Table of Contents

• THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN
  • THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN
    • I.
    • II.
    • III.
    • IV.
    • V.
    • VI.
    • VII.
    • VIII.
    • IX.
    • X.
    • XI.
    • XII.
    • XIII.
    • XIV.
    • XV.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

BY ROBERT BROWNING

ILLUSTRATED BY KATE GREENAWAY

THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

I.

Hamelin Town's in Brunswick,

By famous Hanover city;

The river Weser, deep and wide,

Washes its wall on the southern side;

A pleasanter spot you never spied;

But, when begins my ditty,

Almost five hundred years ago,

To see the townsfolk suffer so

From vermin, was a pity.

II.

Rats!

They fought the dogs and killed the cats,

And bit the babies in the cradles,

And ate the cheeses out of the vats.

And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,

Split open the kegs of salted sprats,

Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,

And even spoiled the women's chats,

By drowning their speaking

With shrieking and squeaking