Other editions of book The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the subject of a legend from the town of Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in multicolored clothing, who was a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. But then the citizens refuse to pay for this service, and he retaliates by using his instrument's magic power on their children, leading them away like he did with the rats. This version of the tale is beautifully illustrated by Kate Greenaway.

Robert Browning’s famous verse retelling of the medieval legend of the Pied Piper is renowned for its humor and vivid wordplay. When the selfish townspeople of Hamelin refuse to pay the piper for spiriting away the hordes of rats that had plagued them, he exacts his revenge by luring away their greatest treasure, the children of the town.Color reproductions of Kate Greenaway’s beautiful, delicate watercolor illustrations adorn every page.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the legend of a town overrun with rats. The townspeople were desperate to get rid of the infestation, as the rodents were getting into their food and homes, and everyone was extremely upset by it. A piper shows up at the town, stating that he has a solution for their rat problem - at a hefty price. He offers to play his music to lure the rats to their watery grave at the nearby river, for a large sum of money. Once the deed is done, the Pied Piper is shocked and angered to find that the Mayor of Hamelin has suddenly had a change of heart, and is only willing to pay him a meagre fifty guilders, instead of the thousand that he'd been promised before. The Pied Piper vows revenge on the townspeople of Hamelin.

Hamelin Town 'a in Brunswick, By famous Hanover city; The liver Weser, deep and wide, Washes its wall on the southern side; A pleasanter spot yon never spied; But. when begins my ditty, Almost five hundred years ago, To see the townsfolk suffer so From vermin was a pity. Rats!They fought the dogs, and killed the cats,And bit the babies in the cradles,And ate the cheeses out of the vats,And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,Split open the kegs of salted sprats.Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,And even spoiled the women's chats,By drowning their speakingWith shrieking and squeakingIn fifty different sharps and fiats.At last the people in a body To the Town Hall came flocking: ^ "'Tis clear," cried they "our Mayor's a noddy; , And as for our Corporation—shocking To think we buy gowns lined with ennine >'l For dolts that can't or won't determineWhat s best to rid us of our vermin! , Rouse up, sirs! Give your brains a racking -1 To find the remedy we're lacking, "~> Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!" O At this the Mayor and Corporation Quaked with a mighty consternation.An hour they sate in council,At length the Mayor broke silence:"For a guilder I'd my ermine gown sell; •I wish I were a mile hence!It's easy to bid one rack one's brain—I'm sure my poor head aches againI've scratched it so, and all in vain.Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"Just as he said this, what should hapAt the chamber door but a gentle tap?"Bless us," cried the Mayor, "what's that,Only a scraping of shoes on the mat?Anything like the sound oi a ratMakes my heart go pit-a-pat!""Come in !"—the Mayor cried, looking bigger;And in did come the strangest figure;His queer, long coat from heel to headWas half of yellow and half of red;And he himself was tall and thin,With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin,And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin,No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin,But lips where smiles went out and inThere was no guessing his kith and kin!He advanced to the council-table: And, "Please your honours," said he, "I'm able,By means of a secret charm, to drawAll creatures living beneath the sun,That creep, or swim, or fly, or run,After me so as you never saw!And I chiefly use my charmOn creatures that do people harm,The mole, and toad, and newt, and viper:And people call me the Pied Piper."(And here they noticed round his neckA scarf of red and yellow stripe,To match with his coat of the self-same cheque;And at the scarfs end hung a pipe;And his fingers, they noticed, were everstraying As if impatient to be playing Upon this pipe, as low it dangled Over his vesture so old-fangled.) "Yet," said he, "poor piper as I am, In Tartary I freed the Cham, Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats; I eased in Asia the Nizam Of a monstrous brood of vampyre bats; And, as for what your brain bewilders, If I can rid your town of rats Will you give me a thousand guilders?" "One? Fifty thousand 1" was the exclamation Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.Into the street the Piper stept,Smiling first a little smile,As if he knew what raagio sleptIn his quiet pipe the while;Then, like a musical adept,To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled,And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkledLike a candle flame where salt is sprinkled;And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,You heard as if an army muttered;And the muttering grew to a grumbling;And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,Families by tens and dozens,Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—Followed the Piper for their lives,From street to street he piped, advancing,And step by step tbey followed, dancing.Until they came to the river WeserWherein all plunged and perished.

