e, but
good advice is scarce; tell me where I shall go to?"

"Come with us two to Bremen; you understand serenading; you also can
become a Town Musician."

The cat thought it a capital idea, and went with them. Soon after the
three runaways came to a farmyard, and there sat a cock on the gate,
crowing with might and main.

"You crow loud enough to deafen one," said the donkey; "what is the
matter with you?"

"I prophesied fair weather," said the cock, "because it is our good
mistress's washing-day, and she wants to dry the clothes; but because
to-morrow is Sunday, and company is coming, the mistress has no pity
on me, and has told the cook to put me into the soup to-morrow, and I
must have my head cut off to-night: so now I am crowing with all my
might as long as I can."

"O you old Redhead," said the donkey, "you had better come with us; we
are going to Bremen, where you will certainly find something better
than having your head cut off; you have a good voice, and if we all
make music together, it will be something striking."

The cock liked the proposal, and they went on, all four together.

But they could not reach the city of Bremen in one day, and they came
in the evening to a wood, where they agreed to spend the night. The
donkey and the dog laid themselves down under a great tree, but the
cat and the cock went higher--the cock flying up to the topmost
branch, where he was safest. Before he went to sleep he looked round
towards all the four points of the compass, and he thought he saw a
spark shining in the distance. He called to his companions that there
must be a house not far off; for he could see a light. The donkey
said: "Then we must rise and go to it, for the lodgings here are very
bad;" and the dog said, "Yes; a few bones with a little flesh on them
would do me good." So they took the road in the direction where the
light was, and soon saw it shine brighter; and it got larger and
larger till they came to a brilliantly-illumined robber's house. The
donkey, being the biggest, got up at the window and looked in.

"What do you see, Greybeard?" said the cock.

"What do I see?" answered the donkey: "a table covered with beautiful
food and drink, and robbers are sitting round it and enjoying
themselves."

"That would do nicely for us," said the cock.

"Yes, indeed, if we were only there," replied the donkey.

The animals then consulted together how they should manage to drive
out the robbers, till