The Bremen Town Musicians

On an old farm there lived an honest farmer and his donkey. The donkey had worked hard for him for many years. He had carried sacks to the mill in every kind of weather, walked up steep hills with heavy loads, and never once complained. But now the donkey was growing old. His back grew stiffer, his legs grew tired, and one morning he heard the farmer say to his wife: 'That donkey is no good to me any more. Tomorrow I shall be rid of him.' The donkey stood quite still in his stall. He understood exactly what the farmer meant. Then he thought to himself: 'I am not going to wait for that. I shall set off this very evening. I have a fine voice, I always have. I shall go to Bremen and become a town musician.'

As soon as the moon rose above the roof, the donkey slipped out through the gate and set off towards the great city. The road was dusty, the trees whispered in the wind, and the stars came out one by one on the lavender sky. The donkey felt strangely light at heart. He was on his way to something new. He tried his voice softly, so that nobody would hear: 'Hee-haw, hee-haw.' It sounded rather lovely, he thought, against the quiet night wind. He would make an excellent town musician. Of that he was certain. And on he went with small determined steps, an old donkey who refused to give up.

He had not gone very far when he caught sight of an old dog lying by the side of the road. The dog was panting heavily and looked downcast, as if he had been running all night. 'What is the matter, my friend?' asked the donkey kindly. 'Alas,' the dog sighed, 'I am old now, and my master thought I was no longer any good for hunting. He wanted to put an end to me, so I ran away. But what shall I do? I cannot earn my bread out here on the road.' The donkey thought for a moment. 'Listen,' he said, 'I am going to Bremen to become a town musician. You have a strong, deep voice. Come with me and beat the kettledrums in our orchestra!' The dog wagged his tail for the first time in several days.