VI

He advanced to the council table:

And, "Please your honors," said he, "I'm able,

By means of a secret charm, to draw
All living creatures 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 around his neck

A 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 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 swarm of gnats;
I eased in Asia the Nizam

Of a monstrous brood of vampire 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!" - was the exclamation Of the astonished Mayor and Corporation.

VII

Into the street the Piper stepped

Smiling first a little smile,

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, gray 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,

CATH. FIFTH READER 4

Until they came to the river Weser
Wherein all plunged and perished!

- Save one who, stout as Julius Cæsar,
Swam across and lived to carry

To 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 voice

Called out, 'Oh Rats, rejoice!

The world is grown to one vast drysaltery!
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."

VIII

You should have heard the Hamelin people
Ringing the bells till they rocked the steeple;