 The story begins as a girl named Sally and her unnamed brother , who serves as the narrator of the book , sit alone in their house on a cold , rainy day , staring wistfully out the window . Then they hear a loud bump which is quickly followed by the arrival of the Cat in the Hat , a tall anthropomorphic cat in a red and white striped hat and a red bow tie . The Cat proposes to entertain the children with some tricks that he knows . The children 's pet fish refuses , insisting that the Cat leave . The Cat responds by balancing the fish on the tip of his umbrella . The game quickly becomes more complicated , as the Cat balances himself on a ball and tries to balance lots of household items on his limbs until he falls on his head , dropping everything he was holding . The fish admonishes him again , but the Cat in the Hat just proposes another game . 
