Four animals travel together in the Brothers Grimm tale “The Bremen Town Musicians.”
The group consists of a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster. Each animal is old and no longer valued by its owner, so the four decide to leave and seek a better life as musicians in Bremen. They never actually reach the city in the story.
On their journey, the animals discover robbers in a house. By standing one on top of another and making a combined noise, they frighten the robbers away. The animals then settle in the house instead of continuing to Bremen.
The tale is classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther type 130, “The Animals in the Night Quarters.” A statue in Bremen, designed by Gerhard Marcks and unveiled in 1953, depicts the four animals and has become a famous city landmark. The animals’ order is often remembered from the statue: donkey, dog, cat, and rooster.