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The Bremen Town-Musicians
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A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill indefatigably1 for many a long year; but his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he might best save his keep; but the donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. “There,” he thought, “I can surely be town-musician.” When he had walked some distance, he found a hound lying on the road, gasping2 like one who had run till he was tired. “What are you gasping so for, you big fellow?” asked the donkey.

“Ah,” replied the hound, “as I am old, and daily grow weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me, so I took to flight; but now how am I to earn my bread?”

“I tell you what,” said the donkey, “I am going to Bremen, and shall be town-musician there; go with me and engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute3, and you shall beat the kettledrum.”

The hound agreed, and on they went.

Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days! “Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew4 with you?” asked the donkey.

“Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?” answered the cat. “Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps5, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?”

“Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, you can be a town-musician.”

The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three fugitives6 came to a farm-yard, where the cock was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. “Your crow goes through and through one,” said the donkey. “What is the matter?”

“I have been foretelling7 fine weather, because it is the day on which Our Lady washes the Christ-child’s little shirts, and wants to dry them,” said the cock; “but guests are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am crowing at full pitch while I can.”

“Ah, but red-comb,” said the donkey, “you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen; you can find something better than death everywhere: you have a good voice, and if we make music together it must have some quality!”

The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together. They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cock settled themselves in the branches; but the cock flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep he looked round on all four sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark burning; so he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, “If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad.” The hound thought that a few bones with some meat on would do him good too!

So they made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lighted robber’s house. The donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and looked in.

“What do you see, my grey-horse?” asked the cock. “What do I see?” answered the donkey; “a table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves.” “That would be the sort of thing for us,” said the cock. “Yes, yes; ah, how I wish we were there!” said the donkey.

Then the animals took counsel together how they should manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his fore-feet upon the window-ledge, the hound was to jump on the donkey’s back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and lastly the cock was to fly up and perch8 upon the head of the cat.

When this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their music together: the donkey brayed9, the hound barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed; then they burst through the window into the room, so that the glass clattered10! At this horrible din11, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month.

As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and to what suited him. The donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind the door, the cat upon the hearth13 near the warm ashes, and the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof; and being tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep.

When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet, the captain said, “We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;” and ordered one of them to go and examine the house.

The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening14 fiery15 eyes of the cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back-door, but the dog, who lay there sprang up and bit his leg; and as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind12 foot. The cock, too, who had been awakened16 by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, “Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, who spat17 on me and scratched my face with her long claws; and by the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg; and in the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club; and above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out, ‘Bring the rogue18 here to me!’ so I got away as well as I could.”

After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again; but it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more. And the mouth of him who last told this story is still warm.


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1 indefatigably 6b6c75be8ddf4ecbc61b38ebcf047243     
adv.不厌倦地,不屈不挠地
参考例句:
  • AOBO-willing to create a beautiful future by working indefatigably with you! 奥博(AOBO)愿以不懈的努力,与你共同演绎美好的未来! 来自互联网
  • Pursue your object, be it what it will, steadily and indefatigably. 不管追求什么目标,都应坚持不懈。 来自互联网
2 gasping gasping     
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
  • "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗?”“我巴不得能喝点!”
3 lute moCzqe     
n.琵琶,鲁特琴
参考例句:
  • He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
  • He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。
4 askew rvczG     
adv.斜地;adj.歪斜的
参考例句:
  • His glasses had been knocked askew by the blow.他的眼镜一下子被打歪了。
  • Her hat was slightly askew.她的帽子戴得有点斜。
5 stumps 221f9ff23e30fdcc0f64ec738849554c     
(被砍下的树的)树桩( stump的名词复数 ); 残肢; (板球三柱门的)柱; 残余部分
参考例句:
  • Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
  • If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆,如果你不快走,上学又要迟到了。
6 fugitives f38dd4e30282d999f95dda2af8228c55     
n.亡命者,逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分
7 foretelling b78754033064d0679282f59e56fa6732     
v.预言,预示( foretell的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Are you calling or foretelling? 你是否在召唤或者预言? 来自互联网
  • If the conclusion is right, there will be an important complement for the novel's foretelling ways. 这一结论如果成立,将是对《红楼梦》预示手法的一个重要补充。 来自互联网
8 perch 5u1yp     
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于
参考例句:
  • The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
  • Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。
9 brayed 35244603a1b2c5aecb22adfa79460dd4     
v.发出驴叫似的声音( bray的过去式和过去分词 );发嘟嘟声;粗声粗气地讲话(或大笑);猛击
参考例句:
  • He brayed with laughter. 他刺耳地大笑。
  • His donkey threw up his head and brayed loudly. 他的驴扬起头大声叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 clattered 84556c54ff175194afe62f5473519d5a     
发出咔哒声(clatter的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手,刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
  • His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软,刀子当啷一声掉到地上。
11 din nuIxs     
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声
参考例句:
  • The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深,喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
  • They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。
12 hind Cyoya     
adj.后面的,后部的
参考例句:
  • The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
  • Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。
13 hearth n5by9     
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面
参考例句:
  • She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来,在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
  • She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里,打开电灯。
14 glistening glistening     
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。
  • Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼睛中的泪水闪着柔和的光。 来自《用法词典》
15 fiery ElEye     
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的
参考例句:
  • She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
  • His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。
16 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 spat pFdzJ     
n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声
参考例句:
  • Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
  • There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。
18 rogue qCfzo     
n.流氓;v.游手好闲
参考例句:
  • The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
  • They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。


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