The piper and the villagers

There were thousands of rats everywhere in a village. They were in homes, in shops, in godowns and in fields. They ate a lot of corn and other eatables. They destroyed furniture, clothes and papers. The villagers suffered heavy losses because of the rats. They wanted to get rid of the rats at any cost.

     One day a piper came to the village and said, "I will destroy all the rats in the village. But you must pay me five thousand rupees as my fee for destroying the rats."

The villagers agreed to pay him five thousand rupees. Then the piper played a very sweet tune on his pipe. All the rats in the homes, in the shops, in the godowns and in the fields heard the sweet music and streamed out onto the streets. They danced to the tune of the music. The piper walked towards the river and they followed him. The piper stepped into the river water. The rats, too, jumped in to the river and were all drowned.

     The piper came back to the villager and asked for five thousand rupees. The villagers refused to pay.

The piper said, "You are cheats. Now I am going to play another tune on the pipe and you will have to pay me ten thousand rupees."

      When the piper played another tune, much sweeter than the earlier one, the children of the villagers rushed out onto the streets and began to dance vigorously.

      The music and the dance went on and on and on. The villagers could stop neither the piper nor the children. At last the villagers feared that over-exertion would kill their children. They felt sorry for being dishonest with the piper.

“Here is your ten thousand rupees. Please take the money and stop the music.” They requested the piper.

The piper stopped the music, took the money and went on his way. The children went back to their parents.