reference to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a
character in a poem by Robert
Browning, based on a
German folk tale from the
Middle Ages. The town of Hamelin is infested with
rats, and the citizens
hire a piper in multicolored (pied) clothing to lure the
rats out with his charming music. The
rats follow the piper into the river and drown. When the townspeople refuse to pay the piper, he lures away all the
children of the town.