The Bremen Town Musicians (Campfire Story)

Once upon a time, there was a DONKEY who had carried sacks of grain to the mill for many long years. But now he was old and tired, and his master said, 'That old DONKEY isn't worth his oats anymore.'

The DONKEY heard him, and he didn't wait around to find out what that meant. He trotted off down the road toward the town of Bremen. 'I have a fine, loud voice,' he said to himself. 'I'll become a town musician!'

He hadn't gone far when he found an old hunting DOG lying by the road, panting. 'What's wrong, friend?' asked the DONKEY.

'I'm too old to hunt,' said the DOG, 'so my master doesn't want me anymore.'

'Come with me to Bremen,' said the DONKEY. 'We'll be musicians. I'll sing, and you can bark the beat.' So the DOG came along.

Soon they found a CAT sitting on a fence, with a face as long as three rainy days. 'I'm too old to catch mice,' said the CAT, 'and I'd rather sit by the fire. So my mistress doesn't want me anymore.'

'Come with us to Bremen,' said the DONKEY. 'You know all about night music.' So the CAT came along.

Then they passed a farmyard, where a ROOSTER sat on the gate, crowing with all his might. 'The cook is making soup tomorrow,' said the ROOSTER, 'and I'm the soup. So I'm crowing while I still can.'

'Come with us to Bremen,' said the DONKEY. 'Anything is better than soup.' So the ROOSTER came along too.

Bremen was a long way off. When night came, they were deep in a dark forest. The DONKEY and the DOG lay down under a big tree, the CAT climbed up into the branches, and the ROOSTER flew to the very top. From up there, he saw a light shining through the trees.

'A house!' said the ROOSTER. So they all crept through the woods toward the light. The DONKEY, being the tallest, peeked through the window.

'What do you see?' whispered the others.

'I see a table full of food,' whispered the DONKEY. 'Roast chicken, sausages, bread, and pie. And sitting around it, a gang of ROBBERS, counting their stolen gold.'

The four friends put their heads together and made a plan. The DONKEY stood with his front hooves on the windowsill. The DOG climbed onto the donkey's back. The CAT climbed onto the dog's back. And the ROOSTER flew up and perched on the cat's head. Then, all together, they made their music.

point to each group in turn, then all four at once

The ROBBERS had never heard such a horrible noise in their lives. They were sure a monster was coming through the window, and they ran out the door and into the forest without looking back.

So the four musicians sat down at the table and ate the best supper of their lives. Then they blew out the candle and went to sleep. The DONKEY lay in the yard, the DOG behind the door, the CAT by the warm ashes in the fireplace, and the ROOSTER up on the roof.

Around midnight, the chief of the ROBBERS sent one man back to see if the monster was gone. The house was dark and quiet. The robber crept into the kitchen to light a candle. He saw two glowing coals in the fireplace and leaned down to light a match on them. But they weren't coals. They were the eyes of the CAT!

The CAT spat and scratched his face. The robber ran for the back door, and the DOG bit his leg. He ran across the yard, and the DONKEY gave him a mighty kick. And up on the roof, the ROOSTER woke up and crowed with all his might.

The robber ran all the way back to the others. 'There's a horrible witch in the kitchen who scratched me with her long nails! Behind the door there's a man with a knife who stabbed my leg! In the yard there's a black monster who beat me with a club! And up on the roof, the judge was shouting, Bring the crook to me-e-e!'

The ROBBERS never went back to that house again. And the four friends liked it so much that they never did get to Bremen. They stayed in that little house in the woods for the rest of their days, and every night they played their music together, as loud as they pleased.

one last time, all four groups together

Storyteller tips: give each side of the campfire one animal, and have everyone scream together for the ROBBERS. The big moment is the animal pyramid at the window, so point to each group in turn, then bring all four in at once. The robber's mixed-up report at the end is the last laugh, so act it out.

Retold from the Brothers Grimm, 1819. There's a statue of the four animals standing on each other's backs outside the town hall in Bremen, Germany, and people rub the donkey's front legs for luck.