Laid his long pipe of smooth, straight cane;
And, ere he blew three notes (such sweet,
Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning
Never gave to the enraptured air),
There was a rustling, that seem’d like a bustling
Of merry crowds justling, at pitching and hustling,
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,
Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering \:
And, like fowls in a farmyard where barley is scattering,
Out came the children running.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes, and teeth like pearls,
Tripping, skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.”
The Piper led the way down the street, the children all following, whilst the Hameln people stood aghast, not knowing what step to take, or what would be the result of this weird piping. He led them from the town towards a hill rising above the Weser—
“When, lo! as they reach’d the mountain’s side,
A wondrous portal open’d wide,
As if a cavern were suddenly hollow’d;
And the piper advanced, and the children follow’d;
And when all were in, to the very last,
The door in the mountain side shut fast.”
No! not all. Two remained: the one blind, and the other dumb. The dumb child pointed out the spot where the children had vanished, and th
