The Bremen Town Musicians

An aging donkey, no longer strong enough to carry sacks to the mill, overheard his master planning to do away with him. Deciding to flee, he set out for the city of Bremen to become a town musician. Along the way, he met a hound gasping for breath, a cat with a face as long as three days of rainy weather, and a rooster who was about to be turned into soup. Each was old and unwanted by their masters. The donkey invited them to join his journey, suggesting they could all make a living through music. As night fell, they found a cottage in the woods. Peering through the window, they saw a table laden with food and a band of robbers enjoying the feast. Hungry and tired, the animals hatched a plan. The donkey stood on his hind legs, the dog jumped on the donkey's back, the cat climbed the dog, and the rooster perched on the cat. On a signal, they burst through the window with a cacophony of braying, barking, meowing, and crowing. The terrified robbers fled into the woods, believing a monster had attacked. The four friends ate their fill and fell asleep. When one robber returned later that night, the animals attacked him in the dark, leading the thieves to believe the house was haunted by witches and monsters. The robbers never returned, and the four musicians found the cottage so comfortable they stayed there forever, never actually reaching Bremen.