By

Jacob Grimm                    Wilhelm Grimm

1785-1863                    1786-1859

For some of us it seems life’s ‘fast forward’ button has been pressed and, without warning, we have been mysteriously deposited squarely in the middle of our ‘golden years.’

This was true for The Bremen Town Musicians a delightful tale of four elderly animals who have been turned out to pasture because they are no longer productive to their owners. The donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster decide to travel together to Bremen where they hope to secure jobs as musicians. In my copy of the story there is a horrible witch, a man with a knife, a monster and a judge sitting on the roof of a cottage. At the end of the tale we learn why the little band of animals never actually reached the town Bremen.

Today there is a tall Bronze statue erected in honor of the musicians in Bremen’s town square. There is also a persistent rumor circulating that the four friends are living nearby in a comfortable cottage in the woods and are enjoying every minute of their ‘golden years.’