Bremen Town Musicians', 'The, four animals who strike out together to become musicians in the city of Bremen. On their way they use their unusual ‘musical’ skills to frighten robbers from a house, which the animals then occupy and decide to make their own. In the Grimms' telling of ‘Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten’ (‘The Bremen Town Musicians’, 1819), the travelling musicians consist of a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster. In other variants, especially from Eastern Europe and Asia, the travellers include other animals or even inanimate objects, while the robbers are replaced by wolves, werewolves, or an old woman. Best known in the Grimms' version, the story charts the triumph of the weak through resolve and cooperation. Facing death at the hands of their masters, who show no gratitude for the faithful service the worn‐out animals have provided, they each adopt the donkey's initial resolve to become a musician in Bremen. By developing a common plan of action and orchestrating their natural talents (braying, barking, meowing, and crowing), they empower themselves as a group, frighten the robbers who live off others, and reclaim a life for themselves. While the social themes of just deserts and solidarity have made the story popular and motivated numerous 20th‐century adaptations, the story's identification with Bremen has made it a valuable commodity in that city's tourist industry.
Bibliography
- Richter, Dieter, “‘Die “Bremer Stadtmusikanten” in Bremen: Zum weiterleben eines Grimmschen Märchens’”, in Hans‐Jörg Uther (ed.), Märchen in unserer Zeit: Zu Erscheinungsformen eines populären Erzählgenres (1990).
— Donald Haase
