Robert Browning
Pied Piper of Hamelin
eBook
( Aug. 3, 2013)
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 speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In 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 determine
What 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 again
I've scratched it so, and all in vain.
Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"
Just as he said this, what should hap
At 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 rat
Makes 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 head
Was 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 in
There 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 draw
All 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 charm
On 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 neck
A 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 ever
straying 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 slept
In 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 twinkled
Like 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 Weser
Wherein all plunged and perished.
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 speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In 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 determine
What 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 again
I've scratched it so, and all in vain.
Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!"
Just as he said this, what should hap
At 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 rat
Makes 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 head
Was 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 in
There 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 draw
All 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 charm
On 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 neck
A 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 ever
straying 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 slept
In 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 twinkled
Like 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 Weser
Wherein all plunged and perished.
- Pages
- 48
Enjoy reading Pied Piper of Hamelin? You may also like these books
-
Robert Brown
The Toyshop At The End Of The World
Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Nov. 4, 2015) -
Robert Brown
The HST Model for Change: Enhancing the People Side of Organizational Development
Paperback (bp books/Denro Classics Jan. 3, 2017) -
Robert Brown
The Candy Cards: The Shocking Story of Dean Corll
Paperback (Independently published Nov. 25, 2019) -
Robert Brown
The Battleship Warspite: Detailed in the Original Builder's Plans
Hardcover (Naval Institute Press Dec. 1, 2017) -
Robert Brown
Personal Wisdom: Making Sense of You, Others and the Meaning of Life Updated Edition, Advanced Life Skills
Paperback (Denro Classics Feb. 23, 2019) -
Robert Brown
Researches Into the Origin of the Primitive Constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Babylonians; Volume 1
Paperback (Andesite Press Aug. 20, 2017) -
Robert Browning
The Pied Piper of Hamelin and Other Poems
Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Oct. 9, 2017) -
Robert Browning
... Selected poems of Robert Browning,
Unknown Binding (Houghton Mifflin Co April 2, 1927)
