the story of: the bremen town musicians

Today, I'm so happy to be sharing with you, the story of the Bremen Town Musicians. This story goes back to the Brothers Grimm, but has been told many times by many talents (even the Muppets!). For those who haven't heard this story before, you may recognize the characters, because they usually look a bit like this:

I'm going to share my own version of the story, with some shadow puppet pictures to accompany it. (You'll have to forgive the photos...The lighting was interesting to get the shadows, and taking pics of this sort is still new to me!) And then very soon, I'll have a little download so that you can make your own shadow puppets and pass this tale on to others. Here we go...

Once there was an donkey. His owner decided to get rid of him, and so he was without a home or a purpose. Knowing that he had some musical talent, however, he set out to Bremen Town to become a musician.

Along the way, the donkey encountered a dog, who, like the donkey, no longer had a home or a purpose. The donkey felt for the dog, and invited him to come along with him to Bremen. He even suggested that the dog might become a musician as well.

Soon, the two new friends came upon a cat, all alone. She seemed so sad, but had a lovely voice, so they invited her to join up with them on their way to Bremen Town. And so she did.

Before long they met a very distraught-looking rooster. There was a purpose planned for him, but it involved a bath in noodle soup. The musical group asked the rooster if he would like to come along to Bremen Town, for he could certainly add to their sound.

By this time it was getting late, and the newly-formed band was getting quite hungry. They spotted a house with smoke rising from the chimney, and a warm glow of lights coming from the window. The animals climbed onto each others' backs so that they could peek through the window, and they began to sing. For they thought that perhaps the people in the house would reward them with some food and a place to rest.

Little did they know that inside the house were two robbers. When they heard the animals singing they were so started that they ran from the house, thinking that it was the sound of ghosts. With the house suddenly abandoned, the animals went inside, had the dinner that the robbers had left, and curled up and went to sleep.

One of the robbers came back to check on the house, not believing that there were really ghosts. But in the dark, he startled the animals. Suddenly, there was a whole lot of commotion! Legs kicked, teeth bit, claws scratched and voices cackled. The robber was convinced, not that there were ghosts, but some horrible creature, much worse! He ran out of there, and never returned.

The animals decided that this new house was much nicer than Bremen Town could be, and so they stayed and sang and were friends for the rest of their lives.

It seems that I have a knack for choosing stories that feature breaking and entering. Never mind that though. What I love most about this story is that these four animals (whose lives looked pretty dim) formed a bond, worked together, and it ended up being a better situation than they would have ever looked for otherwise. Funny how that happens sometimes, huh?