Pied Piper of Hamelin- Story

The Pied Piper of Hamelin/The Consequence of Ungratefulness

A long time ago, the town of Hamelin in Germany was faced with a great problem. It became full of rats. The rats were so big and fierce that they fought the dogs, killed the cats and bit the babies in the cradle. They also ate up the corn in the granaries and cut up papers and valuable documents into pieces. They ran about shrieking and squeaking all the time.
Agonized by the rats, people came to the Town Hall and said to the Mayor, “Do something about the rats or we will send you packing” The Mayor got worried. He called a meeting of the councilors and talked about the problems for hours. But they could not find a way out. They were in despair. At that time, a tall thin stranger entered the hall room. His dress was made of pieces of cloth of different colors. He proceeded to the councilors’ table and said, ”People call me Pied Piper. If you pay me a thousand guilders, I will rid your town of rats.” The Mayor agreed to his proposal with pleasure.
Playing a melodious tune on his flute, the pied piper began to walk and all the rats followed him. At last he reached near a river and waded across it. The rats one after another jumped into the river and were drowned. Thus Hamelin was saved from the rats. Returning to the Mayor, the piper demanded his money. But the Mayor did not agree to give him the promised money fully. The piper got depressed but went away saying nothing.
Then he played another tune on his pipe. The tune made all the babies of the city follow the piper towards an unknown hill and they never came back.