Once upon a time, a donkey lived on a farm.
The donkey worked hard for the farmer.
After many years the donkey became old and tired.
"Oh, this sack is so heavy! I wish I could rest."
"Hmm, this donkey is getting too old to work for me any longer.
I should sell him to the butcher."
"Oh no! The butcher will kill me. I must escape.
Hmm, but what will I do for a living then?
Ah! I will go to Bremen and become a musician."
The farmer and the donkey returned to the farm.
The farmer took the donkey's sack and went into the barn.
"Now is my chance!"
The donkey ran away.
Soon the donkey found the road to Bremen.
He met an old dog lying on the road. The dog was out of breath.
"Why are you out of breath, Mr. Dog?"
"Ah! I am old and weak. I cannot hunt anymore.
My master thought I was lazy, so he tried to shoot me. I ran away.
But now I do not have either a home or a job. I will starve."
"I am going to Bremen to become a musician. Let's go together.
We can start a musical band. I will play the guitar, and you can beat the drum."
"That's a great idea!"
The donkey and the dog walked towards Bremen.
Before long they met a cat. He was sitting beside the road. The cat had a sad look.
"Mr. Cat, you look so sad. What's the matter with you?"
"I am sad because I am no longer loved. I am too old to catch mice anymore.
And my mistress beat me. So I ran away. But I don't know where to go."
"Oh, come with us to Bremen. We can start a musical band.
I will play the guitar, Mr. Dog can beat the drum, and you can sing in our band."
"That sounds great!"
So the cat joined the dog and the donkey on their way to Bremen.
Soon the three animals came to a farm. A rooster sat on the fence.
He crowed with all his might. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
"You sound scared. What is the matter?"
"I wake up everyone on the farm every morning.
But tonight guests are coming for dinner.
The master's wife told the cook to cook me for their soup.
So I am crowing until I die. Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
"Mr. Rooster, you must come with us too. We are going to Bremen.
You have a good voice. You can sing in our band."
"Anything is better than death! I will join you right now."
The rooster jumped down from the fence.
Then all of the animals walked toward Bremen.
That evening the animals passed through a forest.
They decided to spend the night by a big tree.
The donkey and the dog lay down near the tree.
The cat climbed up the tree and curled up on a large branch.
But the rooster flew up to the top of the tree. He could see all around them.
"I see a light over there. It is a house. It is not too far from here!"
"Let's spend the night in the house.
It is too cold and windy to stay outside."
"Yes, and there may be some food there too."
The animals walked through the forest. Finally they reached the house.
The donkey was the tallest, so he looked through the window.
"What do you see, Mr. Donkey?"
"Shush! Keep your voice down. Someone is in there."
"Ohhh! We stole so much money. What a lucky day! Ha-ha-ha! Let's drink all night."
"What do you see, Mr. Donkey?"
"There are good things to eat and drink on the table.
But robbers are sitting at the table too."
"Robbers? Oh my. They might kill us. Let's run away!"
"But I'm so hungry."
"We can scare them away. Then we can eat the food and spend the night in the warm house."
"How?"
"I know how to scare them. I will put my front legs on the window ledge.
Mr. Dog can jump on my back. Mr. Cat can climb on Mr. Dog's back.
Mr. Rooster can fly to the very top.
When I say 'Go,' we will all make noises as loudly as we can."
The other animals thought that this was a great idea.
They each climbed up on the donkey's back and waited for his signal. "Go!"
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" "Hee-haw, hee-haw!" "Meow, meeeooow!" "Bow-wow, ruff, ruff!"
"Oh! It's a ghost! It is here to punish our sins. What should we do?"
But the donkey was old and weak.
He leaned against the window because he was tired.
Suddenly the window broke. They all fell through the window and into the room.
But fortunately the wind blew the candle out at the same time.
"Ohhh! It's a ghost! Run!" The robbers ran out of the house thinking that a ghost made the noise and broke the window.
Then the four animals laughed and sat down at the table. They ate and ate.
Each animal found a comfortable spot and soon fell asleep.
The robbers watched the house from the forest.
"Let's pull ourselves together now. Look! It is quiet again.
I think we should go back to check it out."
"Then you go to the house first."
"Okay, I'm not scared!"
The robber entered the house quietly. He went into the kitchen to light a candle.
But the cat was watching him. "Ah, there are two coals in the fireplace.
I will strike my match on one of them."
But the coals were really the cat's eyes.
The robber struck the match on the cat's face.
The cat hissed and scratched the robber's face.
The frightened robber ran to the back door. There the dog bit his leg.
The robber screamed and ran across the yard.
The donkey woke up and kicked the robber.
Then the rooster woke up. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The frightened robber ran to warn his friend.
"Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house.
She hissed and scratched my face with her long claws.
And by the door, a man with a knife stabbed me in the leg.
When I ran outside, a black monster beat me with a club.
A judge sat on the roof and called out, 'You are all robbers. Go away.'
So I ran away as fast as I could."
"We must escape before they come after us."
So the robbers ran far away. The animals watched as the robbers ran away.
"Hooray! The robbers are gone!"
"This is a nice place to live. There is plenty to eat.
And each of us has a warm place to sleep."
"Let's stay here forever!"
"Yes! Let's stay here. We can sing and eat all we want!
We do not need to go to Bremen any longer."
The robbers never returned to the house.
And the four "musicians" lived in the house happily ever after.