Do You Believe In The Pied Piper Story?

This is a story about an unpaid musician turned kidnapper.

This is one amazing story. The background of the story is set in Medieval Europe, Saxony of Germany in the 1200s. It was a town on Hemelin plagued by an infestation of rats. The mayor of the town tried all ways to solve the problem. He has not been successful. Rats were running around in a World without borders and sanctions.

One day, a mysterious man known as the “Pied Piper” arrived in Hamelin. He committed to the mayor that the rat plague would be gone in a jiffy and all it takes is 1,000 guilders. The mayor, desperate and bankrupt of ideas, agreed.

The handsome young man went to work. He stood atop the highest point of Hamelin and started playing his magical pipe. In just seconds, rats from all corners of the town started sprinting towards the source of the music. All humans avoided the main pathways and all carriages went to the side. It was a magnificent scene.

As every single rat gathered behind the “Piped Piper”, he started moving. He continues to blow into the mystical pipe, chaperoning the school of rats behind him. They seemed hypnotized under his spell, unable to break away.

The young man continued to walk for 20 minutes until he arrived at the nearest body of water. As the music intensified, the rats then proceeded to behave like Lemmings. They ran into the water and drown themselves.

The “Pied Piper” was proud. He walked chest up and was light on his feet. When he got back to the Town Central, villagers gave him a treatment equivalent to a Hero’s Return. The young man was happy. He went straight to the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor, surprised at the speed of problem resolution, apparently breached the contract agreeing only to pay a fraction of the original sum. The “Pied Piper” was offended, angry, and vowed to bestow revenge on the town of Hamelin.

The “Pied Piper” returned on St John’s and Paul’s Day. He attacked stealthily when all adults were in Church service. True to his style of working, he started blowing into the mystical pipe while standing at the highest point of Hamelin. Soon, all kids started waddling out of their houses are gathered behind the handsome young man.

The day repeated itself. The “Pied Piper” led the kids to a cave in a far-away land and the kids were never found.

While the kids were lured away from town, 3 remained. 1 was blind so he couldn’t see where they are heading to. 1 was deaf so he didn’t know what happened. 1 was crippled so he couldn’t keep up.

These 3 kids lived to tell the story.

This is the version I read. To call this a Fable is interesting. It was dark. And there was an apparent lack of “Happily ever afters” or “Heroic Tales”.

The entire episode happened as I was tasked to take care of the younger nieces and nephews. It was a reading evening before dinner and I was looking for a simple read to entertain them.

As I went through their bookshelves, I found the book on “The Pied Piper”. It caught my attention and I picked it for that afternoon, much to the dismay of the younger ones. They seemed upset after hearing the story.

Somehow my thought processes were different today. When I was much younger, I read it without extracting any lessons from it. Today, I have questions. These questions are seemingly obvious to me and I wonder if others have asked the same.

This is my list.

Question 1 — Did the Pied Piper Overreact?

The “Pied Piper” started as a merchant of his services. He saw a business opportunity where his skills could be put to good use. And he did. There is nothing wrong with that, just like the way independent consultants and lawyers operate.

Where his services might be exorbitant, it was not challenged or negotiated. 1,000 guilders was the agreed price. The market dynamics and equilibrium was at play and functioning well.

When the issue was resolved, the Mayor decided to breach that contract. The termination of the contract could be 100 guilders (in some versions, less than that) and he paid the Pied Piper that. Maybe the Mayor was in doubt (I will get to that in Question 2). Maybe that’s all Treasury could offer.

An angry and short-changed “Pied Piper” then exacted revenge. The extent of revenge was not equivocal. The more I think about it, the more I think there is a story behind it. After all, it was 130 kids kidnapped for 1,000 guilders.

What could have driven the “Pied Piper” to the cliff? Perhaps he needed the payment to feed his dying family. Perhaps he needed the payment to send his aged parents for medical treatment. And he didn’t manage to after providing service. Perhaps, someone within his family died as a result. Thus, he decided to punish the town of Hamelin.

Would he have overreacted then? I leave that to the discretion of the readers. Of course, this is my conjecture. I truly believe this is a bigger story behind his actions.

Question 2 — Why Did The Mayor Breach The Contract?

This question kept going around my head. In fact, why would the Mayor not pay the dutiful sum when the problem is resolved in an instant?

Maybe that IS the problem. It was a situation that plagued the town for Hamelin for ages and the “Foreign Talent” was able to resolve it “within days”. It was a source of reasonable doubt. Could the “Pied Piper” be the one who released the rats?

Could it be that he was the only one who could solve this problem because he created this problem?

The Mayor could be doubtful. Plus, the tilt of political support away from him to the “Pied Piper” after resolving the rat plague pushed the Mayor to do uncharacteristic acts. It sowed the seeds of a negative spiral.

Question 3 — Who Do The 3 Survivals Represent?

As part of the Fable, the 3 survivals are those who cannot follow the “Pied Piper” due to physical deformities. It goes beyond that. It was mentioned that the adults were in church when the “Pied Piper” executed his assault. It made me wonder what the definition of “adulthood” meant in Medieval Europe?

I did a little research here and found that “adulthood” comes in stages. 14 marked the marriageable age and 21 is the age when they could legally inherit family assets. So, at what age could anyone attend Church?

Then I figured. That is not the point. I was off-pitch. Then I came back. The point is, the “Pied Piper” has wiped out the entire productivity and prosperity energy of the town of Hamelin in an instant. When I think of it, I felt that the 3 remaining survivors are the enlightened ones. That’s because they chose not to be hoodwinked by the apparent “savior” impression that the “Pied Piper” has scripted.

The lesson is this. Whenever someone becomes too influential, too convincing, “God-Like” — We have to discount what we see. Apply the force of gravity and bring our feet back to the ground. This is the time to not see (what is presented), not hear (how beautiful the message is packaged) and not follow (invitations to doom).

Skepticism is a life-skill.

Hang on A Second! I Am Still Doubtful.

If the “Piped Piper” could mesmerize rats, and millions of them at once, then one question must be asked. Why didn’t the “Piped Piper” blow the tune of subservience into the Mayor’s ears and retrieve his payment? He could have robbed the entire Treasury.

And my final thought. This has a slight political inkling. The Mayor got to become one because he operates in a World of politics and policymaking. When the “Pied Piper” left his room angry with the breach of contract, the Mayor should have his “spider-senses” up and realized that he antagonized a Tiger clothed in Human Skin.

Why didn’t the Mayor prepare for war?

My Post-Reading Reflections.

Unlike the Tortoise and The Hare which is overly optimistic, the “Pied Piper” is a realistic story that has presented depths of human interaction within one short story. It is dark, and there is no one single happy event within the story except the eradication of rats.

Probably in the World of the young where they are taught to see the beautiful aspects of life and adulthood, this story serves to counter extreme optimism from other stories with a balance of reality.

I have to say I enjoyed the Fable. Not because it is dark. But because it is real. For us to truly appreciate what this Fable is telling us, and we have to ask the right questions.

I constantly wonder if I am asking the right questions.

Are you?

Cheers to Ever-Green Happily-Ever-Afters,

Aldric

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