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 of 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 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, And nobody could enough admireThe tall man and his quaint attire. Quoth one: "It"s as my great-grandsire,Starting up at the Trump of Doom"s tone,
Had walked this way from his painted tombstone!"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, the 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 check; And at the scarf"s end hung a pipe;And his fingers, they noticed, were ever strayingAs 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 NizamOf a monstrous brood of vampire-bats; And as for what your brain bewilders, If I can rid your town of ratsWill you give me a thousand guilders?" "One? Fifty thousand!"-was the exclamation Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.
As if he knew what magic 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,Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives- Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing, And step for step they followed dancing, Until they came to the river Weser,Wherein all plunged and perished!
-Save one who, stout as Julius Caesar, Swam across and lived to carryTo Rat-land home his commentary:
Which was, " At the first shrill notes of the pipe,I heard a sound as of scraping tripe, And putting apples, wondrous ripe, Into a cider-press"s gripe;And a moving away of pickle-tub-boards, And a leaving ajar of conserve-cupboards, And a drawing the corks of train-oil flasks, And a breaking the hoops of butter-casks; And it seemed as if a voiceCalled out, "Oh rats, rejoice!
So munch on, crunch on, take your nuncheon, Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon!"
And just as a bulky sugar-puncheon, All ready staved, like a great sun shone Glorious scarce an inch before me,Just as methought it said: "Come, bore me!"
-I found the Weser rolling o"er me."
You should have heard the Hamelin people Ringing the bells till they rocked the steeple. "Go," cried the Mayor, " and get long poles! Poke out the nests and block up the holes ! Consult with carpenters and builders,And leave in our town not even a trace
Of the rats !"-When suddenly up the face Of the Piper perked in the market-place,With a, "First, if you please, my thousand guilders!"A thousand guilders! The Mayor looked blue; So did the Corporation too.
To pay this sum to a wandering fellow With a gipsy coat of red and yellow!
"Beside," quoth the Mayor with a knowing wink, "Our business was done at the river"s brink;We saw with our eyes the vermin sink, And what"s dead can"t come to life, I think. So, friend, we"re not the folks to shrinkFrom the duty of giving you something for drink, And a matter of money to put in your poke;But, as for the guilders, what we spoke
Of them, as you very well know, was in joke. Beside, our losses have made us thrifty;A thousand guilders ! Come, take fifty !"
The Piper"s face fell, and he cried,
"No trifling! I can"t wait, beside!
I"ve promised to visit by dinner-time Bagdad, and accept the primeOf the Head Cook"s pottage, all he"s rich in, For having left. in the Caliph"s kitchen,Of a nest of scorpions no survivor- With him I proved no bargain-driver, With you, don"t think I"ll bate a stiver! And folks who put me in a passionMay find me pipe after another fashion."
"How!" cried the Mayor, "d"ye think I"ll brook Being worse treated than a Cook?
Insulted by a lazy ribald
With idle pipe and vesture piebald? You threaten us, fellow? Do your worst, Blow your pipe there till you burst!"III.
Once more he stepped into the street; And to his lips againLaid his long pipe of smooth straight cane; And ere he blew three notes (such sweetSoft notes as yet musician"s cunning
Never gave the enraptured air)
There was a rustling that seemed like a bustling Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering, Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering, And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering, Out came the children running.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, Tripping and skipping, ran merrily afterThe wonderful music with shouting and laughter.