The worm in this cartoon is a caricature of comedian Jerry Colonna. A regular on The Bob Hope Radio Show, Colonna's weekly greeting to Hope and the audience was, "Greetings, Gates!"
Vitaphone production reel #973A.
The worm tells a fish to take a hook, saying "Don't be so reluctant...Dragon!" This is a reference to the Disney feature The Reluctant Dragon (1941).
A caricature of the real Jerry Colonna appears at the end of the short, as the fisherman.