54 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
54 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
THE MUSICIANS OF BREMEN
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Once upon a time . . . an old donkey was ill-treated by his master. Tired
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of such unkindness, he decided to run away, and when he heard that Bremen was
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looking for singers with the town band, he decided that someone with a fine
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braying voice like his might be accepted.
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As he went along the road, the donkey met a skinny dog, covered with sores.
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"Come with me. If you have a good bark, you'll find a job with the band
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too. Just wait and see!"
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A little later, a stray cat, no longer able to catch mice, joined them and
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the trio trotted hopefully on towards the town. As they passed a farmyard,
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they stopped to admire an elderly cockerel who, with outstretched wings, was
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crowing to the skies.
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"You sing well," they told him. "What are you so happy about?"
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"Happy?" muttered the cockerel with tears in his eyes. "They want to put me
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in the pot and make broth of me. I'm singing as hard as I can today, for
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tomorrow I'll be gone." But the donkey told him, "Run away with us. With a
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voice like yours, you'll be famous in Bremen!"
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Now there were four of them. The way was long, night fell, and very
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frightened, the four creatures found themselves in a thick forest.
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They scarcely knew whether to press on or to hide in some caves and rest.
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Suddenly, in the distance they saw a light amongst the trees. It came from a
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little cottage and they crept up to the window. The donkey placed his front
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hoofs on the window ledge. Anxious to see, the dog jumped on the donkey's
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back, the cat climbed onto the dog and the cockerel flew on top of the cat to
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watch what was going on inside.
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Now, the cottage was the hideaway of a gang of bandits who were busily
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celebrating their latest robbery. The hungry donkey and his friends became
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excited when they saw the food on the table. Upset by the Jittery crew on his
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back, the donkey stuck his head through the window and toppled his three
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companions on to the lamp. The light went out and the room rang with the
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braying of the donkey who had cut his nose on the glass, the barking of the
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dog and the snarling of the cat. The cockerel screeched along with the others.
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Taken completely by surprise, the terrified bandits fled screaming: "The
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Devil! The Devil!" And their abandoned meal ended up in the four friends'
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stomachs.
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Later, however, just as the donkey and his companions were dropping off to
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sleep, one of the bandits crept back to the now quiet house and went in to
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find out what had taken place. He opened the door, and with his pistol in his
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hand, he stepped trembling towards the fire. However, mistaking the glow of
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the cat's eyes for burning coals, he thrust a candle between them and
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instantly the furious cat sank its claws into the bandit's face. The man fell
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backwards on to the dog, dropping his gun, which went off, and the animal's
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sharp teeth sank into his leg. When the donkey saw the bandit's figure at the
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door, he gave a tremendous kick, sending the man flying right through the
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doorway. The cockerel greeted this feat with a grim crowing sound.
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"Run!" screamed the bandit. "Run! A horrible witch in there scratched my
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face, a demon bit me on the leg and a monster beat me with a stick! And . . ."
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But the other bandits were no longer listening, for they had taken to their
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heels and fled.
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And so the donkey, the dog, the cat and the cockerel took over the house
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without any trouble and, with the booty left behind by the bandits, always had
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food on the table, and lived happy and contented for many years.
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