Like all other stories, this one too begins with once upon a time… there was a man who had a donkey. After years of loyalty, in which the donkey had helped the man carry heavy bags of grain, the man decided to get rid of him, as he was getting too old. One day, sensing something was wrong, the donkey decided to leave, so he headed off to the town of Bremen, to become a musician.

 As he was trotting away, he met a hound dog, who seemed really tired.

– Why are you panting so? asked the donkey.

– I’m very old and I’m getting weaker and weaker.

– You know what? I’m headed for Bremen, to become a town musician. You should come with me. You can play the drums, if you wish.

 The dog happily agreed and they started walking together. After a while, they came across a very sad cat.

– Hey, what’s the matter? Why are you lying in the middle of the road?

– How could I not be sad? Now that I’m old, my teeth are all blunt and I’d rather lounge by the fire, than chase mice. So my mistress sent me away.

– Come with us to Bremen, you’re great at meowing!

 And so the three friends walked and walked, until they saw a rooster, perched up on a fence.

– Weeeeeee!!! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!

– Why are you wailing? You gave us a good fright, said the donkey.

– I’m scared! I heard my mistress wants to turn me into soup tomorrow, for her guests. Now you understand my misery?

– Come on, Red Crest, don’t be scared. Come with us to Bremen – you have such a beautiful voice and we’ll all make great town musicians.

 The Rooster liked the idea, as it was way better than being turned into soup, so he joined the others. On they went, until they came across a forest, where they decided to spend the night. The donkey and the dog curled up under a tree, the cat hid through the branches and the rooster flew up the top of the tree. But lo and behold, from up there, he saw a tiny light.

– There’s a house! said the rooster.

– Let’s go there, I’m sure it’s better than this place.

 Once they got to the house, they looked in, through the window, and saw a band of thieves, who were enjoying a great feast!

– We could also eat something, said the rooster.

 They started thinking how they could scare the thieves away and they got an idea: they would climb one on top of the other and start singing loudly! So they all began singing, each to their own tune: the donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat yowled and the rooster crowed. Once they were done singing, they crashed into the house. Frightened by the noise, the thieves ran into the woods, so the four friends got to enjoy all those delicious leftovers.

– I won’t be chased away that easily, said the captain of the band, looking back to the house. I think there’s nothing there. Hey, you, go and check!

 Once there, the thief went straight to the kitchen, to turn on the light but mistook the cat’s eyes for coals. He tried to light a match with them, so he could see better, but our cat had already jumped at him and started scratching him. Frightened, he wanted to run outside, but the dog snapped at him and bit his leg.

 In the yard, the thief stumbled across the sleeping donkey, who kicked him in the back. The rooster was woken up by all that noise.

– Cook-a-doodle-doo!

– There’s a terrible witch in that house, the thief told to others, who were waiting in the forest. She scratched me with her long claws. Then, behind the door was a man who stabbed me in the leg with a knife and, when I got out, I was kicked by a strange animal. And high up, on the roof, there was a judge who kept on shouting:

– Bring those rascals here! Let them get what they deserve!

 Scared, the thieves ran off and never returned, while the four musicians lived happily ever after.