Hamelyn - The legendary Tragedy

8/12/2019 Hamelyn - The legendary Tragedy

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Hamelyn -The Tragic Tale

I

In the last grey of morning, the stars were dimming in the west. The nightingale fell silentagainst the calls of the cricket and the early birds. On the way to the fields rose twoshapes out of the darkness, one walking slowly with hunched back and cane, the other,much smaller, dancing and listening to nature's orchestra. "Be careful, child, it's still verydark. If you fall, you're mother will never forgive me."

"Oh, Grandpa," answered the squeaky child voice, "I can see just fine. Look, thesun is rising over the mountain!"Bright red and bloated it appeared. The physical movement was, unlike the day,

extraordinarily fast, the sun seemed to be eager to spread it's light over the fields ofnorthern Germany. "Grandpa," spoke the small voice renewed, "tell me the story of themountain again."

"Strange that you're so fascinated by that story," said Grandfather, and began..."It was every year in summer. The young people were full of happiness and love.

The thrill of spring brought cheer to their hearts and they were anxious that the "HighTime" would soon arrive.The longest day of the year, when the sun reaches the highest point in the heavens - theMidsummernight, was approaching and with it the celebration of the High Time. Theyoung lovers would meet in the center of the town to wander, dancing and singing, to the

holy mountain east of the city.Led by musicians, they spent the evening celebrating their love and when they returnedthe following day, they were married."

"When can I dance the High Time, Grandpa?""Lieschen, you're much too young. Even worse, no one dances the High Time

anymore. It's not allowed. Young people get married in the church these days.""That's not half as nice," she responded with honest disappointment."You're right," said Grandfather with the sadness of lost youth in his voice, "but we

can't do a thing about it. The High Time is gone forever..."

II

The dawn smiled gently down over the town of Hamelyn in the last days of spring. Overten years had passed since the morning in the meadow and Lieschen had grown into abudding young beauty. She was on her way through the streets of the town with herfriends, Annchen, Gretchen, and the other young girls of Hamelyn.The city was teeming with life. 3000 people were living inside the high walls. 5 gates and22 watchtowers spiked the defensive ring. Because of the strategic situation of the citywith the only bridge over the wide Weser for miles around, the town was always full oftravelers. They passed through Hamelyn on the "Hellweg"- the first major road throughGermany between the Kaiser's towns of Aachen and Koenigsberg. The East-West

connection kept the businesses in Hamelyn booming, and no one wanted the situation tochange.


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It was around 1200 when the walls were erected and the church of St. Nicklaus was builtby the citizens of the town. A Cathedral was part of the cloister which had been the centerof the older town. The townsfolk wanted to have a house of worship for themselves, andautonomy for those who were not directly connected to the cloister.

Lieschen and her friends moved through the streets of the town. The horses and oxen lefttheir distinctive note in the air to mix with the smells of cooking over open fire. Althoughthey were all interested in jewelry, material, and dresses, as young women should be,Lieschen was less interested in toys or marionette players who toured the town. She wasalso further along than the other girls in forming the rounded contours which are apleasure to a man's eye."Look there!" she said, as she pointed to the fruit stand, "Karl's father isn't at the stand! IfI make a big fuss about him, I'll bet he'll let us steal some apples."

"Never, his father will beat his behind, or maybe ours if he catches us," Annchensaid. She was typically the anchor of the group and just as unwilling to cause trouble as

she was famous for lying to get out of it.Lieschen started toward the stand, "Come on, don't be chicken!"

Karl's eyes lit up at the sight of the girls approaching. Perhaps a year or two older, it waswell known in Hamelyn that he wasn't too bright.

"Kaaarl...," Lieschen stretched his name like molasses, "Karl, come on, tell the girlshow much you like me."

The blood rushed to his face like it only can by red-haired boys with freckles. Thegirls giggled.

"Don't you like me?" she formed a pout."No, he likes me and wants to marry ME!" Gretchen tried to get his attention. The

others shouted,"No, Karl wants to marry me""No, Me!""I saw him first!"

