The Bremen Town Musicians

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　A man had a donkey, who for long years had untiringly carried sacks to the mill, but whose strength was now failing, so that he was becoming less and less able to work. Then his master thought that he would no longer feed him, but the donkey noticed that it was not a good wind that was blowing and ran away, setting forth¹ on the road to Bremen, where he thought he could become a town musician. When he had gone a little way he found a hunting dog lying in the road, who was panting like one who had run himself tired.

　　"Why are you panting so, Grab-Hold?" asked the donkey.

　　"Oh," said the dog, "because I am old and am getting weaker every day and can no longer go hunting, my master wanted to kill me, so I ran off; but now how should I earn my bread?"

　　"Do you know what," said the donkey, "I am going to Bremen and am going to become a town musician there. Come along and take up music too. I'll play the lute², and you can beat the drums."

　　The dog was satisfied with that, and they went further. It didn't take long, before they came to a cat sitting by the side of the road and making a face like three days of rainy weather. "What has crossed you, old Beard-Licker?" said the donkey.

　　"Oh," answered the cat, "who can be cheerful when his neck is at risk? I am getting on in years, and my teeth are getting dull, so I would rather sit behind the stove and purr than to chase around after mice. Therefore my mistress wanted to drown me, but I took off. Now good advice is scarce. Where should I go?"

　　"Come with us to Bremen. After all, you understand night music. You can become a town musician there." The cat agreed and went along.

　　Then the three refugees came to a farmyard, and the rooster of the house was sitting on the gate crying with all his might.

　　"Your cries pierce one's marrow⁴ and bone," said the donkey. "What are you up to?"

　　"I just prophesied⁵ good weather," said the rooster, "because it is Our Dear Lady's Day, when she washes the Christ Child's shirts and wants to dry them; but because Sunday guests are coming tomorrow, the lady of the house has no mercy and told the cook that she wants to eat me tomorrow in the soup, so I am supposed to let them cut off my head this evening. Now I am going to cry at the top of my voice as long as I can."

　　"Hey now, Red-Head," said the donkey, "instead come away with us. We're going to Bremen. You can always find something better than death. You have a good voice, and when we make music together, it will be very pleasing."

　　The rooster was happy with the proposal, and all four went off together. However, they could not reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came into a forest, where they would spend the night. The donkey and the dog lay down under a big tree, but the cat and the rooster took to the branches. The rooster flew right to the top, where it was safest for him. Before falling asleep he looked around once again in all four directions, and he thought that he saw a little spark burning in the distance. He hollered to his companions, that there must be a house not too far away, for a light was shining.

　　The donkey said, "Then we must get up and go there, because the lodging⁶ here is poor." The dog said that he could do well with a few bones with a little meat on them. Thus they set forth toward the place where the light was, and they soon saw it glistening⁷ more brightly, and it became larger and larger, until they came to the front of a brightly lit robbers' house.

　　The donkey, the largest of them, approached the window and looked in.

　　"What do you see, Gray-Horse?" asked the rooster.

　　"What do I see?" answered the donkey. "A table set with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting there enjoying themselves."

　　"That would be something for us," said the rooster.

　　"Ee-ah, ee-ah, oh, if we were there!" said the donkey.

　　Then the animals discussed how they might drive the robbers away, and at last they came upon a plan. The donkey was to stand with his front feet on the window, the dog to jump on the donkey's back, the cat to climb onto the dog, and finally the rooster would fly up and sit on the cat's head. When they had done that, at a signal they began to make their music all together. The donkey brayed⁸, the dog barked, the cat meowed and the rooster crowed. Then they crashed through the window into the room, shattering the panes⁹.

　　The robbers jumped up at the terrible bellowing¹⁰, thinking that a ghost was coming in, and fled in great fear out into the woods. Then the four companions seated themselves at the table and freely partook of the leftovers¹¹, eating as if they would get nothing more for four weeks.

