A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the
corn-sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year.
But his strength was going, and he was growing more and more
unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he
might best save his keep. But the donkey, seeing that no
good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to
Bremen. There, he thought, I can surely be a town-musician.
When he had walked some distance, he found a hound lying
on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired.
What are you gasping so for, you big fellow, asked the
donkey.
"Ah," replied the hound, as I am old, and daily grow
weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me,
so I took to flight, but now how am I to earn my bread."
"I tell you what," said the donkey, "I am going to
Bremen, and shall be town-musician there. Go with me and
engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute,
and you shall beat the kettle-drum."
The hound agreed, and on they went. Before long they came
to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy
days. "Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you,"
asked the donkey.
"Who can be merry when his neck is in danger," answered
the cat. "Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are
worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin,
rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to
drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce.
Where am I to go."
"Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, you
can be a town-musician."
The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After
this the three fugitives came to a farm-yard, where the cock
was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might.
"Your crow goes through and through one," said the
donkey. "What is the matter?"
"I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the
day on which our lady washes the christ-child's little
shirts, and wants to dry them," said the cock. "But guests
are coming for sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has
told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup
to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off.
Now I am crowing at the top of my lungs while still I can."
"Ah, but red-comb," said the donkey, "you had better come
away with us. We are going to Bremen. You can find something
better than death everywhere. You have a good voice, and if
we make music together it must have some quality."
The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on
together. They could not reach the city of Bremen in one
day, however, and in the evening they came to a forest where
they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound laid
themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cock
settled themselves in the branches. But the cock flew right
to the top, where he was most safe.
Before he went to sleep he looked round on all four
sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark
burning. So he called out to his companions that there must
be a house not far off, for he saw a light.
The donkey said, "If so, we had better get up and go on,
for the shelter here is bad." The hound thought too that a
few bones with some meat on would do him good.
So they made their way to the place where the light was,
and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they
came to a well-lighted robbers, house. The donkey, as the
biggest, went to the window and looked in.
"What do you see, my grey-horse?" asked the cock.
"What do I see?" answered the donkey. "A table covered
with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it
enjoying themselves."
"That would be the sort of thing for us," said the cock.
Then the animals took counsel together how they should
manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought
of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his
fore-feet upon the window-ledge, the hound was to jump on
the donkey's back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and
lastly the cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the
cat.
When this was done, at a given signal, they began to
perform their music together. The donkey brayed, the hound
barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed. Then they burst
through the window into the room, shattering the glass.
At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no
otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great
fright out into the forest.
The four companions now sat down at the table, well
content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to
fast for a month.
As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the
light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place
according to his nature and what suited him. The donkey laid
himself down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind
the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and
the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof. And being
tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep.
When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar
that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all
appeared quiet, the captain said, we ought not to have let
ourselves be frightened out of our wits, and ordered one of
them to go and examine the house.
The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to
light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the
cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light
it. But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his
face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened,
and ran to the back-door, but the dog, who lay there sprang
up and bit his leg. And as he ran across the yard by the
dunghill, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind
foot. The cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and
had become lively, cried down from the beam,
"Cock-a-doodle-doo."
Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his
captain, and said, "Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in
the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her
long claws. And by the door stands a man with a knife, who
stabbed me in the leg. And in the yard there lies a black
monster, who beat me with a wooden club. And above, upon the
roof, sits the judge, who called out, bring the rogue here
to me. So I got away as well as I could."
After this the robbers never again dared enter the house.
But it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they
did not care to leave it any more.