Another young man might have just leaned back to enjoy the show, but Karl wasconfused and thrilled by his new popularity. As he looked this way and that, the girls eachgrabbed an apple or pear, some cherries or strawberries and stashed them away beforehe could look back.The Merchant heard the noise and came back just in time to rush out after the girls. Hewas a man of great proportions but still able to move surprisingly quickly for his size.Chickens flew, a hand cart tipped as the Merchant persued the girls. Fortunately, the bigman winded almost immediately (Or was it the laughter of his fellows on the roadside?)and he returned to "Speak" to his son.

III

In a cross-street, the Mayor was walking with the Abbot and his companion, discussingthe days activities and enjoying the late spring weather.

"As I was saying, Jacob," noted the Abbot, "you may be proud of the work you'vedone for the town."

"I must admit that I am very pleased. There were never so many people in the

church, the town is quiet and safe, business prospers. Who would have thought that wewould be doing so well after the tragic loss at Sedemuender?" Jacob was equally happy


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not to have been involved in that escapade. It had directly influenced his rising to the postof the mayor, though.The Abby of Fulda had sold their interest in the far-flung cloister of Hamelyn to the Abbyof Minden to which it was over 200 miles nearer. They planned to sell the town as well,but were met by the protest of Jacob's predecessor and the council. So it came to pass

that the townsfolk of Hamelyn left the safety of the walls of the city to meet the Mindentroops at Sedemuender, north of the town. It was a mistake that would cost the lives ofmany of the young men of the town and wipe out entire blood lines in Hamelyn. Luckprevailed, though, and the Gulph Count at Braunschweig, who was looking to expand hisinfluence anyway, took the side of the town and gave it individual rights within his realmof influence. That was all 24 years past, but the city was doing well today.Jacob's family was not originally from Hamelyn. His roots were in Muender over themountain to the north. His father Rudolf had moved his business to Hamelyn after thestruggles at Sedemuender as there were new opportunities for men in the town.One of these opportunities came in the form of Gertrud. She was the reasonably attractive

second daughter of one of the knighted families of Hamelyn. Her father and only brotherhad been lost in the battle, leaving her without inheritance. The combination of thecompetent Jacob and the talented Gertrud was more than the sum of the parts. Herinfluence had been integral to his taking the office of the mayor.Lieschen was looking back to see if they were still being followed as she rounded a cornerand ran directly into the mayor.

"Father! Oh excuse me. Uh, I'll see you at dinner..." She moved off between thetwo men much more carefully but still rather quickly with the other girls.

"Don't play so wild! You might get hurt." remarked Jacob admonishingly over hisshoulder.

As the girls moved on the Abbot spoke, "Lieschen must certainly come to Firming nextyear.""But she's only, uh, just 14." stammered the Mayor who was once again caught in

this line of conversation that he hated."Jacob..." spoke the Abbot in his best fatherly voice and looked back toward

Lieschen who's skirt waved in a very womanly manner as she receded, "She certainlyseems to be of a marrying age."

"Yes, but with whom?" Jacob lamented. This was the crux of his problem. He hadgotten help from the Abbot in changing Lieschen's birth records, making her officiallyyounger. Still, he was not able to find a suitable suitor for his Lieschen, who's namewas actually Eloisa, but he continued to refer to her as his baby.The Abbot was still admiring the girls as he answered, "Duke Moritz is looking for a wife."He gave a nod back down the long wide street. Jacob turned to see Lieschen and theother girls angle into a side street just as three riders who were approaching craned theirnecks to follow the view. The first rider's jet-black horse walked into an old man who wasabsent-mindedly crossing the street."Out of the way, you old fool! Can't you see that you're blocking the street?" stormed theyoung man dressed in riding leather as black as his stallion. The menace that he exudedwas palpable. He had been stirred at his hobby, studying the contours of female anatomy.The oiled hair falling about his face had nearly the same dark color as his eyes which nowfocused under their bushy dark brows on the source of his agitation. The old timer

muttered something which caused the rider to draw his riding crop out of the highlydecorated saddle and bring it down upon the old man again and again. The two others,


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Nickolas and Hermann, younger brothers of Duke Moritz, were laughing contemptuouslyat the plight of the cringing grandfather."That should teach him." noted Moritz to his brothers as he spied the city's leadingcitizens in his path. "Be greeted, Mayor, Abbot!"

