doubt as to the climax. We must view life with these four who are up against the facts of life, and whose lot presents a variety of contrast. The Donkey, incapacitated because of old age, had the courage to set out on a quest. He met the Dog who could hunt no longer, stopping in the middle of the road, panting for breath; the Cat who had only stumps for teeth, sitting in the middle of the road, wearing an unhappy heart behind a face dismal as three rainy Sundays; and the Rooster who just overheard the cook say he was to be made into soup next Sunday, sitting on the top of the gate crowing his last as loud as he could crow. The Donkey, to these musicians he collected, spoke as a leader and as a true humorist.
In a simple tale like The Bremen Town Musicians it is surprising how much of interest can develop: the adventure in the wood; the motif of some one going to a tree-top and seeing from there a light afar off, which appears in Hop-o'-my-Thumb and in many other tales; the example of cooperation, where all had a unity of purpose; an example of a good complete short-story form which illustrates introduction, setting, characters and dialogue—all these proclaim this one of the fine old stories. In its most dramatic form, and to Jacobs its most impressive one, it appears in the Celtic tales as Jack and His Comrades. It may have been derived from Old Sultan, a Grimm tale which is somewhat similar to The Wolf and the Hungry Dog, in Steinhowel, 1487. How Jack Sought His Fortune is an English tale
