The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax.

A plague of rats descends on the prosperous town of Hamelin and soon
literally eats the townspeople out of house and home. Neither prison nor
traps have any effect on the vermin. Finally, in desperation, the mayor
offers a large reward to anyone who can rid the town of the rats. With
the melody he plays on his pipe, the Pied Piper enchants the rats into
following him to the river, where all the rats drown. When the Piper
claims his reward, the townspeople offer him only a small fraction of
the agreed-upon fee. He refuses it, and in revenge plays his music to
the children, who follow him out of town, never to be seen again.

This is a straightforward recounting of the old story. Lemieux notes
that the legend is based in history, and provides the genesis of the
folk tale. She preserves the essence of the morality tale, noting that
the townspeople were neglectful of their children, who as a result were
happy to go with the Pied Piper, and that the Piper would not have taken
the children had the ungrateful and greedy people paid him his just
reward. Although this is perhaps not the most compelling version of the
old folk tale, the prose is clear and concise, and young children will
enjoy the illustrations, which are graphic and colorful. Recommended.