　　When the four minstrels were finished, they put out the light and looked for a place to sleep, each according to his nature and his desire. The donkey lay down on the manure¹² pile, the dog behind the door, the cat on the hearth¹³ next to the warm ashes, and the rooster sat on the beam of the roof. Because they were tired from their long journey, they soon fell asleep.

　　When midnight had passed and the robbers saw from the distance that the light was no longer burning in the house, and everything appeared to be quiet, the captain said, "We shouldn't have let ourselves be chased off," and he told one of them to go back and investigate the house. The one they sent found everything still, and went into the kitchen to strike a light. He mistook the cat's glowing, fiery¹⁴ eyes for live coals, and held a sulfur¹⁵ match next to them, so that it would catch fire. But the cat didn't think this was funny and jumped into his face, spitting, and scratching.

　　He was terribly frightened and ran toward the back door, but the dog, who was lying there, jumped up and bit him in the leg. When he ran across the yard past the manure pile, the donkey gave him a healthy blow with his hind³ foot, and the rooster, who had been awakened¹⁶ from his sleep by the noise and was now alert, cried down from the beam, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

　　Then the robber ran as fast as he could back to his captain and said, "Oh, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, she blew at me and scratched my face with her long fingers. And there is a man with a knife standing¹⁷ in front of the door, and he stabbed me in the leg. And a black monster is lying in the yard, and it struck at me with a wooden club. And the judge is sitting up there on the roof, and he was calling out, 'Bring the rascal¹⁸ here.' Then I did what I could to get away."

　　From that time forth, the robbers did not dare go back into the house. However, the four Bremen Musicians liked it so well there, that they never to left it again. And the person who just told that, his mouth is still warm.#p#副标题#e#

        　从前，一个农夫养了一头驴。这头驴为他辛勤劳作已经有许多年了，但无情的岁月加上多年的劳作，使他现在衰老了，干活一天不如一天，越来越难以胜任以前的工作了。因此，他的主人不想再留着他，准备将他杀掉。可是，驴子却看出了主人的心意，於是悄悄地跑了出去，一路向城里行进。

　　他想：「到了那里，我也许能当一名音乐家了。」

　　走了一段路，他发现路边躺着一条狗，像是极度疲劳一样，不停地喘着气。驴子上前问道：「朋友，你怎么气喘成这个样子啊？」这条狗答道：「哎！因为我老了，气力也不足了，再也不能随我的主人一同出去打猎，所以主人准备把我打死。我就跑了出来，可现在我靠甚么来谋生呢？」驴说道：「这样吧，我准备到城里去当音乐家，要是你愿意和我一起去的话，我们倒是志同道合，你愿意吗？」狗马上说他愿意一起去，这样，他们成了同路人。

　　走不多远，他们看见一只猫蹲在路中央，一副愁眉苦脸的样子。驴上前说道：「这位女士，请告诉我们，你这是怎么了？你怎么这样一付没精打采的样子。」「我嘛！」猫歎了口气说，「谁的生命有了危险，他的精神还能好得起来吗？就因为我老了，只想躺在火炉边休息，不想去抓房里的老鼠，我的女主人就抓住我，要把我淹死。尽管我幸运地从她那儿逃了出来，可我不知道这以后靠甚么维持生计。」「好吧！你就和我们一道进城去，晚上你是一个很好的歌手，当一个音乐家会带给你好运的。」猫听了这一建议，愉快地加入了他们的行列。

　　走不多久，他们经过一个农庄，看见一只公鸡栖息在一扇门上放开嗓门啼叫着。「妙啊！」驴子说，「你的声音挺不错的，能说说这是唱的甚么吗？」「唉！」公鸡回答道，「我现在是说今天是个好天气，正好是洗衣日，我的女主人和厨师不仅不感谢我这番苦心，还准备明天把我杀了，给星期天来的客人煨鸡汤喝。」「但愿不会发生这样的事！」驴子说道，「雄鸡，与我们一起到城里去吧！不管怎样，总比待在这儿等着杀头要好得多！再说也没人知道。要是我们轮着来唱歌，我们就能组织一场音乐会了。加入我们的行列吧！」公鸡说道：「好吧！我一定会尽心尽意的。」他们四个一起高兴地踏上了进城的路。

