Tell what the donkey had done all his life. Why did his master want to get rid of him? Give the conversation between the donkey and the dog, the donkey and each of the other animals.
To what city were the animals going? Bremen is a large city in Germany, across the ocean. Do you know any one that has come from Germany? Do you live in a city? In what large city have you been? Which is the more useful, the donkey or the dog? Tell what each does for us. Tell about the different kinds of dogs that you know. What do shepherd dogs do? Newfoundland dogs?
Why did the masters wish to be rid of these animals? How should animals be treated in their old age? What do we say of those that try to support themselves?
II.
Preparation.
I will now tell you how the four musicians passed the night in a forest on the way to Bremen, and what happened to them there. Do you remember any one in the stories we have heard that passed the night in a forest? Tell how it happened? Why does one not like to stay in a forest all night? What dangers are there in a forest?
Narration.
IN THE FOREST.
The four companions could not reach Bremen in one day, so must pass the night on the road. Night came on them as they were passing through a deep forest. They could no longer see the way, and so they stopped. The donkey leaned up against a great tree. The dog lay on the ground beneath, the cat curled herself up on a branch, and the cock flew up to the very top.
After a time the cock said, “I see a light. It seems to come from the window of a house.” “Oh,” said the donkey, “let us go to it; perhaps some kind people live in the house. They may give us something to eat. I am hungry. I would like a mouthful of hay.” “I would be thankful for even a couple of bones,” said the dog. The cat and the cock, too, were hungry. So the four animals went on toward the light.