The donkey is the first animal to leave home in “The Bremen Town Musicians.” An ageing donkey learns that his master plans to get rid of him, so he runs away and decides to seek a new life as a town musician in Bremen.
On the road, the donkey meets three other unwanted animals: a dog, a cat, and a rooster. Each joins him in turn, creating the famous quartet whose combined noises frighten robbers from a cottage. The animals never actually reach Bremen; after driving away the robbers, they settle in the cottage instead.
The Brothers Grimm included the tale as “The Bremen Town Musicians” in the second edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1819. It is classified as ATU 130, a folktale type about outcast animals finding a new home. A common mix-up is assuming the rooster leads the group because his crow is the loudest, but the donkey is the story’s first runaway and its initial protagonist.