player starts singing in response to Martha's singing, Helen tells him to just talk, not sing.
- Musical World Hypotheses: All the singing is explained in-universe: Martha is being forced to sing, while the Lorraine parents and the musicians are singing for fun.
- Running Gag: Danny keeps being excited to have a singing pet.
- Shared Family Quirks: The little girl in the park and her father both say, "Hooray for you!".
- Skewed Priorities: When Martha is worried that she's cursed to sing forever, the busker is more concerned about her enunciation.
- Through a Face Full of Fur: Martha blushes while trying to say (or sing) "Ah" at the vets for a long time.
- Word Salad Lyrics: The yodelling man sings, "You treat me like you get to know a llama. Rama llama bing bong kangaroo. Llama coyote Africa banana! The things an instrument can do!" Martha even shakes her head in bemusement at these lyrics.
- You Can Talk?: The band is taken aback when they find out that the "vocalist" is a dog.
