The donkey, the dog, the cat and the cock

There was a Dhobi in the city of Patna. The Dhobi had a donkey that used to carry all the clothes to the Ghat and back. The Dhobi used to give good food to the Donkey. The donkey also worked very hard. But slowly the donkey became very old and was not able to work. Then the Dhobi stopped feeding the donkey. The donkey felt miserable and decided to go to Calcutta to become a musician. So one day he started walking towards Calcutta.

On its way he met an old dog that was weeping horribly .The donkey asked him, “Why are you crying/”. The dog replied, “My master brought me to this house when I was young. He asked me to guard the house at night. I also used to do it carefully. He used to give me good food and cared for me. I also used to like him. But now I have become old. I am feeling sleepy at night. I am not able to catch the thieves. And now my master has stopped giving me food. What should I do?” The donkey replied, “The same thing happened to me. So I have decided to go to Calcutta to become a musician. Why don’t you also come with me?” The dog agreed saying it was a very good idea. Then the donkey and the dog started their journey towards Calcutta.

On their way, they both met a cat that was crying horribly. The Dog and the Donkey asked him, “Why are you crying?” The cat replied, “My master brought me to this house when I was very young. There were lots of rats in this house. I caught all of them. Whenever a new rat came, I used to catch it easily. My master gave me lot of milk and looked after me well. But now I have become old. I am not able to catch rats any more. So my master stopped giving me milk. I am crying because of that.” Then the donkey and dog told the cat, “ We are very sorry to hear your story. We also became old and our master is not giving us food. So we decided to go to Calcutta to become musicians. Why don’t you come with us.” The cat thought it was a very good idea and joined them. Then the donkey, dog and the cat started walking towards Calcutta.

On their way they met a cock that was crying bitterly. The donkey, dog and the cat asked the cock, “Why are you crying?” The cock replied, “My master brought me to this house when I was young. I used to wake up early morning and wake him up so that he could go to work early. He also used to give me good food. But now I have become old. I also fall asleep in the morning. So I am not able to wake him up. Now he has stopped giving me any food. That is why, I am crying.” Then the donkey, dog and the cat told the cock,” We are very sorry to hear your story. We also became old and our master is not giving us food. So we decided to go to Calcutta to become musicians. Why don’t you come with us.” .The cock thought it was a very good idea and joined them.

The entire day the donkey, dog, cat and the cock walked and reached a forest. They all felt very tired. So they decided to sleep. The donkey and the dog slept below the tree and the cat and the cock climbed up the tree. It was very cold and they were feeling very hungry. Then the cock, which was on the top of the tree, saw some light at a distance. They decided to go there. They reached the place. It was a big house. The cock said that it would see who is inside. It flew near the window and came down. The donkey, dog and the cat asked. “Who is there in the house? Will we get food?” The cock replied, “The house has three robbers. They have lot of food on the table.” Then all of them spoke to each other and made a plan

The donkey stood with his leg on the window. The dog stood on him. The cat stood on the dog and the Cock flew and remained on the top. All of them started singing at the same time. The robbers who were inside thought that there was a ghost outside and ran away. The donkey, the dog, the cat and the cock went inside took as much food as they want and decided to sleep. The cat decided to sleep on the stove in the kitchen. The dog decided to sleep near the gate. The donkey decided to sleep near the outside wall and the cock decided to sleep on the roof.

The robbers who had ran away felt hungry. They were watching their house from far away. When no sound was being heard they thought, that it is safe to return to their house. But they sent only one robber to the house to see everything was all right. That robber slowly entered the house through the back door and went in to the dark kitchen. He wanted to see whether there was milk on the stove. When he was feeling with his fingers, the cat jumped up from the stove and scratched his face. The robber became afraid and ran out side. The dog that was near the door bit his leg. He ran near the wall. The donkey kicked him and threw him on the roof. The cock that was sitting there pecked all over him with its sharp beak. The robber jumped from the roof and ran to the other robbers and told them, “A new ghost has come to our house. It scratched me, bit me, kicked me and pecked me. So it is not safe to go there.” The other robbers agreed and went away. The donkey, the dog, the cat and the cock lived happily in that house. At night they all used to practice music lessons.