"Well met." responded the Mayor, although in no way did he feel pleased about the

meeting."How is your father doing, Moritz?" queried the Abbot. He had heard that the old

Duke of Steinberg was very ill but strangely ignored the pain of the equally aged citizenbefore him.

"No better, he sits very still and shivers although it is almost summer. It probablywon't last much longer." reported Moritz.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll be sure to include him in my prayers... And thank youfor your help in dealing with the unfaithful farmers from the outlying regions. They allarrived in the church on Sunday, even though some of them were still limping." A widegrin formed on the wrinkled features of the Abbot which set you to wondering how he

could smile that way without parts of his parched face falling off.Moritz was enjoying the joke as well. "Yea, we were able to drive in our "taxes" at

the same time."Jacob knew that the two of them had forced the farmers who lived outside the city walls,in Duke Moritz' territory, to bleed off part of their crops to the church and "state."

"Don't be too bold here in the town." Jacob gestured toward the old man who wasjust now rising out of the gutter after his beating, "What you do outside the walls is yourbusiness, but I have the say in the town of Hamelyn."

Moritz leaned down from his saddle a bit and fixed his snake-like stare on Jacob,"For now." He regained his riding position "Abbot! Mayor!" and rode further along the

way, his ever-present brothers in tow.

IV

The girls were sitting on a wagonload of hay and eating their apples high above thestreet. Annchen saw the Duke's Sons first, "There he is again, Moritz! He's so strong!"

"Show off" muttered Lieschen who was corrected by another,"He has a castle and inherits a lot of land""But he's repulsive and mean." Lieschen changed to a conspiratorial tone, "He even

tried to kiss me once."

"No!" "Really?" The girls were equally repulsed by the thought of being kissed bythe man with the long wavy black hair and finely trimmed beard. "Iiiii!" They were soinvolved in the joke that no one noticed Annchen who was staring dreamily in thedistance after Moritz. She looked like she might enjoy being kissed...Lieschen began once more, "No thank you. My dream man doesn't come from here butfrom far away. Tall, blond, and good looking, he will tell me tales of the wide, wide worldand take me with him out of these grey city walls..."

Annchen stopped her reverie by taking the last piece of apple out of her hand,"Then you won't need your apple, you can pick some when you get there!" and ran off,Lieschen and the others following.


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V

The Hellweg was nothing more than a dirt path. It was dusty in the late spring sunshineand the drawn wagons stirred the dust up so that anyone traveling on the road wascovered with a fine film. It led out of Detmold and the Teutoberger Forest where theRoman Legion was stopped by Armenius and his German troops. That was the first defeatof the Roman Empire and the first resistance to new leadership and religion. It kept theRomans in the Rhine valley for a number of years but could not stop the growth of theChristian religion which spread through the small chapels and cloisters and was supportedby royalty such as Karl the Great who received the crown of the Holy Roman Empire fromthe Pope.It was very important for royalty to place their daughters, who were not suitable to carryon the family name and cost a dowry if they married, into the service of the church, inmonasteries or cloisters where they could gain political/religious influence to secure thecontinued family prosperity. The sons were also active in seeing that the church gainedinfluence and many second sons became bishops and cardinals.

The leading citizens used the new religion as a method to gain power and influence in away that the old religion never could. The Druids did not need large churches to dominatethe city skyline and serve as a reminder of the power of the Holy Spirit, they saw themountains as their place of worship and the followers of their religion went to themountain for important ceremonies. Where monolithic stones were found, they werecarved and sculpted into intricate pictures. Caverns were converted into labyrinths andwere part of joyous celebrations. There was no need to give 10% of your crops andearnings to the church, God was everywhere around you and could be consulted withouthaving to visit his special building.

A young man was on his way along the Hellweg. He came through the Teuotoberg Forest

and past the leper colonies that had sprung up along the way. The ill lined the side of theroad and hoped for sympathy and, of course, money from the travelers. Should they notreceive enough, there was always the possibility of marching toward the town. Thismethod was very successful in the past but the times were rather good and the travelerswere happy to support the lepers in their life of cloister, so long as they stayed there.The stranger pulled a small wagon behind him. It had two wheels and a leg to stand andpark. There were various compartments and a strange cage-like arrangement on the rearthat was not used for storage or transport. From within the wooden cage a small roundeddoor led into the wagon. The wagon was not at all like the others seen on the Hellweg,they were hollow arrangements to transport goods or flat, rolling tables to present wares.

