Merlyn's Musings~: StoryBook Club wanders with "The Bremen Town Musicians"

The Bremen Town Musicians

So this donkey works all his life on the farm, gives his best years to his Master and one day the Master decides that the donkey is too old and can't work like he used to and will be sent off to the glue factory.

The donkey says "Oh hell NO" and decides to go to Bremen Town and start a new life as a Musician.

(and who doesn't want to be wandering minstrel? says the wandering minstrel :)

Along the way, the donkey meets a dog (too old to hunt) and a cat (too old to catch mice) and a rooster (who is getting up there in years too) and all of whom have been given the death sentence from their owners as well.

It seems that old age sneaks up on you that way doesn't it? One day, you are fine, healthy, vibrant....
the next day you are being put out to pasture and you wonder how it all happened so fast.

So this unlikely quartet team up to go to Bremen Town -all to be musicians- and start a new life together, come what may. It's a mid life crisis in animal town and by God, they are gonna shake things up! (well it's better than death anyways :)

Along the way, they find a house filled with food. And ROBBERS. The animals team up, and jump on each others' backs. Donkey on the bottom, then the dog on top of him, then the cat on top of the dog, with the rooster on the cat's head.

Quite a totem pole!

Donkey- Creative Force, Faith, Versatility, Willingness to take on another's burdens
Dog- Loyalty, Companionship, Friendship, Unconditional Love
Cat- Independence, Sensuality, Magic, Freedom, Curiousity
Rooster- New beginnings, Sexual Appetite, Joyful Embrace of Life

All the things you need for a major life change! A community to support you and to be there for you, no matter what! The willingness to use music to change your life and the ability and freedom to pursue your goals and dreams with friends to share it with! What more do you need?

Well...shelter, for one.

So this motley crew of new friends finds their perfect home, but unfortunately, it's also a robbers house.

But our brave undaunted old duffers aren't deterred!
They scare away the brigands and take over the house. This is also symbolic of living an authentic life. These animals shoo away the negative forces and are able to find some peace in life with each other. Yes, even in their old age, even without the comforts of work (which never appreciated them for all their efforts).

This story proved to us all at our StoryBook Club meeting that Life IS change.

The robbers come back to try to take back the house, but their twisted life has already colored their perceptions and they can't see what is the truth. They think the cat is a witch. They think the dog is a man that has stabbed them, they think the donkey is a monster, and the rooster cried out warnings instead of crowing. This proves that life IS only perceptions. You cannot change or influence a twisted mind. They will only see what they see and even if truth is staring them in the face, they won't be able to grasp it.

But for most folks, who are good....
With AGE comes WISDOM.
And if we are indeed, good people, we are promised to enjoy a network of real friends who care about us to live our lives with, to lean on, to enjoy with.

And FOOD.
Glorious FOOD!

This was a German Folk Tale so German Food was all the rage!
We met at Kate's house and the house was warm and welcoming...and No Robbers to be found! :)

Chicken Paprikash (made over a fire on an outside hearth no less! :)