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“ Good day , sirs , ” he says . “ I have a secret magic . With it , I can make any living thing follow me . Things that walk or run , things that swim or fly . Every animal under the sun ! You have never seen anything like it ! I use my magic mostly on animals that hurt people . Moles , toads , snakes . People call me the Pied Piper . ” Now the men see a scarf around his neck . It is red and yellow too , with stripes . At the end of the scarf there is a pipe . A pipe is like a small flute . You blow into it , and it makes music . The stranger’s fingers move all the time . They want to play the pipe . “ Pied ” is an old word . It means “ of two colours ” . The man’s coat and scarf are red and yellow . So he is the Pied Piper . “ I am only a poor piper , ” he says . “ But last June , I helped the Khan of Tartary . The Khan is a great king . He had big black clouds of gnats . Gnats are very small flies , and they bite . I took them all away . In Asia , I helped a rich prince . In his land there were bats , lots of terrible bats . They drank people’s blood . I took them all away too . ” He smiles his strange smile . “ Now , your problem , ” he says . “ I can take all the rats out of your town . Will you give me a thousand guilders for it ? ” “ One thousand ? ” cries the Mayor . “ We will give you fifty thousand ! ” “ Yes , yes ! ” cry all the men of the Corporation . “ Fifty thousand ! ” “ I only want one thousand , ” says the Piper . “ No more and no less . Is that a promise ? ” “ Yes , yes , ” says the Mayor . “ One thousand guilders . You have my word . ” “ Good , ” says the Piper . “ Then I will start now . ” IV . The Rats and the River The Piper goes out into the street . First , he smiles a little smile . He knows about the magic in his quiet pipe . Then he puts the pipe to his lips . His sharp eyes shine green and blue , like little flames . He plays three high notes . Then there is a sound in the town . It is quiet at first . It is like the sound of a big army , when all the men talk quietly . Then it grows louder . It grows louder and louder , like thunder . And then out of all the houses come the rats ! Big rats and small rats . Thin rats and fat rats . Brown rats , black rats , grey rats and yellow rats . Slow old rats and happy young rats . Fathers , mothers , uncles and cousins . Brothers and sisters , husbands and wives . They come in whole families , lots and lots of them . Their tails are up , and their whiskers shake . And they all follow the Piper . The Piper walks from street to street . He plays and plays . The rats follow him , step by step , and they dance . The people of Hamelin look out of their windows and their doors . They can’t believe their eyes . At last the Piper comes to the river Weser . The rats don’t stop . They jump into the river , all of them . The deep water goes over them . They never come out again .
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