The Pied Piper: A Tale about Promises

Abstract

This is an age-old story, and the subtitle rightly focuses our attention as we read it on keeping our promises. I realize only now that the expression paying the piper may well arise from this tale. Here that tale is well told. I had forgotten that the piper doubles his price when he offers to bring the children back. Here he explicitly ties the rise in price to the unkept promise of the greedy mayor. In this series, there are seldom bad guys, and so here the major learns his lesson and lives happily after. He no longer breaks promises. In keeping with that same tenor in this series, the piper leads the rats out to a good habitat where they can live happily.