The Pied Piper of Hamelin
In 1294, in the town of Hamelin in Germany, a most horrible catastrophe occurred.
Hamelin was a very pleasant town on the banks of the River Wester, and the townsfolk
were lucky to live there. But suddenly there was a terrible infestation of pests. Rats!
Rats everywhere. They bit the dogs and killed the cats and bit the babies in their beds.
They ate all the cheeses and even licked the soup from the cooks’ spoons. They made
their nests in the hats of the men, and the women couldn’t even chat with each other
because of the shrieking and squeaking of the rats.
At last the people gathered at the town hall and threatened to fire the mayor and
city council if they did not solve the problem. The mayor and council went into their
office and sat and thought and tried to find an answer. Suddenly there was a tapping on
the door. The strangest looking man came in. He was wearing a long weird coat from
his head to his toes; half of it was yellow, and the other half was red. He was tall and
thin with sharp blue eyes, light loose hair, and tan skin. He had no hair on his face. He
smiled broadly as he said, “Please, Your Honors, I possess a secret charm that allows me
to cause all living creatures to follow after me. I usually use my charms on creatures that
do people harm. They call me the Pied Piper. And the lord mayor noticed that a pipe
hung from a yellow and red scarf around the Piper’s neck. “So if you will give me one
thousand guilders, I shall draw the rats out of Hamelin town.” “What! One thousand!
We will give you fifty thousand!” said the happy mayor and council.
So the Piper stepped into the street, smiled, and picked up his pipe. After the first
three notes the people heard the strangest noises, like a muttering that grew to a
grumbling and then a might rumbling, and out of the houses came the rats – great rats,
small rats, lean rats, fat rats, brown rats, black rats, gray rats, yellow rats, old rats, young
rats, father rats, mother rats, uncle rats, cousin rats, families of rats by tens, brothers,
sisters, husbands, wives – all followed the Piper. He traveled through the whole of
Hamelin with the rats following and led them to the River Wester, where they all
plunged in and perished.
Well, you should have seen the townsfolk. They rang the bells and gathered in
the marketplace to dance and celebrate. Suddenly the Pied Piper arrived. “First, if you
please, my thousand guilders!”
The mayor and the council looked solemn. They did not want to pay this large
sum to a wandering fellow with such strange clothes! The mayor said, “We saw the rats
sink in the river, and what’s dead can’t come back to life. We were just joking when we
said we would give you a thousand guilders. We’ll give you fifty.”
The Piper looked very disappointed. “A deal’s a deal. You must pay what you
owe. Folks who put me in a passion may find me pipe after another fashion.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” cried the mayor. “How dare you threaten us? Do your
worst, go blow your pipe until you burst!”
So once more the Piper stepped into the street, smiled, and picked up his pipe.
Three sweet, soft notes came out, and suddenly you could hear the sounds of small feet
pattering and little hands clapping and little tongues chattering, and all the little children
of Hamelin came running – all the little boys and girls with rosy cheeks and yellow curls
and sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls. And the Piper traveled through the whole of
Hamelin with the children following, and then, at the river Wester, he turned to
Koppleberg Hill. All the parents and the mayor were relieved. “He can never cross that
mighty top. So we shall see our children stop.” But when the children reached the
mountainside, a huge door magically opened! The Piper went in with all the children
following, and then the door shut fast. Did I say all? No! One child was lame, and he
could not go as fast as the others. And in later years he would say, “It’s so dull in our
town since my playmates left. And I can’t forget all the wonderful things the Piper
promised us, for he said he would lead us to a joyous land of tame animals and good
food and toys, and that my lame foot would be cured.”
And the people of Hamelin looked high and low for their children and the Piper.
They offered huge rewards, but they never saw their children again. They wrote the
story down and put it on the mountainside and on the town gate and on the church
door, warning everyone that if you give a promise you must keep it because you must
always pay the Piper.