German Folktale

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Retold by The Legendary Connection

TLC#00101

Once upon a time, there was a kind old donkey who had worked for many years carrying heavy sacks of corn to the mill. But as the years went by, the donkey grew tired and weak. His owner started to worry about how much it cost to keep him, so the donkey, feeling that no one cared about him anymore, decided to leave.  "I'm going to Bremen," he said to himself. "I will become a musician in the town!"

As the donkey walked along the road, he met a big old dog lying down, panting hard. "Why are you so tired, big fella?" asked the donkey. "Oh," said the dog sadly, "I'm getting old and I can't run and hunt like I used to. My owner wanted to get rid of me, so I ran away. But now, I don't know how I'll survive."

"Well," said the donkey, "I'm going to Bremen to be a town musician! Why don't you come with me? I’ll play the lute, and you can bang the drum!" The dog liked that idea, so he got up, wagged his tail, and they went off together.

Soon, they met a cat sitting on the side of the road with a very grumpy face. "Why do you look so unhappy, my friend?" asked the donkey. "How can I be happy," the cat sighed, "when my life is in danger? I’m getting old, my teeth are dull, and I’d rather sit by the fire than chase mice. My owner wanted to get rid of me, so I ran away. But now I don’t know where to go."

"Come with us to Bremen!" said the donkey. "You can join our band! You’re good at night-time music, after all." The cat thought about it and agreed, so the three of them set off together.

After a while, they came to a farmyard where a rooster was crowing as loud as he could. "Wow, your voice is loud! What’s the matter?" asked the donkey. "I’ve been crowing all day because tomorrow is my last day," said the rooster. "But the farmer’s wife is planning to cook me into soup tomorrow! She told the cook to cut off my head tonight, so I’m singing while I still can."

"Come with us to Bremen," said the donkey. "We’re making a band. You’ve got a great voice, and together we can make wonderful music!" The rooster thought that sounded much better than becoming soup, so he joined the group. Now, there were four of them— a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster—all heading to Bremen to become musicians.

They walked and walked until night came, and they were tired. They found a forest and decided to rest there for the night. The donkey and the dog laid down under a big tree, the cat curled up on a branch, and the rooster flew up to the very top of the tree. Before falling asleep, the rooster noticed a light shining in the distance. "Hey, there’s a light over there!" he said. "Maybe there’s a house where we can sleep more comfortably."

They all agreed, and walked toward the light. Soon, they came to a house lit up from the inside. They peeked in through the window and saw a table full of delicious food, and some robbers sitting around, enjoying a big feast.

"That food looks amazing!" said the rooster.

"We need to get those robbers out of there!" said the dog.

So, they came up with a plan. The donkey stood on his hind legs with his front hooves on the window. The dog jumped on the donkey’s back, the cat climbed on the dog, and the rooster flew up to sit on the cat’s head. Then, all at once, they made the loudest, scariest noise they could! The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat meowed, and the rooster crowed as loud as he could.

The robbers were so scared by the noise that they jumped up, ran out of the house, and into the dark forest. The robbers ran as fast as they could, thinking monsters had come to get them!

The four friends quickly went inside and ate the delicious food the robbers left behind. After their feast, they all found cozy places to sleep. The donkey lay down on some straw, the dog curled up by the door, the cat found a warm spot near the fireplace, and the rooster perched high up on a beam. Soon, they all fell fast asleep.

In the meantime, the robbers regrouped in the forest and began to think about what they saw. The leader wanted confirmation about what was really going on in their house. So later that night, he sent one of the robbers back to the house to see if the coast was clear.

The robber quietly crept inside. It was very dark and wanting to light a candle. However, when he tried to light a candle, he thought the cat’s eyes were embers in the fireplace, and thrust the candle into the cat’s glowing eyes. The cat, startled, hissed and attacked the robber, scratching his face! The robber ran for the door, but on the way he stepped on the dog’s tail. This caused the dog to bite his leg. As he stumbled outside, the donkey, startled by the sudden commotion, kicked the robber with his back legs. The rooster, now awake and hearing all the noise, sounded the alarm and crowed as loud as he could, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The robber was so frightened that he ran back to his gang and told them, "There’s a terrible witch in that house who scratched my face. A man with a knife stands by the door and he stabbed my leg. And there is a huge monster in the yard, that kicked me in the stomach. And a judge sits on the roof shouting, ‘Bring the robber to me!’"

The robbers were too scared to ever come back, so the donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster decided to stay in the house forever. They never made it to Bremen, but they lived happily together, making music every day.

Original Source: Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. “Household Tales by Brothers Grimm.” Https://Www.gutenberg.org/Files/5314/5314-h/5314-H.htm 1 Mar. 2004, gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5314/pg5314-images.html#chap27  Accessed 17 July 2024.