The Town Musicians of Bremen
Long ago, a farmer had a donkey that had carried his heavy bags for many years. Now the donkey was old and weak, and the farmer decided to get rid of him. The donkey ran away before anything bad could happen. He set off for the city of Bremen. "I have a good voice," he thought. "I can become a town musician."
On the road, he met an old dog lying by the side of the path. The dog was out of breath. "My master wants to get rid of me because I can't hunt anymore," the dog said sadly. "Come with me," said the donkey. "We will make music together." A little later, they met a cat with a long face, and then a rooster who was about to be cooked for Sunday dinner. Both of them joined the group. They agreed that anything was better than staying where nobody wanted them.
By evening, the four friends had not reached Bremen, so they decided to spend the night in a forest. The rooster flew to the top of a tree and saw a light in the distance. It was a small house, and inside it, a gang of robbers was sitting at a table full of food. The hungry animals wanted that dinner. They made a plan. The donkey stood at the window, the dog climbed on his back, the cat jumped on the dog, and the rooster sat on top. Then they all made their loudest noise at the same moment.
The robbers screamed and ran into the forest, sure that a terrible monster had come. The animals sat down and ate everything on the table. Then each one found a comfortable place to sleep. Later that night, one robber came back to check the house. In the dark, the cat scratched his face, the dog bit his leg, the donkey kicked him as he ran across the yard, and the rooster crowed loudly from the roof. The robber ran back to his friends and said the house was full of witches. After that, the robbers never returned. The four friends liked the little house so much that they stayed there for the rest of their lives, and they never did reach Bremen.
Vocabulary
- get rid of
- to make someone or something go away because you do not want them — We need to get rid of the old chairs in the garage.
- set off
- to start a journey — They set off for the mountains early in the morning.
- out of breath
- not able to breathe easily because you have been running or working hard — I was out of breath after climbing the stairs.
- a long face
- a sad or unhappy look on someone's face — Why do you have such a long face today?
- gang
- a group of people who do bad things together — A gang of thieves broke into the shop last night.
- robbers
- people who take things from others by using force or by breaking in — The robbers took the money and ran away.
- scratched
- to cut or rub the skin with something sharp, like nails — The kitten scratched my hand while we were playing.
- kicked
- to hit someone or something hard with your foot — He kicked the ball over the fence.
- witches
- women in stories who use magic, often to do bad things — The children dressed as witches for the party.
- monster
- a large, frightening creature in stories — The little boy was afraid of the monster under his bed.