A Grimm Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, a rooster, a dog, a donkey and a cat, realizing they’d outlived their usefulness and under threat of being eaten or killed, set out toward Bremen. Their plan was to make a living as musicians: the Town Musicians of Bremen.

an image of the town musicians of Bremen, in this case, reading books
On the way, they passed a cottage where a group of thieves lived and, looking inside, saw them enjoying a feast.
The four animals formed a pyramid and made loud noises—the rooster crowed, the dog barked, the donkey brayed, and the cat meowed—and the thieves were so scared they ran away. The animals enjoyed the dinner themselves and then settled in to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the burglars went back to the cottage and sent one man in to investigate. He wanted to light a candle, so he went into the kitchen. Seeing the eyes of the cat and mistaking them for hot coals, he tried to light a match against them. Of course the cat responded by spitting and scratching. This woke the others, and the dog bit the thief, the donkey kicked him on the way out the door, and the rooster crowed at him from the roof as he escaped.

I spotted this image of the town musicians of Bremen in the window of a very old half-timbered house in Schnoor.
The burglar ran back to his friends and told them that a witch had scratched him with her fingernails, a man had knifed him, a monster had hit him with a club, and a judge on the roof had screamed at him.
The thieves heard his story and gave up on the cottage, so the animals could stay and lived happily ever after.
The Town Musicians of Bremen
The city of Bremen loves this Grimm fairy tale, and references to the Town Musicians of Bremen are scattered throughout the old center. When my husband and I visited recently and learned the story, we started seeing the images everywhere we went. It was fun to spot them and take pictures. The most famous is right outside the Rathaus, and the donkey’s hoofs and snout are shiny from people rubbing them for luck.

statue of the Town Musicians of Bremen beside the Rathaus in Bremen
In the original story, the donkey intends to play the lute, the dog plans to play the kettledrum, the cat will play “night music” (Nachtmusik) and the rooster will sing. Some of the images depict them with instruments, or else standing on each other’s backs.
Two things are wrong with the story of the Town Musicians of Bremen, in my opinion. First, they never actually arrive in Bremen. And, second, the story never says whether they ever actually become musicians either. It ends with
…[the house] suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it anymore.

This image of the town musicians of Bremen depicts the animals as people in animal costumes playing instruments. It’s in a very narrow alley in the Schnoor area.
So did they perform? And did they visit Bremen? It’s such a wonderfully random story, isn’t it?
24 Comments
Nina
May 13, 2016 at 7:59 pmIt’s a lovely story! And good for Bremen to make the story their own.
Rachel
May 13, 2016 at 9:28 pmIt is nice, isn’t it!
Jason Smith
May 13, 2016 at 9:55 pmGreat story! Do you mind me rebloggging your post onto mine and profile this as genre of the week? That would be a great addition. Please let me know if it’s ok. Thanks!
Rachel
May 13, 2016 at 11:50 pmSure, as long as it states that it was first published here by me, and includes a do-follow link back here! Thanks!
Brooke of Passport Couture
May 15, 2016 at 9:11 pmWhat a fun fact to learn about a city that is so drawn to this specific fairy tale! I loved seeing all of the statues and how the story is retold through artwork throughout the city.
Rachel
May 15, 2016 at 11:30 pmThanks, Brooke!
[email protected] The British Berliner
May 16, 2016 at 9:15 am‘Love this post!
I have been to Bremen a few times as my German in-laws live in a village about 30 minutes away! I remember seeing the animals and realising that Bremen was a real place and not just in a storybook. Also, the houses remind me so much of England!
Rachel
May 16, 2016 at 1:07 pmThanks, Victoria!
Karen Warren
May 16, 2016 at 2:34 pmI found this interesting because I’ve just been reading Kate Forsyth’s novel “The Wild Girl” about the Brothers Grimm and how they collected their fairy tales. There’s such a lot of folklore with ancient origins and it’s good to see that it’s still celebrated in German cities.
Rachel
May 16, 2016 at 5:38 pmSounds like a good book! I read a travel book once written by a mother following her kids’ interest in fairy tales and exploring the settings of Grimm stories, e.g. the Black Forest. Unfortunately I don’t remember the author’s name…
Jackie Smith
May 16, 2016 at 3:54 pmOMG! I love, love, love this post!! What a clever approach you’ve taken to introduce me to this wonderful fairy tale town. I had just been thinking how tired I was of reading “the best. . .”, ‘the 10 top. . .” the same old approach to writing and this just lifted me out of my chair. Bravo!
Rachel
May 16, 2016 at 5:39 pmWhy thank you! High praise indeed! Feel free to share it around as much as you want! 😉
Denis Gagnon
May 16, 2016 at 10:31 pmI love the way to tell the story of the musicians of Bremen. It makes me eager to find out more about the story and about Bremen. Thanks for a great posting!
Rachel
May 16, 2016 at 10:59 pmThanks, Denis!
Arnie Jacobsen
May 17, 2016 at 1:05 amThat was one of the most unique posts I have read in quite some time. Referring to your last line, I think it might just be better not to try and analyze anything Grimm to much. I just might make your head ache.
Rachel
May 17, 2016 at 6:54 amHaha! You’re probably right!
Carole Terwilliger Meyers
May 17, 2016 at 2:56 amI never made it to Bremen, but I did visit the rest of the Fairy Tale Road, http://berkeleyandbeyond.com/Way-Beyond/Travel-Articles/Abroad/Fairy-Tale-Road/fairy-tale-road.html
Rachel
May 17, 2016 at 6:57 amThanks for the link, Carole!
The GypsyNesters
May 18, 2016 at 12:39 amLove the story, but it sounds like they never took their show on the road.
Rachel
May 18, 2016 at 6:57 amNo, I don’t think they did!
Janice Chung
May 18, 2016 at 3:33 amLove stories that end up being recreated in a town! But do I know Bremen from somewhere else? World War II? Anyways, love how you were able to share a classic story with sites!
Rachel
May 18, 2016 at 6:56 amIt was bombed a number of times during WWII.
ISABEL Janeira
May 28, 2016 at 2:15 amInteresting blog post When visiting Riga, I saw the sculpture named the Bremen Town Musicians and was told it had been a gift to Riga from the German city of Bremen.
Rachel
May 28, 2016 at 6:34 amMaybe they’re sister cities?