THE PIED PIPER

Hamelin was a small but very rich town that stood on the banks of the river Wiser, many years ago. People of the town though wealthy were very greedy and stingy.

Shopkeepers sold their goods at very high prices; landlords took away all the food that the poor farmers grew, leaving nothing for their families. 

More rich the noblemen grew, more selfish they became and spent most of their time counting their money again and again. These greedy people thought the time and money they spent on their pets could be put to better use and got rid of all their pets by driving the dogs and cats out of their town with brooms and sticks.

With no cats or dogs in the town, the rats made merry. Thousands of rats came into the town in groups and ransacked the houses for food. They even attacked shops and storehouses and ate everything they saw.

These strong and fearless rats were difficult to be stopped. A meeting was called by the Town Council to find out means of killing the rats but found that even the strongest poison would do no harm. Even as the Councillors were discussing the problem a stranger entered the Council chambers with a flute in his hand.

The young man offered to get rid of the rats for a hundred gold pieces. The Councillors agreed to the demand and the Mayor said that they would pay him only after he got rid of the rats. The young man agreed to the proposal.

The young man played a strange tune on his flute that could be heard throughout the town. Rats, small and big, young and old, brown and black, started coming from all directions and followed the Piper who was playing the tune. People of the town watched in a great surprise.

With the rats following him, the Piper went through the town and reached the river’s edge. The Piper jumped into the river and the rats followed him. All the rats got drowned and the Piper came back. Everyone in town was happy and cheered Piper as he walked in the streets. 

The Piper came to the Council chambers to collect his due of hundred gold pieces. But the greedy noblemen went back on their word and offered him only one gold piece. The angry Piper decided to take revenge and left immediately.

The Piper stepped into the street and played a tune, a sweeter one this time. Hearing the sound children of the town followed him, all happy and charmed by the sweet music. Parents rushed out of their houses to take their children back. Fascinated by the music, the children of different ages continued to follow the Piper, without listening to their parent’s cries. 

The Piper took them to a towering mountain and blew a high note. A door opened that got shut after all the children went in.

People of the town could never see their children again. The Piper took the children to a land of happiness. In a land where the sky was always blue and the sun always shining, children learned to kind and selfless. For many years they lived together in the land of plenty.

In Hamelin laughter of the children was missing and the townsfolk lived in sadness for the rest of their lives. They realized that if they were not to be so selfish and not cheated the Piper their children would have been with them. The Pied Piper taught them a valuable lesson.