An old donkey set off for Bremen to become a musician. A tired dog joined him. Then came a cat and a rooster, each looking for a kinder place to live. At night, they saw a house with lights on. They peered through the window and found some unfriendly travelers eating inside. The four friends stood on one another's backs and made their loudest music. The travelers ran out, startled by the noise. The animals found food and a safe place to rest. Bremen could wait; they liked the home they had found together.
A First Stories tale
The Bremen Town Musicians
Slide left for a simpler telling and right for more detail. Your choice carries to the next story.
Open this version in the audiobook shelfA donkey wanted to sing in Bremen. On the road he met a dog, a cat, and a rooster. They decided to go together. At night they found an empty house. They sang so loudly that some noisy visitors ran away. The friends ate supper and slept there. In the morning they chose to stay together in their new home.
An old donkey set off for Bremen to become a musician. A tired dog joined him. Then came a cat and a rooster, each looking for a kinder place to live. At night, they saw a house with lights on. They peered through the window and found some unfriendly travelers eating inside. The four friends stood on one another's backs and made their loudest music. The travelers ran out, startled by the noise. The animals found food and a safe place to rest. Bremen could wait; they liked the home they had found together.
The donkey's farm no longer needed his help, so he decided to travel to Bremen and try life as a musician. Along the road he met a dog who had grown too tired to hunt, a cat who preferred warm fires to chasing mice, and a rooster whose crowing was no longer welcome. The donkey invited each of them to join his band.
Night fell before they reached Bremen. They spotted a house where a group of travelers had stopped to eat. Looking through the window, the friends wished for a warm meal too. The donkey stood below, the dog climbed on his back, the cat climbed on the dog, and the rooster perched on top. Together they brayed, barked, meowed, and crowed. The startled travelers ran out into the night. The animals entered, ate, and rested. By morning, they had made a decision: the little house suited their band, and they would stay there together.
The donkey was older than the other animals on the farm. When he realized the farmer had no work for him, he set off toward Bremen to earn his living through music. A dog he met on the road had also been told he was too old for his old job. The donkey invited him along. A cat joined next, followed by a rooster. None knew much about music, but all were pleased to be wanted.
They traveled until darkness made the road hard to see. In the distance, a cottage glowed with lamplight. Through its window they saw a group of rough travelers enjoying supper. The animals were hungry, so they formed a tower and made one enormous sound: bray, bark, meow, and crow. The travelers fled, convinced something strange had come to the house. The four friends stepped inside and found a meal and shelter.
In the morning they considered their journey. Bremen still lay ahead, but this cottage offered what each had really sought: safety, work they could share, and friends who valued them. They stayed and made music for one another. It was not the career the donkey had imagined, yet it was a fine life.
The donkey set out for Bremen with a plan to join its musicians, though he had never played an instrument. What he did have was a voice and a determination to find a place where an older animal could still be useful. A dog with aching paws joined him. A cat who no longer wished to chase mice followed, and a rooster whose loud morning calls were unwelcome completed the band. Each had been dismissed for no longer fitting someone else's expectations.
They walked until evening. A cottage ahead shone through the trees, and the travelers inside were eating a generous supper. The animals, cold and hungry, devised a performance. They stacked themselves carefully outside the window, took a breath, and let loose a bray, a bark, a yowl, and a crow. The noise and strange silhouette sent the travelers running. The animals entered to find food and beds.
By dawn they had grown fond of the place. They debated whether to continue to Bremen, but their destination had been a hope rather than a promise. Here they could keep one another company and make the house welcoming. They stayed, sharing the chores according to their strengths. The donkey still called them musicians, and when their voices rose together across the fields, no one doubted that they were a band.
Inspired by Grimm's Fairy Tales. This text is a new adaptation.