How does the author use allusion in the novel, The Mouse and the Motorcycle?

When Ralph hides under the grandfather clock downstairs, the author writes: “Bong! The clock struck one thirty, forcing Ralph to clap his hands over his ears. How his famous ancestor, the one that ran up the clock, hickory-dickory-dock, stood the racket, he did not know” (153). Here, the story makes allusion to the famous rhyme in order to delight young readers who are surely familiar with the original story.