It was not clear just what the good looking blond youth had in mind with his strangeconstruction as he crossed the river and entered the town of Hamelyn through theFisherman's Gate.His clothing was of a cut that immediately revealed he was not at home here. Perhaps itwas only a difference in the use of leather and linen, sleeves a little bit longer or pant legstoo short to match the other men who went about their business in Hamelyn.He stopped a moment and listened to a man speaking to a throng of folks about thecoming of the Judgment Day and that only Christ, the Church and confession could saveyou from the tortures of hell. A very old man moved hobblingly out of the mass oflisteners and as he passed the stranger he was muttering, "Wodon will punish these liarsyet!" The young man had to stifle a grin as he continued on his way.His way through town began to attract some attention, but as always, only with the localwomen. Something about his long blond hair or the muscular legs trained by years ofwandering drew the looks of the Hamelyn ladies. Sometimes they whispered excitedly to


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one another, others fixed him with a stare that could only mean one thing. One mannoticed his wife staring and slapped her face without warning, causing her to reel back astep and cradle the reddening cheek. The youth cringed at the blow and moved away,obviously sorry for having caused the woman pain.He finally reached his goal, the marketplace at the center of town. Here, he found a bit of

space between the other marketenders and parked his wagon facing away from the flowof passers-by. He threw lids and doors open and drew a painted box forth which heplaced behind the wagon.The townsfolk began to linger, eagerly awaiting something new to buy or see. Thestranger produced a small wooden flute which he placed in the box. A bag and somepainted stones were added to the collection, and finally, a mandolin which he tunedquickly before setting it down.He reached under a tarp and pulled forth a long cloak which the public greeted with"Ooohs" and "Aaahs." It was divided in color in the center, purple being on the right sideand yellow on the left. The sleeves were long and very wide at the cuff, like the Druid's,

and they were the opposite color of the side to which they were sewn. He now stood outin vivid contrast to the spectators in their red, green, and brown working colors.Lieschen, Annchen and the other girls arrived at the marketplace and spotted thegathering crowd. Lieschen noticed the action first, "Hey, look! Something's going on overthere. Let's see!" They arrived just in time to see the traveler reach for his mandolin andbegin to sing a song about his travels, the songs and the magic that he learned throughyears of life in the forests. As his melancholy song ended, he began to juggle the coloredstones. They crossed paths in the air, clicked together in his hand and mixed in coloragain and again. He ended this show with all of the stones crashing loudly into the box,one after another. He then addressed his public,

"And now, dear friends, I will present to you the most fascinating display of mymagical skills..."With this he drew his flute to his lips and created the most horrible screech. The publicrecoiled a step in fear and surprise. Ladies held their ears and screwed their faces into thestrangest grimaces. Only Lieschen drew nearer in order to see the spectacle better...The Piper turned away from his public and pointed his screeching weapon at the wagon.Movement could be just made out in the darkness of the rounded crevice at the rear ofthe caged area. The discord slowly changed into a tangle of random notes, not reallymusic, but at least more pleasant to the ear. The crowd awed at the first sight of awriggling, hairy nose as it peeked out of the hole. Attached to the nose was a large rat,practically the size of a housecat and of a brown and grey color. It came forward as iflured on by the music and was followed by another slightly smaller and more brown incolor. Each of the rats had a typical long black tail which was longer than a man couldhold in both fists.The animals had the prescribed effect on the women present, one passed out at the feetof the Piper, others drew back in repulsion, Annchen started away while still holding herears against the music, closing her eyes and muttering "Deviltry, Deviltry!" Lieschen'seyes were wide open, though, round as could be and she took in all of the fascinatingdisplay that she could.The Rats were standing at the bars of the cage now and following every movement of thePiper. And move he did, taking the bag in one hand and continuing to play with the other,

his music took on a gleeful note, as first one, then many members of the crowd reachedinto their purses to drop a coin in his bag. Others were so fascinated by the show thatthey were quite astounded to discover the Piper standing before them and drew back as if


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he were the Devil himself. The Piper shrugged and looked confused as he ended his song.The two rats disappeared into the darkness of their cage as their master laid his robeaside.The girls were moving on, but Lieschen said, "I'll be right along." The last of the audiencemoved off to return to their usual activities. The Piper was loading the box as he suddenly

noticed Lieschen standing a few feet away and staring silently at him.He stopped in the middle of the movement, transfixed by the stare of the blond-hairedgirl. Half a second passed like eternity as the youth recovered from this tableau and puton his best smile.

