The Bremen Town Musicians is a German fairy tale collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. It follows a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster who leave their homes after their owners decide they are no longer useful. Although the four animals hope to become musicians in Bremen, their journey takes an unexpected turn when they encounter a house occupied by robbers. Their adventure shows how cooperation and courage can help the seemingly weak overcome difficult circumstances.
The Donkey Sets Out for Bremen
There was once a donkey that had carried sacks to a mill for many years. He had worked tirelessly, but age gradually weakened him, and he could no longer perform his duties as well as before.
His master began considering how he might stop spending money on an animal that was no longer useful to him. The donkey sensed that trouble was coming and decided to escape before his master could get rid of him.
He set out towards Bremen, hoping to become a town musician. He believed that he could still earn a living through music, even though he was no longer strong enough for his former work.
After traveling some distance, the donkey found a hunting dog lying beside the road. The dog was panting as though he had run a long way.
“Why are you panting so heavily?” the donkey asked.
“Ah,” replied the dog, “I am getting old and weaker every day. I can no longer hunt as I once did, so my master wanted to kill me. I escaped, but now I do not know how I will earn my living.”
The donkey listened sympathetically.
“I am going to Bremen to become a town musician,” he explained. “Come with me. You can join me and make music too. I will play the lute, and you can beat the drum.”
The dog liked the suggestion. He joined the donkey, and the two continued their journey together.
The Cat Joins the Travelers
Before long, the donkey and the dog came across a cat sitting beside the road. Its face looked gloomy, and it seemed deeply troubled.
“What has happened to you, old fellow?” the donkey asked.
“How can I be cheerful when my life is in danger?” the cat replied. “I am growing old, my teeth are worn down, and I would rather sit beside the fire than chase mice. My mistress has decided to drown me, so I ran away. Now I do not know where to go.”
The donkey encouraged the cat to join them on their journey to Bremen.
“You understand night music,” he said. “Come with us and become a town musician.”
The cat agreed, and the three animals traveled onwards.
As they passed a farmyard, they heard a rooster crowing loudly from a gate. The bird seemed to be putting all its strength into its call.
The donkey stopped and asked why the rooster was making so much noise.
“I have been predicting fine weather,” the rooster explained. “But tomorrow, guests are coming to the farm, and the housewife has told the cook that she intends to put me into the soup. Tonight, I am supposed to lose my head. I am crowing as loudly as I can while I still have the chance.”
The donkey understood the rooster’s predicament.
“Come with us to Bremen,” he said. “You have a fine voice. If we make music together, we may do very well.”
The rooster welcomed the offer and joined the others.
Now the four animals continued towards Bremen, each hoping to find a better life than the one left behind.
Explore more stories from our Brothers Grimm Tales collection.
A House in the Forest
The animals could not reach Bremen in a single day. As evening approached, they entered a forest and began looking for somewhere to spend the night.
The rooster climbed a tree and looked around. From his position above the others, he spotted a light shining in the distance.
“There must be a house over there,” he called down. “I can see a light.”
The donkey suggested that they should go towards it. The others agreed, hoping that the house would provide shelter and perhaps something to eat.
They followed the light until they reached a building in the forest.
The donkey approached a window and looked inside. He saw a table covered with food and drink. Around it sat a group of robbers enjoying their meal.
The animals realised that they had found a house occupied by criminals. However, they were hungry and tired, and the sight of the food made them eager to find a way inside.
The donkey stood with his front feet on the windowsill. The dog climbed onto the donkey’s back, the cat climbed onto the dog, and the rooster perched on top of the cat.
Together, the four animals formed a strange tower beside the window.
At a signal, they began making their noises. The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat meowed, and the rooster crowed at the top of his voice.
Their combined sounds were so loud and unexpected that the robbers believed something frightening was approaching.
The animals then crashed through the window into the room, scattering the robber’s belongings and creating even more noise.
Terrified by the strange commotion, the robbers fled into the forest. They abandoned their meal and left the house behind.
The four animals entered the room and ate as much as they wanted. They were delighted to have found food and shelter after their long journey.
The Robbers Try to Return
After their meal, the animals searched for a comfortable place to sleep.
The donkey lay down in the yard beside a pile of straw. The dog settled behind the door, the cat curled up near the warm hearth, and the rooster perched on a beam beneath the roof.
They were exhausted from traveling and soon fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the robbers had gathered some distance away. When midnight approached, their captain noticed that the light in the house had gone out.
He began to wonder whether they had been foolish to flee. Perhaps the frightening noise had come from nothing more than an ordinary disturbance.
The captain ordered one of the robbers to return and investigate.
The robber went back to the house and found it quiet. He entered the kitchen intending to light a candle.
In the darkness, he noticed the cat’s eyes glowing beside the hearth. Mistaking them for burning coals, he brought a match towards them.
The cat, startled by the sudden movement, sprang at his face, spitting and scratching him.
The robber cried out in fear and rushed towards the back door. There, the dog leapt up and bit his leg.
As the robber hurried across the yard, the donkey struck him with a powerful kick from its hind legs.
The noise awakened the rooster, who called loudly from his perch.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
The frightened robber ran from the house as quickly as he could and returned to the others.
The Robber’s Frightening Report
When the robber reached his captain, he struggled to explain what had happened.
“There is a horrible witch in that house!” he exclaimed. “She spat at me and scratched my face with her long claws. By the door stands a man with a knife who stabbed me in the leg. In the yard, a black monster beat me with a wooden club. And on the roof, a judge sat shouting, bring that rogue here!’ I escaped as quickly as I could.”
The robber had mistaken the cat for a witch, the dog for a man with a knife, the donkey for a black monster, and the rooster for a judge.
The captain believed the frightening account. None of the robbers dared to return to the house after hearing what had happened.
The four animals had driven the robbers away without knowing how frightened their strange appearance and combined noises had made them.
A New Home for the Four Musicians
The animals found themselves in a house with food, shelter and room to rest. They had escaped the danger of being killed or abandoned by their former owners, and they no longer needed to continue their journey to Bremen.
They liked their new home so much that they decided to stay there.
Although they had set out hoping to become town musicians, their adventure had brought them something different: safety and a place where they could live together.
The donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster had each faced rejection because they were growing old or could no longer perform the work expected of them. By joining forces, they had found a way to overcome their difficulties.
Their story ends with the four animals settled in the house, while the robbers remain too frightened to return.
Explore our complete Historic Folklore & Fairy-Tale Collections archive.
Moral Lesson
Working together can make individuals stronger than they would be alone. Age and weakness do not mean a person or animal has nothing left to offer, and courage can help overcome difficult circumstances.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the donkey leave his master?
His strength was failing, and he suspected that his master planned to get rid of him.
2. Why did the dog run away?
The dog had grown old and could no longer hunt well, so his master wanted to kill him.
3. Why did the cat and rooster join the donkey and dog?
The cat feared that its mistress would drown it, while the rooster feared that the farm’s cook would kill it for a meal.
4. How did the four animals frighten the robbers out of the house?
They climbed on top of one another beside a window, made their noises together and crashed into the room, frightening the robbers into fleeing.
5. Why did the robber run away when he returned to the house?
The cat scratched him, the dog bit his leg, the donkey kicked him, and the rooster crowed loudly. He misunderstood what had happened and believed the house was full of frightening figures.
6. Why did the four animals remain in the house?
They found food and shelter there and were so comfortable that they decided not to leave.
Source
Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt, 1884, Tale 27, “The Bremen Town-Musicians” (German title: “Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten”).
