English Original
A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year; but his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he might best save his keep; but the donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. "There," he thought, "I can surely be town-musician."
When he had walked some distance, he found a hound lying on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired. "What are you gasping so for, you big fellow?" asked the donkey.
"Ah," replied the hound, "as I am old, and daily grow weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me, so I took to flight; but now how am I to earn my bread?"
"I tell you what," said the donkey, "I am going to Bremen, and shall be town-musician there; go with me and engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum."
The hound agreed, and on they went.
Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days! "Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you?" asked the donkey.
"Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?" answered the cat. "Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?"
"Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, you can be a town-musician."
The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three fugitives came to a farm-yard, where the cock was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. "Your crow goes through and through one," said the donkey. "What is the matter?"
"I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the day on which Our Lady washes the Christ-child's little shirts, and wants to dry them," said the cock; "but guests are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am crowing at full pitch while I can."
"Ah, but red-comb," said the donkey, "you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen; you can find something better than death everywhere: you have a good voice, and if we make music together it must have some quality!"
The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together.
They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cock settled themselves in the branches; but the cock flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep he looked round on all four sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark burning; so he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, "If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad." The hound thought that a few bones with some meat on would do him good too!
So they made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lighted robber's house. The donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and looked in.
"What do you see, my grey-horse?" asked the cock. "What do I see?" answered the donkey; "a table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves." "That would be the sort of thing for us," said the cock. "Yes, yes; ah, how I wish we were there!" said the donkey.
Then the animals took counsel together how they should manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his fore-feet upon the window-ledge, the hound was to jump on the donkey's back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and lastly the cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the cat.