"Be greeted, young lady. How may I be of service to you?""I've never seen anything like that before." spoke Lieschen slowly, still very much

in awe of what she had witnessed. "No one from here can do that. Where do you comefrom?" Her presence of mind was clearly returning with each spoken word.

"From a place so far away that you've never heard of it." He responded, as he putthe box in the correct position and began to tie it in place, he too had overcome the

strange moment of the first stare."What's your name?" she asked as she moved nearer.He leaned on the wagon, stared a moment long at the blue sky, "It's been quite a

while since anyone asked..." He returned her look and gazed honestly into the light blueeyes, "Of late, people have been calling me Piper."

"Piper, all right, my name is Lies- Uh, Eloisa." He had turned to continue with hispacking in the hope that this strange and unsettling girl would be satisfied and leave, asshe went on,

"How do you do that? Can you teach me to call rats?"The Piper was now VERY interested and turned to face her innocent stare again.

"You, with rats? Aren't you afraid?""Not me, I'm older than I look." This time her eyes offered him a challenge that hewas very used to seeing, the one that is unmistakable between women and men.He decided instantly, though, that she was not as bold as she claimed and he leaned closein order to crowed her, "If you wish to learn that from me, you will have to take somerisks." He was now much nearer than was necessary for common conversation and hecontinued in a conspiratory tone, "I will be on the great mountain East of the town thisevening. Perhaps you can visit me there if you are willing to meet me alone..." His hopesof getting rid of the girl with an evil leer were undaunted, although she solemnly vowed tokeep the meeting. Young women simply did not leave the safety of the walled town alone.

He took the yoke of the wagon and started off through the town. Lieschen stared afterhim from where she stood in the marketplace, daydreaming. She was forced to draw asudden breath as a hand grabbed her left shoulder and spun her around into the wildeyes of Karl.

"Are you mad!?! You can't be seen talking to strangers!" he spoke intensely but ata whisper. "What do you think you're doing?"

Irritation filled her answer, "Leave me alone. You're worse than my father!"He grabbed her arm. "Hey, I PAID for your apple. Do you want to see how red my

seat is?" pointing aggressively to the rear with his thumb.She pulled away, "That just shows how DUMB you are!" and danced off, smiling

viciously.Karl grumbled as she chased off in the direction of her friends.


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VI

The Piper continued through the town. On various corners he juggled, sang, or played theflute. His luck was good here. Last week in Paderborn he was nearly run out of the townunder the suspicion of witchcraft, but the people of Hamelyn seemed to be rathersympathetic to his work and were willing to fill his bag quite nicely.Talk of his calling the rats seemed to have gotten around as later in the day a manapproached him and asked to see this phenomenon. The Piper was always careful not toplay his trump card too often, besides, the rats were unwilling to be fooled more thanonce or twice a day. The gentleman, dressed as a riverboat captain, was certainly astranger in Hamelyn based upon his accent. His argument was reinforced greatly as heheld up a gold piece in front of the youth's face. Although his instincts told him better, heagreed to the captain's wish and played the strange banshee notes again. Afterward, thecaptain asked if he was available for other magical causes, the grain storage in Bremen,for example. The Piper agreed, just to rid himself of the troublesome sailor.Thinking that he may have pushed his luck too far today, the Youth left the town heading

East again on the Hellweg. The afternoon sun allowed his shadow to lead him down theroad. There was still plenty of daylight left, though, the shadows were not very long assunset came very late in the summer months.He walked a few miles until he was out of sight of the town's watchtowers whichcommanded the wide valley. The Hellweg rounded the large mountain on the left side, sohe drifted into the woods to the right and began the uphill climb.Lieschen's shadow was much longer as she walked along the Hellweg. It was towarddinnertime, but she had told her mother that she would be eating something with theother girls that evening. It was nothing new that she fibbed to her mother, she oftenneeded an excuse to get out of the binds of "royalty" that her mother imposed on her. It

was the only thing that she could leave her daughter as an inheritance, since beingmarried off to a commoner because of lack of family fortune. Lieschen was unimpressedwith all of the finer nuances of being in the aristocracy. She was treated with enoughdeference in the town because her father was the mayor, not because her mother was oldHamelyn blood.She knew where to look for the Piper, that is, she knew where the mountain was. Butnow that she started up the hill, her hopes of finding one man on a whole mountain weredwindling. Thanks to a bit of good luck, she spotted wagon tracks on a path that shecrossed and began to move in the correct direction. Presently, she began to smell thesmoke from a fire and cooking.

