"The Travelling Musicians" by the Brothers Grimm

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 9 minutes
Reader:  Jedopi

The story: One of my favorite stories from the Brothers Grimm, I recently read a storybook version of "The Travelling Musicians" to my little niece, who also loved it. The German folktale is also known by the name of "The Musicians of Bremen" because the main characters, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, are travelling to that city in hopes of becoming musicians there. They don't make it to Bremen, but instead meet a gang of robbers and scare them away from the robber's den through their group and individual talents.

I think the reason why I like this story so much is because of the way the various animal characters work together. The image of them standing on each others' backs like a living matryoshka doll is so memorable, it's even featured in a statue in the modern city of Bremen. More than anything, though, I love the way that these animals, who were abandoned by their masters, are able to find a new life by becoming self-reliant.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Jedopi is a storyteller in the classic sense. This story gives good readers a chance to show off their voices, and Jedopi rises to the occasion, with distinct donkey, dog, rooster and cat sounds. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn't as good as the reader's talents. The sound is clipped at the louder amplitudes, making the recording sound as if it's being played on a set of speakers turned up too high. I was able to mostly ignore the faults after a few minutes, but if you want another option, try Story Nory's version (mp3).

(picture Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial/Share Alike licence from J Whiteman)