THE FOUR HAPPY FRIENDS
Once there was a miller, who owned a donkey. For many years the donkey had worked hard, carrying sacks of flour to the mill and pulling a large wheel round and round, which turned the machinery to grind the corn.
The donkey was getting old and was no longer able, to work so hard. “This donkey is use- less to me,” said the miller to himself one day.. “He is get- ting slower and slower as he gets older. He is not worth the food he eats and, goodness knows, it costs me enough to buy food for him. I will kill him tomorrow.”
The donkey overheard his master’s words and that night, when all was dark and quiet, he escaped and made off down the road. He decided to spend the rest of his life wandering around the country as a stroll- ing musician.
“I have a fine voice, even though I am getting old,” said the donkey to him- self. “I am sure I shall be a great success,” and to prove it he said, “Ee-aw, Ee-aw,” to himself, several times.
The noise attracted the atten- tion of a dog, who was sitting at the side of the road. “What have you got to be so happy about, donkey?” asked the dog.
“I am going to the big city, to earn my living as a strolling musician, so I am just doing a bit of practising,” replied the donkey. “What are you doing, friend dog, lying there in the road, with your tongue hanging out?”
“Ah,” said the dog, “my story is a sad one. I have served my master faithfully for many years and today I over- heard him saying that he was going to kill me because I am getting old and can no longer go hunting like I used to, so I ran away and now I have nowhere to go.”
“Come along with me,” said the donkey. “We can travel together and keep each other company.”
The dog went with the donkey and farther down the road they came across a cat. The cat looked thin and miserable.
“Good day to you, cat,” called the donkey. “May I ask why you look so unhappy?”
My master wants to get rid of me,” replied the cat. “I am getting old and I am no longer as good at catching mice as I used to be. In my youth, I was a champion mouser, but 1 am not so quick as I once was.”
“Come with us,” said the donkey. We are going to the big city to make our fortune as wandering minstrels.” The cat joined them and they went on down the road together.
Soon the three animals came to a farm. There, on the fence, sat a cockerel, crowing at the top of his voice. “You are piercing our eardrums with your crowing,” called the donkey. “Tell us, what is the matter?”
“Oh,” cried the cock, “I am making as much noise as can while I am still alive. Tomorrow I shall be dead, for I have heard my mistress say that she has guests coming tomorrow and she told the cook to kill me and put me in a saucepan.”
“Why not come with us?” said the donkey. “We are going to the big city to make our fortune as wandering minstrels. I am sure your powerful voice would be a help.”
Yes, yes,” crowed the cock, very delighted. The four friends went down the road together. The big city was a long way off and they decided to spend the night in a wood.
The dog, the cat and the donkey all curled up at the foot of a tree, but the cock, as was his habit, flew up and perched on a branch. In the distance, he saw a light and he called down to his friends, “I am sure I can see a house where we could spend the night more com- fortably.”
The animals went to look for it and led by the cock, who could see the light, they soon found it. The donkey, who was the tallest, looked in through the window.
“What can you see?” the others asked. “I can see a table piled high with food and some robbers sitting around it,” replied the donkey. “What can we do to get rid of those rascals?” “Perhaps we could make a loud noise and scare them away,” said the cat, so they made a plan.
The dog jumped on the donkey’s back, the cat jumped on the dog’s back, the cock perched on the cat’s head and they all made the loudest noises they could. The donkey banged on the door with his hooves and brayed.
The dog barked, the cat howled and the cock crowed. Then they all jumped through the door, into the room. The robbers were so frightened by the noise and the unexpected attack, that they fled in great haste.
The four friends sat down at the table and ate what they wanted. Then they turned out the light and lay down to sleep in front of the fire.
When the robbers reached the
safety of the trees, they began to recover from their fright. “What fools we were to run away like that,” said the robber chief and he sent one of his men back to have a look round.
The robber tiptoed up to the house, which was in darkness. and crept into the room. He saw the cat’s eyes gleaming in the dark and thought they were pieces of glowing coal from the fire. He picked up a stick, intending to light it from the fire and make a flaming torch of it, but as he did so, the cat sprang at him, scratching his face.
The robber turned to flee, but the dog bit his leg, the donkey gave him a hearty kick as he passed and the cock pecked him.
The robber rushed, trembling and out of breath, through the wood, until he reached the robber band. “There are witches and demons in the house,” he panted.
“They attacked me and I only just managed to escape.” From that evening, the robbers did not have the cour- age to return to their old house and the four friends, who liked the house very much, decided not to become strolling minstrels after all, but to stay there peacefully for the rest of their lives.
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