She discovered the Piper bent over the fire and tending to his dinner with his back to her.Before she could call out, she absent-mindedly stepped on a twig which cracked withsurprising loudness.The young man turned with a vengeance at the sound and for just a second shewitnessed the passionate animal defiance in his eyes, a strangely different look than thefriendly one he wore in the town. Before she could react at all the look was gone andreplaced with startled recognition.

"What are YOU doing here !?!" was the first thing he said.Still shocked by his first glance, she cautiously approached, and responded, "You

invited me to come.""But," now it was the Piper who was taken aback.Lieschen's confidence returned quickly and she spoke again with the judicial tone of

aristocracy, "I took your invitation to be serious."


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"So I see." He turned to the fire again to gather his composure, "Sit down. I wasable to catch a rabbit."

"With your flute?"The seriousness of her tone caused him to bark out a short laugh, but he caught

himself immediately, "No, no. With my slingshot. The flute only works on Wodon and

Thor.""On who?" she queried."My rats.""I don't understand."

With this, he stood and drew the flute from under the tarp of his wagon. "You mustpromise not to tell anyone about this."

"You can trust me!" and this time she meant it."So, watch!" The Piper sat and played the crazy sounds again that she had heard

that midday. She thought that squirrels were moving over the dried leaves of the forest,but suddenly the two rats charged forth and leapt past her onto the Piper. Lieschen

covered her face and turned away in surprise.The young man ceased with the strange sounds and teased her, "I thought you

weren't afraid... Auch!" He jerked his hand away at the outburst, "Ok-Ok, you'll getsomething, here." tearing a small piece of meat off of the spit, he tossed it to the ratswho chased off together in the direction of the wagon.

Lieschen looked after them in utter disbelief."It was really very simple, at the beginning, I only fed them when I played the

strange music. Since then, they always come to eat when I play.""No witchcraft?""That's right, no witchcraft."

"So you're not one of those wandering witches that everyone talks about." Sheseemed relieved. After all, it could have been a spell that caused her to follow him to themountain.

"No, I'm not""But, what about Wodon and Thor?"

"What?" now he was confused."Those are forbidden names.""That, which in the city is known as witchcraft, is also nothing evil.""What is it then?" she asked."Just the old religion. The Christians have taken over in all of the towns, but out in

the country there are still people who pray to the old gods. There's a place for the oldceremonies not far from here."

"Really? My grandfather told me about it. He was very sad that the old dances andceremonies no longer exist." She stared away into the woods as if hearing the voice ofher grandfather again and slowly continued, "He said that the young people marched outof the town in the summer and were married in a grand dancing ceremony." Looking backat the Piper, "But today, you can marry at any time of the year in the church."

"That's right," he added, "the young people were happy and filled with love foreach other, and the babies came in the spring which was the best time of the year forthem."

She answered softly, but her meaning was clear, "I'd like to do that, too."

He stared at her for a moment, not at all sure that he had understood, "I don't think youknow what you just said."


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She was sure. "I'd told you that I'm older than you think. I should already bemarried off, but my father has good ties to the church and he's been able to put it off,because he hasn't found the right husband for me yet." She slid closer, "I, on theother hand, may have found him..." closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.

The young man was taken aback. She is just full of surprises. On the other hand,

the kiss was wonderful and he let himself be drawn into her arms. The intensity of themoment was equal to that of their first glance in the town today. He forgot himselfcompletely in the soft lips that were quivering upon his own.Their caresses heated up, but he suddenly broke off the kiss. "If you really mean it, thenyou should wait for the High-Time."

"When is that?""The day that the sun is highest in the sky, the first day of Summer. That is the day

of the ceremonial dance.""That's only five days from now." The girl was not stupid."That's right."

