asked the cock . ' I see a well-covered table , ' replied the donkey , ` with excellent food and drink , and several robbers are sitting round it , enjoying themselves highly . ' ' I wish we were doing the same , ' said the cock . ` So do I , ' answered the donkey . ` Ca n't we think of some plan for turning out the robbers , and taking possession of the house ourselves ? ' So they consulted together what they were to do , and at last they arranged that the donkey should stand at the window with his fore-feet on the sill , that the greyhound should get on his back , the cat on the dog 's shoulder , and the cock on the cat 's head . When they had grouped themselves in this way , at a given signal , they all began their different forms of music . The donkey brayed , the greyhound barked , the cat miawed , and the cock crew . Then they all scrambled through the window into the room , breaking the glass into a thousand pieces as they did so . The robbers were all startled by the dreadful noise , and thinking that some evil spirits at the least were entering the house , they rushed out into the wood , their hair standing on end with terror . The four companions , delighted with the success of their trick , sat down at the table , and ate and drank all the food and wine that the robbers had left behind them . When they had finished their meal they put out the lights , and each animal chose a suitable sleeping-place . The donkey lay down in the courtyard outside the house , the dog behind the door , the cat in front of the fire , and the cock flew up on to a high shelf , and , as they were all tired after their long day , they soon went to sleep . Shortly after midnight , when the robbers saw that no light was burning in the house and that all seemed quiet , the captain of the band said : ` We were fools to let ourselves be so easily frightened away ; ' and , turning to one of his men , he ordered him to go and see if all was safe . The man found everything in silence and darkness , and going into the kitchen he thought he had better strike a light . He took a match , and mistaking the fiery eyes of the cat for two glowing coals , he tried to light his match with them . But the cat did n't see the joke , and sprang at his face , spitting and scratching him in the most vigorous manner . The man was terrified out of his life , and tried to run out by the back door ; but he stumbled over the greyhound , which bit him in the leg . Yelling with pain he ran across the courtyard only to receive a kick from the donkey 's hind leg as he passed him . In the meantime the cock had been roused from his slumbers , and feeling very cheerful he called out , from the shelf where he was perched , ` Kikeriki ! '
Then the robber hastened back to his captain and said : ` Sir , there is a dreadful witch XXXXX the house , who spat at me and scratched my face with her long fingers ; and before the door there stands a man with a long knife , who cut my leg severely .
So across after at behind from in of on to