　　然而，城里不是一天能走到的，所以当天黑下来时，他们只好走进一片树林去安歇。驴子和狗睡在了一棵大树下，猫爬上树睡在树杈上，而公鸡则认为待的地方越高越安全，因此他飞到了树顶上，他还有一个习惯，就是在睡觉前要看看周围的每个东西是不是有甚么不对劲。他挺直脖子一看，发现远处有光线射过来，马上对他的同伴们叫喊道：「不远的地方一定有一所房子，因为我看到了灯光。」驴子说：「如果真有房子，那我们最好还是换个地方睡吧。现在睡的地方太糟糕了。」狗又接着说：「而且，说不定还能在那儿找到几根骨头或是一些肉哩！」於是，他们一起向公鸡看见的方向走去。随着他们走近，灯光变得越来越明亮了。最后，他们来到一座强盗住的房子前。

　　他们当中驴子的个头最大，他走到窗户跟前偷偷朝房子里看去。公鸡问道：「驴儿，你看见甚么了？」「我看见甚么了？」驴子重複说道，「我看见一张桌子上摆满了各种好吃的东西，强盗们正高兴地坐在桌子周围。」公鸡说道：「但愿这是为我们准备的」。驴子也说道：「是啊！只要我们能进去就成。」接着，他们一起商量怎样才能把强盗赶走。最后，他们想出一个办法：驴子后腿站立、前腿搭到窗台上，狗站在驴的背上，猫又爬在狗的背上，而公鸡则飞起来坐在猫的头上。他们站好后，约定了一个信号，然后一齐鸣叫起来。驴子哇呜哇呜地吼叫，狗汪汪狂地吠，猫呜呜呜地叫喊，公鸡尖声啼鸣。他们又同时打破窗户，翻进了房间里。玻璃的碎裂声，可怕的喧闹声，把强盗们完全吓坏了，惊慌失措中，以为是可怕的妖怪找上了他们，拚命地逃了出去。

　　一切归於平静后，这几个闯荡江湖的不速之客坐了下来，匆匆吃起了强盗们留下的食物，那狼吞虎嚥的样子就像他们已经一个月没吃东西似的。他们吃饱之后，把灯灭了，各自依自己的习惯找到了休息的地方，驴子躺在院子里的一堆草上，狗趴在门后面的一个垫子上，猫蜷曲在仍有炉灰余热的壁炉前，公鸡栖息在房顶的屋樑上。他们走了这许多路，已相当睏倦，不久就睡着了。

　　到了半夜，强盗们从远处看见房子没了灯光，一切都显得很安静，想到自己在惊慌中是否逃得太匆忙了。其中一个胆子大一些的强盗准备去看看。当他走进厨房时，没有发现异案情况，便摸索着找到了一盒火柴想把蜡烛点燃。偶然看见了猫那双闪烁着火焰般的亮光的眼睛，他误认为是没有熄灭的炉中炭火，便将火柴凑上前去想点燃它。但猫却不懂得开玩笑，起身猛地向强盗的脸上扑去，又是啐又是抓。那强盗吓了一大跳，急忙撤腿就往门外跑。可到门口却被那条狗扑上来在腿上咬了一口，穿过院子时驴子又踢了他一脚。公鸡此时被吵闹声惊醒了，拚命地叫了起来，那强盗被唬得连滚带爬地跑回了树林中同伴的藏身处，心有余悸地对强盗头子说：「多恐怖啊，一个可怕的巫婆待在屋子里，她向我的脸上吐唾沫，又用那长长的，瘦骨伶伶的爪子抓我的脸；门后面藏着一个人，手里拿着一把刀，一下子刺在了我的腿上；院子里站着一个黑色的怪物，他拿着一根大棒向我乱打；房屋的顶樑上还坐了一个恶魔，他大喊道：'把那个恶棍扔到这儿来！'」从此，强盗们再也不敢回那屋子了，而那些音乐家们也就高兴地在里面住了下来。我敢说他们现在仍住在那里面呢。