Once upon a time, there was a town named Hamelin. The
town was prosperous. The people of Hamelin were happy.
But one year, Hamelin had a problem. There were many
rats. The rats brought sickness to the town: diarrhea,
fever and the plague. The people of Hamelin were
desperate. The town council met to discuss the problem.
They asked Wilhelm, the firefighter, for a solution.
Wilhelm said, “The problem is simple. Rats eat garbage.
There is garbage in your streets. I will clean your streets,
and the rats will go away.” Wilhelm cleaned the streets
with a hose. The streets were now clean. The town council
paid Wilhelm good money. The people of Hamelin were
happy. But the rats stayed and not only were they on the
street, they also started to get into the houses, too. The
people said, “Wilhelm is not helping! His solution is
terrible. Now the rats are eating all our food!”