Bremen is the capital city of the German state of the same name. It is an important port city with almost 600 000 people. It lies on the banks of the River Weser and is 60 kilometers from it's mouth into the Black Sea.  The Town Musicians of Bremen is a German fairy tale collected and published by the Brothers Grimm in Grimms’ Fairy Tales (1819). It tells the story of four ageing domestic animals — a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster — who, after a lifetime of hard work, are neglected, mistreated, and threatened with death by their former masters. Eventually, they decide to run away and become town musicians in the city of Bremen. Contrary to the story’s title, the characters never actually reach Bremen. Instead, they trick and frighten a band of robbers, take over their house, and settle into their new home. The story’s origins are said to date back to the 12th century. In an earlier version, the robbers’ animal counterparts were a brow n bear, a lion, and a grey wolf.