Which Grimm tale centers on a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster who become musicians?

Which Grimm tale centers on a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster who become musicians? The answer is The Bremen Town Musicians.

The Brothers Grimm collected this German tale and published it in the second edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1819 as KHM 27. Four aging domestic animals leave their masters after becoming unwanted or threatened with mistreatment. They plan to travel to Bremen and earn a living as town musicians.

The animals never actually reach Bremen. On the road, they discover robbers inside a cottage and frighten them away by standing on one another and making a tremendous din. The animals then claim the cottage as their home. When a robber returns, each animal attacks him, and his confused account makes the group seem like a supernatural terror.

A common mix-up is assuming Bremen is where the musicians perform. It is their destination, not the setting of the successful ending. The story is classified as ATU 130, “The Animals in Night Quarters,” and Bremen later became strongly associated with the tale through its famous public statue.