THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS_Grimms' Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm...^^..

THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS_Grimms' Fairy Tales by The
Brothers Grimm...^^..

An honest farmer had once an ass(Donkey) that had been a
faithful servant to him a great many years, but was now growing
old and every day more and more unfit for work. His master
therefore was tired of keeping him and began to think of
putting an end to him; but the ass, who saw that some mischief
was in the wind, took himself slyly off, and began his journey
towards the great city, ‘ For there,’ thought he, ‘ I may turn
musician.’

After he had travelled a little way, he spied a dog lying by the
roadside and panting as if he were tired. ‘ What makes you pant
so, my friend ?’ said the ass. ‘ Alas !’ said the dog, ‘ my master
was going to knock me on the head, because I am old and weak,
and can no longer make myself useful to him in hunting; so I ran
away; but what can I do to earn my livelihood ?’ ‘ Hark ye !’
said the ass, ‘ I am going to the great city to turn musician:
suppose you go with me, and try what you can do in the same
way ?’ The dog said he was willing, and they jogged on together.

They had not gone far before they saw a cat sitting in the
middle of the road and making a most rueful face. ‘ Pray,
my good lady,’ said the ass, ‘ what’s the matter with you ?
You look quite out of spirits!’ ‘ Ah, me !’ said the cat, ‘ how
can one be in good spirits when one’s life is in danger?
Because I am beginning to grow old, and had rather lie at
my ease by the fire than run about the house after the
mice, my mistress laid hold of me, and was going to drown me;
and though I have been lucky enough to get away from her,
I do not know what I am to live upon.’

‘ Oh,’ said the ass, ‘ by all means go with us to the great city;
you are a good night singer, and may make your fortune as
a musician.’ The cat was pleased with the thought, and joined
the party. Soon afterwards, as they were passing by a farmyard,
they saw a cock perched upon a gate, and screaming out with
all his might and main. ‘ Bravo !’ said the ass; ‘ upon my word,
you make a famous noise; pray what is all this about ?’

‘ Why,’ said the cock, ‘ I was just now saying that we should have
fine weather for our washing day, and yet my mistress and the
cook don’t thank me for my pains, but threaten to cut off my head
tomorrow, and make broth of me for the guests that are coming
on Sunday !’ ‘ Heaven forbid !’ said the ass, ‘ come with us Master
Chanticleer; it will be better, at any rate, than staying here to
have your head cut off ! Besides, who knows ? If we care to sing
in tune, we may get up some kind of a concert; so come along with
us.’ ‘ With all my heart,’ said the cock: so they all four went on
jollily together.

They could not, however, reach the great city the first day; so
when night came on, they went into a wood to sleep. The ass and the
dog laid themselves down under a great tree, and the cat climbed up
into the branches; while the cock, thinking that the higher he sat
the safer he should be, flew up to the very top of the tree, and
then, according to his custom, before he went to sleep, looked out
on all sides of him to see that everything was well. In doing this, he
saw a far off something bright and shining and calling to his
companions said, ‘ There must be a house no great way off, for I
see a light.’ ‘ If that be the case,’ said the ass, ‘ we had better
change our quarters, for our lodging is not the best in the world !’

‘ Besides,’ added the dog, ‘ I should not be the worse for a bone
or two, or a bit of meat.’ So they walked off together towards
the spot where Chanticleer had seen the light, and as they drew
near it became larger and brighter, till they at last came close
to a house in which a gang of robbers lived. The ass, being the
tallest of the company, marched up to the window and peeped in.
‘ Well, Donkey,’ said Chanticleer, ‘ what do you see ?’ ‘ What do
I see ?’ replied the ass. ‘ Why, I see a table spread with all
kinds of good things, and robbers sitting round it making merry.’

‘ That would be a noble lodging for us,’ said the cock. ‘ Yes,’
said the ass, ‘ if we could only get in’; so they consulted
together how they should contrive to get the robbers out; and
at last they hit upon a plan. The ass placed himself upright on
his hind legs, with his forefeet resting against the window; the
dog got upon his back; the cat scrambled up to the dog’s
shoulders, and the cock flew up and sat upon the cat’s head.
When all was ready a signal was given, and they began their
music. The ass brayed, the dog barked, the cat mewed, and
the cock screamed; and then they all broke through the window
at once, and came tumbling into the room, amongst the broken
glass, with a most hideous clatter !

The robbers, who had been not a little frightened by the
opening concert, had now no doubt that some frightful
hob goblin had broken in upon them, and scampered away as
fast as they could. The coast once clear, our travellers soon
sat down and dispatched what the robbers had left, with as
much eagerness as if they had not expected to eat again for a
month. As soon as they had satisfied themselves, they put out
the lights, and each once more sought out a resting place to his
own liking.

The donkey laid himself down upon a heap of straw in the yard,
the dog stretched himself upon a mat behind the door, the cat
rolled herself up on the hearth before the warm ashes, and
the cock perched upon a beam on the top of the house; and, as
they were all rather tired with their journey, they soon fell
asleep. But about midnight, when the robbers saw from a far
that the lights were out and that all seemed quiet, they began
to think that they had been in too great a hurry to run away;
and one of them, who was bolder than the rest, went to see what
was going on.

Finding everything still, he marched into the kitchen, and groped
about till he found a match in order to light a candle; and then,
espying the glittering fiery eyes of the cat, he mistook them for
live coals, and held the match to them to light it. But the cat,
not understanding this joke, sprang at his face, and spat, and
scratched at him. This frightened him dreadfully, and away he
ran to the back door; but there the dog jumped up and bit him in
the leg; and as he was crossing over the yard the ass kicked him;
and the cock, who had been awakened by the noise, crowed with
all his might.

At this the robber ran back as fast as he could to his comrades,
and told the captain how a horrid witch had got into the house, and
had spat at him and scratched his face with her long bony fingers;
how a man with a knife in his hand had hidden himself behind the
door, and stabbed him in the leg; how a black monster stood in
the yard and struck him with a club, and how the devil had sat upon
the top of the house and cried out, ‘ Throw the rascal up here !’
After this the robbers never dared to go back to the house; but
the musicians were so pleased with their quarters that they took
up their abode there; and there they are, I dare say, at this
very day.

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Norshahuddin Edited Feb 2014...^^..