Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1890-03-22


ment that these pests did not imme-
diately discover and pillage. nor did
they refrain from attacking at times
the sleeping bodies of man. woman
and beast. In vain the rulers of the
town distributed poisons and devised
ingenious traps to catch and extermin-
ate the destructive pests. Every rat
death seemed to be followed by the
birth of score of other rats. until the
question became one of which should
survive, the people or the rats. AT
this juncture, when the village fathers
were in despair. there arrived in Ham,
elm curious-looking man. a piper. 10
whom the name Of Bunting was given,
from the dress which he wore. Being
told Of their extremity he agreed TO
rid the people of the rats in considera-
tion of a certain sum Of money. Some
portion Of the sequel can best be told
In the words of Brownings poem;
Into the street the piper slept,
Smiling first a little smile.
As IL he knew what magic slept
In his quiet pipe the while:
And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkled,
Like candlefiame where salt n sprinkled;
And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered
You heard as II an army muttered.
And the mutterinR grew to grumbling.
And the Rrumbiing grew To mighty rum
bling,
Great rats. small rats, lean rats. brawny rata
Brown rats. black rats, gray rats, tmwny ratR
Grave old plodders. gay young friskers.
Fathers. mothers, uncles cousins.
Cooking tails and prickinR whiskers.
Families by tens OF dozens:
Brothers. sisters. husbands. wives,
Followed the piper for their lives.
Untll they came to the river Weser,
Where n all plunged and persisted.
Gratitude, OF course, should have
filled the hearts of the people OF
Hameln and they should have been
eager to reward the man whose
musical pipe had freed them from the
pests. Yet, strange 10 relate, they
did nothing of the kind. No sooner
did they witness the drowning Of their
busy little foes than they deliberately
refused to give the "Pied Piper" the
promised reward, offering him much
inferior sum. Words ran high, sc
Browning tells, until, seeing he could
not get the money, the piper again put
his instrument to his lips. Stranger
and sweeter were the sounds than be
fore. and from out of every house in the
town came the children Of the pcriidious
parents. laughing and keeping step &C
the rhythm Of the piper's lay. On he
led them and still on, while their sires
looked in helpless amazement until the
Koppelberg hill was reached.
"when 10. as they reached the mountair
And wondrous portal opened wide.
As If cavern was suddenly hollDwed.
And the per advanced and the chlldrer
And when all were in 10 the very last
The door In the mountain de shu; fast"
There were sorrow and lamentaiion
In the town of Hameln for one hun.
dred and thirty children who had dis.
appeared. but the mountain side never
opened again Couriers were sent hy
the mayor offering fabulous rewards
fer the return of the children and
promising much to the hero of the
mystic pipe. But whether he heard
them or not, or hearing doubted them,
as he would have been justified in do.
ing. he never came. Opposite the place
where the mountain side had yawned
the people erected a column, on which
the substance ofthe story was inscribed.
In various forms the legend is told oi
other times and places, but its truth. il
truth indeed 1t possess. must ever be
associated with Hameln. The same
tale Is related Of Brandenburg. the
authorities of which refused TO Keep q
promise made 10 the fiddler of thai
quaint town, but he led the chill
dren not into the mountain side,
but to their death in the Marienberg.
When the town of Lorch was
infested with ants, ii is said that these
insects were led by piper TO the wa.
tiers of lake which engulfed them.
but when payment Of the stipulated
sum was refused the Lorch piper piped
only the village pigs to their death.
Almost similar is the legend which
saws of the same place that, not profit
ing by that experience. its people
again denied reward to charcoal
burner who had freed the place from
erickets, 2nd in revenge he led their
sheep into the lake. Again, in the fol.
lowing year. the children of Lorch
were lured into the Tannenberg by q
mountain hermit, who was similarly
treated, and who. SO runs the legend,
taught the inhabitants Of the town for
third time the pointed moral that in.
gratitude meets with punishment 10
the end.
Perhaps the strongest legend of all
is that found in Gueulette's ..Chinest
Tales" About the year 1928 the towr
Of lspapau, Persia, like Hameln, wai
overrun with rats. For certain price
n dwarf named Giouf freed the towr
from yermin, but was given a number
of counterfeit pieces with the genuine
coin paid Nor would the now lib
Grated people right the wrong thu,
wantonly done. On the day following
their refusal 10 exchange the counter.
felt coin they were Mortified at the
spectacle nf an old black woman fifty
feet high standing in the market place
with whip in hand. The mother ol
the dwarf. Mergian Banon, had come
to ayenge her misshapen sons afiront.
Fifteen Of the towns principal women
she stTangled ON each of four success.
sive days, and on the fifth forty Others
were led into a magic tower, from
which thes never emerged. Whether
tales like these ever had In them more
ih,n the pointing of moral may well
BE- questioned now. There was time,
however. when to doubt them might
| have resulted nnhappily for the skep