When this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their music together: the donkey brayed, the hound barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed; then they burst through the window into the room, so that the glass clattered! At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month.
As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and to what suited him. The donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof; and being tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep.
When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet, the captain said, "We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;" and ordered one of them to go and examine the house.
The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back-door, but the dog, who lay there sprang up and bit his leg; and as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind foot. The cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, "Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her long claws; and by the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg; and in the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club; and above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out, 'Bring the rogue here to me!' so I got away as well as I could."
After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again; but it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more. And the mouth of him who last told this story is still warm.
中文翻译
从前有个人，他有一头驴子，这头驴子不知疲倦地驮着谷物袋去磨坊，干了许多年。但他的力气渐渐不济，越来越不适合干活了。于是，他的主人开始盘算如何节省他的饲料开销；但驴子察觉到情况不妙，便逃跑了，踏上了前往不来梅的路。"在那里，"他想，"我肯定能当个城市乐手。"
走了一段路后，他发现一只猎犬躺在路上，气喘吁吁，像是跑累了似的。"大个子，你喘得这么厉害是为什么？"驴子问道。
"唉，"猎犬回答，"因为我老了，一天比一天虚弱，不能再打猎了，我的主人想杀了我，所以我就逃跑了；但现在我该怎么谋生呢？"
"我告诉你怎么办，"驴子说，"我要去不来梅，在那里当城市乐手；跟我一起去吧，你也去当个乐手。我来弹鲁特琴，你来敲定音鼓。"
猎犬同意了，于是他们一起上路了。
不久，他们遇到一只猫，坐在小路上，脸色阴沉得像下了三天雨！"喂，老伙计，你遇到什么不顺心的事了？"驴子问道。
"脖子都危险了，谁能高兴得起来？"猫回答说。"因为我现在老了，牙齿都磨成残根了，我宁愿坐在炉火边纺线，也不愿到处抓老鼠，我的女主人想淹死我，所以我就逃跑了。但现在好主意难寻。我该去哪儿呢？"
"跟我们去不来梅吧。你懂夜间的音乐，可以当个城市乐手。"
猫觉得这个主意不错，就跟他们一起走了。之后，这三个逃亡者来到一个农家院子，一只公鸡正坐在大门上，用尽全力啼叫。"你的啼叫声真是穿透人心啊，"驴子说。"怎么回事？"
"我一直在预报好天气，因为今天是圣母给圣婴洗小衬衫并想晾干的日子，"公鸡说；"但是星期天有客人要来，所以女主人毫不留情，已经告诉厨娘明天要把我炖汤喝，今晚就要砍掉我的头。趁现在还能叫，我就放声高歌。"
"啊，红鸡冠，"驴子说，"你最好跟我们一起走吧。我们要去不来梅；你到处都能找到比死亡更好的出路：你有一副好嗓子，如果我们一起演奏音乐，那肯定错不了！"
公鸡同意了这个计划，于是四个伙伴一起上路了。
然而，他们无法在一天内到达不来梅城，傍晚时分，他们来到一片森林，打算在那里过夜。驴子和猎犬躺在一棵大树下，猫和公鸡安顿在树枝上；但公鸡飞到了最顶端，那里最安全。睡觉前，他环顾四周，觉得看到远处有一点火花在燃烧；于是他叫醒同伴们，说肯定不远处有房子，因为他看到了灯光。驴子说："如果是这样，我们最好起来继续走，这里的栖身之处太差了。"猎犬心想，有几根带点肉的骨头对他也有好处！
于是他们朝着有灯光的地方走去，很快看到那光越来越亮，越来越大，直到他们来到一座灯火通明的强盗房子前。驴子作为最大的一个，走到窗前向里张望。
"你看到什么了，我的灰马？"公鸡问。"我看到什么了？"驴子回答；"一张摆满美味佳肴和饮料的桌子，强盗们正坐在那里享受呢。""那正是我们想要的东西，"公鸡说。"是啊，是啊；啊，我真希望我们在里面！"驴子说。
于是动物们一起商量如何赶走强盗，最后他们想出了一个计划。驴子要把前蹄搭在窗台上，猎犬跳到驴子背上，猫爬到狗身上，最后公鸡飞上去，栖息在猫的头上。
一切就绪后，听到一个信号，他们便开始一起演奏他们的音乐：驴子嘶叫，猎犬吠叫，猫喵喵叫，公鸡喔喔啼；然后他们冲破窗户跳进房间，玻璃哗啦作响！听到这可怕的喧闹声，强盗们跳了起来，以为肯定是鬼魂进来了，惊恐万分地逃进了森林。四个伙伴现在坐在桌旁，心满意足地吃着剩下的食物，狼吞虎咽，仿佛要斋戒一个月似的。
四位吟游乐手一吃完，就熄了灯，各自根据自己的天性和喜好寻找睡觉的地方。驴子躺在院子里的一些稻草上，猎犬躺在门后，猫躺在壁炉边温暖的灰烬旁，公鸡栖息在屋顶的横梁上；由于长途跋涉很累，他们很快就睡着了。
午夜过后，强盗们从远处看到他们房子里的灯不再亮着，一切似乎都很安静，强盗头子说："我们不该让自己吓得魂飞魄散；"并命令其中一个人去查看房子。
那个强盗发现一切都很安静，就走进厨房点蜡烛，他把猫闪闪发光、火红的眼睛当成了燃烧的煤块，便拿一根火柴凑上去点火。但猫可不懂这个玩笑，飞扑到他脸上，又吐口水又抓挠。他吓坏了，跑到后门，但躺在那里的狗跳起来咬了他的腿；当他跑过院子里的稻草堆时，驴子用后蹄狠狠地踢了他一脚。公鸡也被噪音吵醒，变得精神起来，从横梁上向下叫道："喔喔喔！"
于是那个强盗以最快的速度跑回他的头目那里，说："啊，房子里坐着一个可怕的女巫，她朝我吐口水，还用她的长爪子抓我的脸；门边站着一个拿着刀的男人，他刺伤了我的腿；院子里躺着一个黑色的怪物，他用木棍打我；屋顶上坐着法官，他喊道：'把那个恶棍带到我这里来！'所以我拼了命才逃出来。"
此后，强盗们再也不敢回那所房子了；但这所房子对不来梅的四位乐手来说非常合适，他们再也不愿意离开了。而最后一个讲述这个故事的人，他的嘴巴到现在还是热的。