The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers ( " Les Trois Mousquetaires " ) is a French novel written in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas , père . The novel , set in 1625 , recounts the adventures of a young man named d ' Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer . D ' Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title ; those are his friends Athos , Porthos , and Aramis - - inseparable friends who live by the motto , " One for all , and all for one . " The charactes featured in several other Dumas novels , including " The Vicomte de Bragelonne " , better known as " The Man in the Iron Mask " . References . The Muppets Go to the Movies . The 1981 special " The Muppets Go to the Movies " featured a spoof of the many film versions of the story . Gonzo plays Athos , Scooter is Porthos , and Link Hogthrob is Gummo . The Musketeers are in the castle of the Cardinal d ' Escargot , sworn to protect the Cardinal from a rumored kidnapping . A pig assassin sneaks into the castle , and the Musketeers engage in a spirited swordfight . The pig drops a lumpy pumpernickel crumpet from Humperdink ' s - - a favorite of that simple wimp , the Scarlet Pimpernel . The Pimpernel makes his escape , and Gummo swings on the chandelier through a plate glass window to catch him . The Muppets ' spoof is faithful to the swashbuckling spirit of the movies , but confuses the characters ' motivations . In the novel , the Musketeers are sworn to protect the interests of the King , who engages in political struggles with the Cardinal Richelieu . Far from being at risk of being kidnapped , the Cardinal is the one who has others kidnapped - - notably D ' Artagnan ' s mistress , Madame Bonacieux . Also , " The Scarlet Pimpernel " is another story entirely , a 1905 novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy set in 1792 - - more than 150 years after the events of " The Three Musketeers " ( although in " Muppets Go to the Movies " , the Announcer gives the year as 1796 ) . The Sesame Street Storytime Calendar . " The Sesame Street Storytime Calendar 1982 " , illustrated by Michael J . Smollin , features the book for the month of April . The Musketeers portrayed are Cookie Monster , Grover , and Herry Monster as ( in no particular order ) Athos , Porthos , and Aramis . Guy Smiley appears behind them , presumably as D ' artagnan . Muppet Babies . Kermit , Scooter and Fozzie play Musketeers in the 1988 " Muppet Babies " episode " " . Grover Stays Up Very Very Late . In the 2004 Story Reader book " Grover Stays Up Very Very Late " , Grover imagines that when he ' s asleep , his Mommy goes to the movies . In his imaginary scenario , the movie is an adaptation of " The Three Musketeers " starring Herry Monster , Elmo and Zoe . The Three Grouchketeers . In 2005 , released a " Sesame Street " CD - ROM game , " The Three Grouchketeers " . In this loose adaptation of the story , the grouchy King Oscar instructs his Musketeers - - Grover , Zoe and Telly Monster - - to find his missing Royal Pig . The Musketeers each have a special skill : Musketeer Grover can read very well , Musketeer Zoe is good with animals , and Musketeer Telly knows about shapes . The three Musketeers have to cooperate to complete their tasks . Mouseketeers . The television series " The Mickey Mouse Club " , launched by Walt Disney in 1955 , coined the term " Mouseketeers " to describe the child and adolescent cast members who swore their loyalty to Mickey Mouse , as the Musketeers did to Louis III . Since then , many groups , often on " Sesame Street " , have added the " keteers " suffix to their name .