Page 112 - Moral Stories Vol 6

Once there was a man who wanted to kill his donkey because it had become old and useless. So the donkey ran away and headed for the town of Bremen. He thought he would become a musician.
On the way he met an old dog who complained, “My master wanted to kill me because I have become useless for the hunt. So I ran away.” The donkey said, “Come with me to Bremen and become a musician, too.” The dog agreed and went with him. Soon afterwards a cat joined them. She was old and preferred to sit by the fire rather than catch mice. Her mistress wanted to drown her.
When the three of them came to a farm, a cockerel1 crowed as loudly as he could. “What’s the matter? Why do you crow so loudly?” asked the donkey. “Visitors are coming tomorrow....”, said the cockerel, “...and the mistress2 ordered the cook to use me in the soup. So now I am crowing while I still can”. The donkey said, “Come with us to Bremen and become a musician”.
The cockerel liked the idea, and the four of them continued on their journey and after a while paused under a big tree to catch their breath. The donkey and the dog laid down under the tree, the cat climbed onto the branches3 and the cockerel flew right to the top.
From there he cried, “There must be a house not
far from here! I can see a light shining through a
window.” So they all set off for the house. The donkey,
being the tallest, looked through the window. “I can
see a table laid with food. Robbers are sitting at the table and enjoying themselves” he said.
103