Greetings, brethren. As Town Crier, the duty falls upon me to report all of the happenings within Hamelin Town, good and bad. Much has happened over the past few months, but the biggest news by far is of the rat plague. It all began on a Tuesday morning. I was hard at work polishing my bell when suddenly I felt this strange tickle on my leg. I looked down expecting to see Pattycake’s kitten up to her usual antics but instead I saw right before my eyes a rat the size of a small child! At this sight, I jumped back in terror, only to land on another rat. I looked around and saw that the whole room was filled with the squeaking, gnawing and chomping little beasts! Knowing my job, I picked up my bell and ran to the town square to warn the citizens.
Over the next few weeks, the rats practically took over the town. They chewed the flowers, destroyed the school, and ate the baker’s food. Needless to say, the whole town was suffering, and if something weren’t done soon, the rats would have destroyed everything our forefathers worked so hard to build when they established Hamelin Town. In a time like that, the citizens of Hamelin Town needed a strong leader, but sadly, we just had the mayor, and everybody knows that the mayor is a simpleton. It’s his wife who actually runs the town, but she is a greedy and cold-hearted woman. Under their “leadership” we were all told to simply ignore the problem. At that point, when it seemed that all hope was lost, a mysterious man appeared. He called himself the “Pied Piper”, and he promised that he would be able to get rid of every last one of the nibbling pests. Normally, we would never believe such talk, but there was something magical about this man, something that drew us to him. However, his service required a fee, one thousand guilders. At first, the news of this fee made us citizens despair, but then, surprisingly, the mayor offered to pay the fee and even more if the Pied Piper did what he promised. A few hours later, we all witnessed the rats drown in the river, led there by the sound of the Piper’s flute.
In the following days, I was proud to report nothing but good news within Hamelin Town. Now that the rats were dead, everyone wanted to celebrate, and business was booming. It seemed like the good times would never end, that is, until the Piper returned asking for his money. Earlier, blinded by our desire to get rid of the rats we had not realized what a great sum of money he was asking for. Because of the rats we were all very poor, and now that they were gone it just seemed pointless to have to pay so much money. Why pay for a job that has already been done? Unanimously, we agreed that we would not pay even one cent to the Piper. When we told him of our decision, he had this warning for us “I play more than one tune.” At the time, we all laughed at his threat, but I can’t help feeling a certain sense of dread for what’s to come. Perhaps I am only being silly. Nevertheless I will be sure to keep you all informed. Thank you for reading!
