Hey there again tiktakers, and welcome to a new
#StorySaturday! Today we'll be talking about one fairy tale known all over the world: The
tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin! So, get comfy, and listen closely…
Hamelin was a town located in the middle of a valley, surrounded by mountains and
nature. Its inhabitants used to fish in a nearby river, which they also used to swim
and cool themselves down in the summer. They also had pretty rich farmlands, so
you could say that they had everything they needed. They were pretty happy!
However, one day, something pretty strange started to happen: When the neighbors woke up, there were
rats everywhere! Worried, they rushed to close the doors of their barns so the rats wouldn't
eat all their wheat… but it was useless: The rats were invading every nook and cranny in the town.
The mayor, seeing how the situation was completely out of control,
gathered the town's inhabitants. In front of all the townsfolk,
he announced that whomever was capable of controlling this rat plague, would receive a bag
full of gold coins… and the news quickly spread through the neighboring towns.
Eventually, one person came to the rescue: A piper – a slender young man holding a flute.
The townsfolk looked at him, suspicious, but as soon as the piper started playing his flute,
all the rats started following him! He went across all the streets playing his flute until
every single rat in the town was following him, and then led them all into the forest.
Finally, the plague was over, and the townsfolk didn't take long to organize a huge party! And
of course, the piper came back to claim the gold coins he had been promised. He asked the mayor
for his reward… but the mayor said he would not give him so much money just for playing the flute.
And so, feeling completely betrayed, the piper decided to take justice into his own hands:
Without saying anything else, he started playing his flute once more… but this time around,
instead of the rats, he started attracting all of the children in the town! Little by little
all the children started following him, and just like with the rats, the piper
led them all out of the town and into the forest… and nobody heard from them ever again.
The tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is based on real events. It originated in Germany,
and was documented by the Grimm Brothers. The original title was Der Rattenfänger von Hameln,
which translates into "The rat hunter of Hamelin",
and was published in the volume Deutsche Sagen in 1816.
It's not completely clear when this story was originally created, as it can be connected to
different historical periods. The first mentions of this story seem to date back to a vitrine that
existed in the Hamelin church around the year 1300. Later on it was destroyed, although many
years later Hans Dobbertin created another one that can still be seen in the town nowadays.
Throughout the years, many researchers have tried to figure out exactly what
happened to the town's children. Many theories revolve around that question:
On one hand, some believe they all ended up drowning in a river due to an accident. On the
other hand, others believe that some infectious disease was the cause of all of them disappearing.
Other theories posit that they were actually recruited by a military force,
represented in the legend by the piper.
However, the most popular theory says that the children voluntarily abandoned the town
to colonize other places in eastern Europe. That would coincide with the founding dates of new
towns founded by German settlers, and in this case, the piper would be their boss or leader.
In some lighter versions of the tale, the townsfolk convince the piper to return the
children to them, and they all return home safe and sound. And so tiktakers,
we don't actually know what happened, but what's clear is that Hamelin is a town full of secrets!
Oh, and did you know that even in 2021, out of respect for the victims, there is a street in
Hamelin where it's forbidden to play music? That's baffling, don't you think, tiktakers?
Let us know in the comments if you already knew about this tale!