ched up to the window
and peeped in.

"Well," said the cock, "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," rejoined the ass, "if we could only get in."

They laid their heads together to see how they could get the robbers
out, and at last they hit upon a plan. The ass set himself upright on
his hind-legs, with his fore-feet resting on 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. When all were ready the cock gave
the signal, and up struck the whole band of music. The ass brayed, the
dog barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crew. Then they all broke
through the window at once, and came tumbling into the room amongst
the broken glass, with a hideous clatter. The robbers, who had been
not a little frightened by the opening concert, had now no doubt that
some frightful hobgoblins had broken in upon them, and scampered away
as fast as they could.

The coast once clear, the travellers soon sat down and despatched what
the robbers had left, with as much eagerness as if they had not hoped
to eat again for a month. As soon as they had had enough they put out
the lights, and each once more sought out a resting-place to his
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; the cock perched upon
a beam on the top of the house; and as all were rather tired with
their journey, they soon fell fast asleep.

About midnight, however, when the robbers saw from afar that the
lights were out and that all was 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. Espying the glittering
fiery eyes of the cat, he mistook them for live coals, and held the
match to them to light it. The cat, however, not understanding such a
joke, sprang at his face, and spat, and scratched him. This
frightened him dreadfully, and away he ran to the back door, where the
dog jumped up and bit him in the leg. As he was crossing over the yard
the ass