Once upon a time, in a little green village 🎵, there lived a donkey 🎵. For many long years, he worked very hard, patiently carrying heavy sacks of grain to the mill. But time went by, and the donkey grew old. His legs weren’t as strong as they used to be, and his back was tired from all that work. When he realized that his master didn’t look at him with a kind smile anymore, the donkey thought, “Oh my, it is time to take matters into my own hooves!” Without waiting another minute, he packed his bags 🎵 and set off 🎵 with a spring in his step toward the big city of Bremen. He thought that since he had such a loud, beautiful voice, he could easily become a real city musician!

After walking a good distance, he spotted a hunting dog lying by the path. The dog was panting heavily 🎵, as if he had run all the way around the world.

“Why are you panting so loudly, my doggy friend?” asked the donkey curiously.

“Ah, my dear,” sighed the dog sadly. “I am old now, and I don’t have the strength to chase animals on a hunt. My master decided he doesn’t need me anymore, so I had to run away. How will I ever earn my food now?”

The donkey smiled warmly and said,

“You know what? I am going to Bremen right now to start a band and become a famous musician! Come with me. I will play the lute, and you can keep the rhythm on the drum. What do you say?”

The dog wagged his tail happily 🎵, jumped for joy, and from then on, they traveled together. Clip, clop, clip, clop went the donkey’s hooves 🎵; pitter-patter, pitter-patter went the dog’s paws!

A little while later, our travelers saw a cat sitting on a fence 🎵. Oh, what an unhappy face he had! His whiskers drooped, and a tear welled up in his eye.

“What happened to you, old whiskers?” called out the donkey.

“Oh, poor me 🎵!” meowed the cat. “My teeth aren’t as sharp as they used to be, and my paws aren’t as fast. Instead of chasing mice, I just want to warm myself by the fire and purr. My mistress wanted to get rid of me, so I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. What am I going to do now?”

“Don’t worry!” the donkey shouted happily. “You have a wonderful ear for music, and you know everything about nighttime kitty singing! Come with us to Bremen, and you can be our singer!”

The cat purred with delight 🎵, shook his fur, and joined the merry band.