Hamelin Town 'a in Brunswick, By famous Hanover city; The liver Weser, deep and wide, Washes its wall on the southern side; A pleasanter spot yon never spied; But. when begins my ditty, Almost five hundred years ago, To see the townsfolk suffer so From vermin was a pity. Rats!They fought the dogs, and killed the cats,And bit the babies in the cradles,And ate the cheeses out of the vats,And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,Split open the kegs of salted sprats.Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,And even spoiled the women's chats,By drowning their speakingWith shrieking and squeakingIn fifty different sharps and fiats.At last the people in a body To the Town Hall came flocking: ^ "'Tis clear," cried they "our Mayor's a noddy; , And as for our Corporation—shocking To think we buy gowns lined with ennine >'l For dolts that can't or won't determineWhat s best to rid us of our vermin! , Rouse up, sirs! Give your brains a racking -1 To find the remedy we're lacking, "~> Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!" O At this the Mayor and Corporation Quaked with a mighty consternation.An hour they sate in council,At length the Mayor broke silence:"For a guilder I'd my ermine gown sell; •I wish I were a mile hence!It's easy to bid one rack one's brain—I'm sure my poor head aches againI've scratched it so, and all in vain.Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"Just as he said this, what should hapAt the chamber door but a gentle tap?"Bless us," cried the Mayor, "what's that,Only a scraping of shoes on the mat?Anything like the sound oi a ratMakes my heart go pit-a-pat!""Come in !"—the Mayor cried, looking bigger;And in did come the strangest figure;His queer, long coat from heel to headWas half of yellow and half of red;And he himself was tall and thin,With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin,And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin,No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin,But lips where smiles went out and inThere was no guessing his kith and kin!He advanced to the council-table: And, "Please your honours," said he, "I'm able,By means of a secret charm, to drawAll creatures living beneath the sun,That creep, or swim, or fly, or run,After me so as you never saw!And I chiefly use my charmOn creatures that do people harm,The mole, and toad, and newt, and viper:And people call me the Pied Piper."(And here they noticed round his neckA scarf of red and yellow stripe,To match with his coat of the self-same cheque;And at the scarfs end hung a pipe;And his fingers, they noticed, were everstraying As if impatient to be playing Upon this pipe, as low it dangled Over his vesture so old-fangled.) "Yet," said he, "poor piper as I am, In Tartary I freed the Cham, Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats; I eased in Asia the Nizam Of a monstrous brood of vampyre bats; And, as for what your brain bewilders, If I can rid your town of rats Will you give me a thousand guilders?" "One? Fifty thousand 1" was the exclamation Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.Into the street the Piper stept,Smiling first a little smile,As if he knew what raagio sleptIn his quiet pipe the while;Then, like a musical adept,To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled,And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkledLike a candle flame where salt is sprinkled;And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,You heard as if an army muttered;And the muttering grew to a grumbling;And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,Families by tens and dozens,Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—Followed the Piper for their lives,From street to street he piped, advancing,And step by step tbey followed, dancing.Until they came to the river WeserWherein all plunged and perished.

Hamelin Town 'a in Brunswick, By famous Hanover city; The liver Weser, deep and wide, Washes its wall on the southern side; A pleasanter spot yon never spied; But. when begins my ditty, Almost five hundred years ago, To see the townsfolk suffer so From vermin was a pity. Rats!They fought the dogs, and killed the cats,And bit the babies in the cradles,And ate the cheeses out of the vats,And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,Split open the kegs of salted sprats.Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,And even spoiled the women's chats,By drowning their speakingWith shrieking and squeakingIn fifty different sharps and fiats.At last the people in a body To the Town Hall came flocking: ^ "'Tis clear," cried they "our Mayor's a noddy; , And as for our Corporation—shocking To think we buy gowns lined with ennine >'l For dolts that can't or won't determineWhat s best to rid us of our vermin! , Rouse up, sirs! Give your brains a racking -1 To find the remedy we're lacking, "~> Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!" O At this the Mayor and Corporation Quaked with a mighty consternation.An hour they sate in council,At length the Mayor broke silence:"For a guilder I'd my ermine gown sell; •I wish I were a mile hence!It's easy to bid one rack one's brain—I'm sure my poor head aches againI've scratched it so, and all in vain.Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"Just as he said this, what should hapAt the chamber door but a gentle tap?"Bless us," cried the Mayor, "what's that,Only a scraping of shoes on the mat?Anything like the sound oi a ratMakes my heart go pit-a-pat!""Come in !"—the Mayor cried, looking bigger;And in did come the strangest figure;His queer, long coat from heel to headWas half of yellow and half of red;And he himself was tall and thin,With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin,And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin,No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin,But lips where smiles went out and inThere was no guessing his kith and kin!He advanced to the council-table: And, "Please your honours," said he, "I'm able,By means of a secret charm, to drawAll creatures living beneath the sun,That creep, or swim, or fly, or run,After me so as you never saw!And I chiefly use my charmOn creatures that do people harm,The mole, and toad, and newt, and viper:And people call me the Pied Piper."(And here they noticed round his neckA scarf of red and yellow stripe,To match with his coat of the self-same cheque;And at the scarfs end hung a pipe;And his fingers, they noticed, were everstraying As if impatient to be playing Upon this pipe, as low it dangled Over his vesture so old-fangled.) "Yet," said he, "poor piper as I am, In Tartary I freed the Cham, Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats; I eased in Asia the Nizam Of a monstrous brood of vampyre bats; And, as for what your brain bewilders, If I can rid your town of rats Will you give me a thousand guilders?" "One? Fifty thousand 1" was the exclamation Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.Into the street the Piper stept,Smiling first a little smile,As if he knew what raagio sleptIn his quiet pipe the while;Then, like a musical adept,To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled,And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkledLike a candle flame where salt is sprinkled;And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,You heard as if an army muttered;And the muttering grew to a grumbling;And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny rats,Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,Families by tens and dozens,Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—Followed the Piper for their lives,From street to street he piped, advancing,And step by step tbey followed, dancing.Until they came to the river WeserWherein all plunged and perished.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (German: Rattenfänger von Hameln, the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great number of children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, leading the children away from the town never to return. In the 16th century the story was expanded into a full narrative, in which the piper is a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizenry refuses to pay for this service, he retaliates by turning his power that he put in his instrument on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore. This version has also appeared in the writings of, amongst others, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm and Robert Browning.