An old donkey had grown weak and struggling to work. When he found that his master would get rid of him, the donkey ran away. “I will go to the city and become a musician, ” thought the donkey.
On the way he met an old hound dog, a toothless old cat, along with a rooster. All of them had exactly the same story to tell. They were too old to work and their masters were going to get rid of them. So each of the animals had run away. “Come with me to the town, ” said the donkey.
“You can become musicians, as well. ”
The four new friends went together until it began to grow dark. The rooster flew to the top of a tree. He looked around to locate some place so they can spend the night time. “I see a light in an old building near by here, ” said the rooster. “Let’s see if we could reside there. ”
When they reached house, the donkey peeked through a window. Inside were a gang of robbers sitting around a dinner table covered with good things to eat. The gold they had stolen was spread around the table, too.
“If we chase them away, we shall have food and shelter, ” saidthe donkey. Very softly, the donkey put his front feet on the window ledge. The other animals jumped up onto his back. The four friends began to sing. The donkey brayed, the hound dog howled, the cat screeched, and the rooster crowed.
The sound was so terrible that the robbers nearly bumped each other over in their rush to run away.
The four friends ate the meals that the thieves had left behind. Then they settled down for a wonderful night’s sleep. The donkey lay down on some straw in the front yard. The hound dog lay down by the doorstep. The cat lay down in front of the fireplace. And the rooster perched on a beam of the roof. Soon they were fast asleep.
After midnight the leader of the robbers sent a man to look at the house. If it was safe, they would return to get their gold.
When the man peeked in, he did not see the animals in the dark. Feeling braver, he went in the front door. He saw the old cat’s eyes shining in the darkness. Thinking it was a monster, he ran shouting from the house. As he ran out of the house, he stepped on the dog, who bit him in the leg. As he ran across the backyard, the donkey kicked him in the back. The man’s screams woke up the rooster, who began to crow.
When the man returned to the forest, he explained to the robbers how horrible it had been. “A monster with eyes of fire lives in that building. Another monster stabbed me in my leg with a knife. Then a big black monster beat me with a wooden club. A little monster on the roof kept calling, ‘Chuck him up to me! ’ I didn’t think I was going to get away! ”
The thieves decided that no amount of gold was worth heading back into that terrible place. The four friends were so happy and comfy that they never ever visited the city. And they never became musicians.
