The Town Musicians of Bremen

The Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale has fascinated generations of children. Each of the two brothers wrote separate works, but they achieved success for the volumes signed together. Over several years they collected old folk tales which they published in 1812. In The Musicians of Bremen the characters travel to a real city, Bremen, where there is now a monument by Gerhard Marcks (1953) representing the four animals in the story: donkey, rooster, cat, a puppy.

One fine day, an old donkey ran away from his master’s yard. Prickling his ears, he had heard that the farmer was going to sell him to a butcher! After walking for a while, he came across a very distressed dog.
“My master chased me away because I was too old to guard his house,” the dog told him.
Then, the two animals decided to go further together, with the intention of reaching the city of Bremen, where, they said, they would become musicians and earn their living by singing. On the way, the two met an old cat and a tired rooster, who joined them. As the evening had fallen, and they still had a long way to Bremen, they thought of staying the night in a small house on the side of the road.
Even though there was no movement inside, the house was bright as day.
When they got closer, they saw through the window of the house two robbers, who were just preparing their dinner. And so many goodies were there on the table, that the mouths of the four friends were watering!
Then, on the spot, they made a plan! The dog jumps into the donkey’s crotch, the cat climbs onto the dog’s back, and the rooster flies right onto the cat’s pile. And, in one voice, but each in his own way, they began to sing! Well, that was the only way they had been able to earn their daily bread, singing! However, the deafening clamor that came out made the two robbers inside think that they had been attacked by some terrible beast. And that immediately put them on the run. Seeing themselves alone, the four friends sat down at the table and partook of the tasty dishes. After feasting lavishly, the four “musicians” turned off the light and chose their beds, each to his heart’s desire and according to his nature. That same night, one of the two robbers dared to return and enter the house. But the cat scratched him to the point of blood, the donkey kicked him with its hooves, the dog bit him on the leg, and the rooster pecked him from where he also escaped.
Frightened, the robber ran away and neither he nor his accomplice dared to show themselves there. And the four “musicians” felt so good in that little house that they didn’t even bother to leave. And they lived happily ever after!

Retelling of a text by the Brothers Grimm

The Town Musicians of Bremen

Reading: James Christian Brown

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.

Retelling of a text by the Brothers Grimm

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