Once upon a time, a donkey had grown old and tired. His owner didn't want him anymore. "I may be old," said the donkey, "but I can still sing. I'll go to Bremen and become a town musician."

On the road, he met an old dog, lying by the side of the path, panting.

"What's the matter?" asked the donkey.

"My master says I'm too old to hunt," said the dog sadly.

"Come with me to Bremen!" said the donkey. "You can play the drums, and I'll play the lute. We'll be musicians together."

So off they went, and before long, they met a cat sitting on a fence, looking miserable.

"What's wrong with you?" asked the donkey.

"I'm too old to catch mice," said the cat, "and my mistress wants to get rid of me."

"Join us!" said the donkey. "You can sing night music. We're going to Bremen to be musicians."

Further down the road, they found a rooster sitting on a gate, crowing with all his might.

"Why are you making such a racket?" asked the donkey.

"Tomorrow is Sunday," said the rooster, "and the cook said she's going to put me in the soup! I'm crowing while I still can!"

"Don't let them make soup of you!" said the donkey. "Come to Bremen with us. You have a fine voice."

So the four of them traveled together — the donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster. But Bremen was far away, and as night fell, they needed a place to sleep.

Through the trees, they saw a light. They crept closer and found a cottage. The donkey, being the tallest, looked in the window.

"What do you see?" asked the rooster.

"A table covered with food and drink," said the donkey, "and three robbers sitting around it, counting their gold."

The four friends made a plan. The donkey stood at the window. The dog climbed on the donkey's back. The cat climbed on the dog's back. And the rooster flew up and perched on the cat's head.

Then, all together, they made their music. The donkey brayed. The dog barked. The cat yowled. The rooster crowed. And then they crashed through the window.

The noise was so terrible, so ear-splitting, so absolutely dreadful, that the robbers thought a monster was attacking them. They screamed and ran into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them.

The four musicians sat down at the table and ate until they were full. Then the donkey lay down in the yard, the dog stretched out behind the door, the cat curled up by the fire, and the rooster perched on the roof beam.

Later that night, the robbers sent one man back to check on the cottage. He crept inside in the dark. He saw the cat's glowing eyes and thought they were coals in the fireplace. He bent down to light a match, and the cat scratched his face. He stumbled backward into the dog, who bit his leg. He ran through the yard, and the donkey kicked him. And the rooster crowed from the rooftop, "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!"

The robber ran back to his friends. "There's a horrible witch in there who scratched me, a man with a knife who stabbed me, a giant who hit me with a club, and a judge on the roof screaming, 'BRING THE CROOK TO ME!'"

The robbers never came back.

And the four musicians? They never did make it to Bremen. They didn't need to. They had found a home together, and that was music enough.