A farmer had an old donkey that had worked hard for many years. As the donkey grew older and weaker, the farmer decided to get rid of him. The donkey, sensing danger, ran away. He decided to go to the great city to become a musician.
On the road, he found an old dog lying on the ground, breathing heavily. "Why are you so tired?" asked the donkey. "I am old and cannot hunt anymore," the dog replied. "My master was going to kill me, so I ran away. But how will I earn my living?" The donkey said, "Come with me to the city and we can be musicians together." The dog agreed, and they walked on.
Soon, they saw a cat with a very sad face. "What is wrong?" asked the donkey. "I am getting old," the cat said. "I prefer to sit by the fire instead of catching mice. My mistress tried to drown me, so I escaped. Now I have no home." The donkey invited the cat to join them, saying her "night singing" would make her a great musician.
A little later, they passed a farm and heard a cock screaming loudly. "Why are you making such a noise?" asked the donkey. "The cook wants to cut off my head and turn me into soup for the guests on Sunday!" cried the cock. The donkey said, "Come with us! It is better than dying. We can start a band." The cock happily joined the group.
They could not reach the city in one day, so they stopped in a forest for the night. From the top of a tree, the cock saw a light in the distance. "There must be a house nearby," he called out. They decided to go there, hoping for food and a better place to sleep.
When they reached the house, the donkey looked through the window. "I see a table full of good food and a gang of robbers having a party," he whispered. The animals wanted the food, so they made a plan. The donkey stood on his hind legs, the dog jumped on his back, the cat climbed on the dog, and the cock flew onto the cat’s head. Suddenly, they all began their "music" together—the donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat mewed, and the cock screamed. Then they crashed through the window! The terrified robbers thought a monster had attacked them and ran away into the forest.
The four friends ate a huge meal and went to sleep. At midnight, one robber returned to the house. It was dark, and he saw the cat’s glowing eyes. Thinking they were hot coals, he tried to light a match near them. The cat scratched his face, the dog bit his leg, the donkey kicked him, and the cock screamed, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The robber ran back to his friends and cried, "A horrible witch scratched me, a man with a knife stabbed my leg, a monster hit me with a club, and a ghost on the roof shouted, 'Throw the rascal here!'" The robbers never returned, and the four musicians lived happily in the house for the rest of their lives.