Pied Piper

Summary of Story

• The town of Hamelin in Lower Saxony, Germany, is infested with rats.

• A mysterious man, dressed in multicoloured ("pied") clothing, arrives in town. He claims to be a rat-catcher and promises to rid the town of the rats.

• The town's mayor agrees to a significant reward if the piper can successfully get rid of the rats.

• The Pied Piper plays a tune on his magic pipe which hypnotises the rats. They follow him out of the town.

• The Pied Piper leads the rats to the River Weser where they drown, effectively freeing the town of the rat infestation.

• Upon his return, the mayor reneges on his promise, refusing to give the Pied Piper the full reward. He offers only a meagre payment instead.

• Angered by this betrayal, the Pied Piper vows to take revenge on the town.

• The Pied Piper plays his pipe again, but this time it isn't the rats but the children of Hamelin who follow him, entranced by the tune.

• He leads the children away from the town and into a mountain cave, which closes behind them.

• Despite the desperate pleas of the townsfolk, the children are never seen again, with the exception of one who was lame and couldn't keep up, and another who was blind and couldn't show where the children had gone.

• The story ends with the townsfolk lamenting their loss, learning the harsh lesson about keeping their promises.

Origins

The origins of The Pied Piper of Hamelin are a mix of history and folklore, with the tale thought to have originated in the Middle Ages. Here's a brief overview:

The earliest known record of this story is from the town of Hamelin itself depicted in a stained glass window created for the church of Hamelin, which dates to around 1300 AD. However, the window was destroyed in the 17th century.

The oldest written account is from the "Luneburg manuscript," a collection of local stories and records, which describes the event as a historical occurrence and dates it to 1284.

It was later popularised in a poem by the Brothers Grimm in their collection "Grimm's Fairy Tales" and in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning.

Despite its fairy-tale status, some suggest the story might have historical roots. There are theories that children did disappear from Hamelin around the 13th century, though the cause is unknown.

One theory proposes that the children died of some natural causes, and the "Pied Piper" is a representation of Death.

Another theory suggests the children left Hamelin to be part of a 'Children's Crusade' to the Holy Land and never returned.

A third theory speculates that the children may have migrated or been sold to places like Transylvania (modern-day Romania), the Teutonic Lands in Eastern Europe, or the Baltic region as part of a settlement expansion, due to the historical practice known as 'Ostsiedlung'.

The actual reason behind the children's disappearance and the identity of the 'Pied Piper' remains a mystery. The tale continues to be a subject of speculation and interpretation.