"And you know the old music and the dances?"Once again, she had lost him. Would he ever get used to the way her mind worked? Thenagain, he was willing to spend a lifetime trying. "Well, yes," he nodded, "I learned themfrom a very old Druid who had renounced his religion. He probably would have gone tothe gallows if he had not."

"Wonderful! Can you show me where the ceremonies were held?"

VII

Although it was still light, he took a piece of wood from the fire as a torch and started up

the steep part of the hill."I've never been this far up the mountain before." she softly spoke with a strangedistance in her voice, "The people in the town tell tales of ghosts and witches who live atthe top."

"They would like the old traditions to die out." He paused, without furtherexplanation as the conversation turned to the town, "What will your parents say when yousuddenly follow me and are gone?"

She stammered only slightly, "Um- Oh, they won't miss me at all!"Her awkwardness on the subject was forgotten as they arrived at the opening of a cave.It was only a meter and a half high and just wide enough for a thin person to fit through

easily. Then again, how many fat people would venture up the magical mountain to goinside? The opening was between two monoliths which supported the roof of the tunnel.After just a few feet the tunnel widened so that you could stand inside.

The necessity of the torch was now clear to Lieschen, because of a curve in thetunnel, the cave was pitch. "This is bigger than I imagined!"

He explained, "The cave was certainly not dug out of the mountain in one day.There is a maze of tunnels and small rooms. If it's like the ones I've seen before, there'seven a chance of getting lost in the labyrinth!"

She drew closer, which was the desired effect, and he put his arm around her."Come," he gently spoke to her, "let's go back outside. It's probably too cool for

you in here."

He took her to the top of the mountain to see the Head of Odin where other godsare born out of his forehead or "thoughts". The two stone statues of man and womancaught her fancy, especially the woman who was undoubtedly expecting.


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The sun had begun to lose it's might and the woods became cooler as the two walkedarm in arm back to the now fading fire. One long kiss followed and then it was time forLieschen to make her way back to the gates of Hamelyn if she was not to be locked outfor the night.

VIII

Her father turned aggressively and pointed a finger at her, "Where were you!?!""I took a walk."

"Where? And with whom!?! The gate guards said that you were out of the city! Have yougone out of your mind?" Jacob was certainly relieved to see that she had returned. On theother hand, he had had painful hours of worry, waiting for her. Think of the scandal! Thedaughter of the mayor running about with no one to protect her virtues! Thank goodnessthat, to the citizenry, she was just a child.

Luckily she had expected his outburst. Little girls seem to learn automatically how

to deal with their fathers. "No, I came right back in through the other gate. I picked someflowers." She lamely held up the wildflowers from the Koppen. But it was her largeinnocent eyes that finally placated her father.

In a much softer tone he said, "Go to bed."Lieschen was all too happy to disappear up the stairs to her loft. As she held the

flowers to her nose and breathed in the fragrances of the Koppen, her thoughts drifted tothe man she had kissed while the wildflowers worked their subtle magic...

Lieschen was unable to see her father pacing nervously about in the big room downstairs."See, I told you you wouldn't be able to stop it." commented her mother without

looking up from her knitting."What?""She's in love," was the dryly delivered answer.Jacob turned to look up the steps after his daughter and uttered a disbelieving,

"No."Mother made no more pretext of being casual as she dropped her needles, "Certainly! Andyou are so busy with city politics that you can't even see it."

"That's not possible, she's too young!""Don't be silly! You know as well as I do that she's been of marrying age for almost

two years now. Why do you continue to keep up the farce that she's a little girl? She's

bigger than all of her playmates and-""Be silent woman! I'll not hear this song again! Just this morning I promised theAbbot that she would go to firming in the spring and we would look for a husband in themeantime."Now it was mother's turn to look up the steps, "It may be too late for that already..." Shereturned to fix her husband, "Why didn't you arrange for her to marry Moritz?"

The MAYOR appeared again immediately, "I'll hear none of it! That sneak is onlyout to make a name for himself in the church to expand his influence!"

"And you?"She may have pushed him too far, his face reddened and for a moment she

thought he might strike her for the first time in their relationship. But old traditions held,

years of training in his youth kept him from being able to use brutality on a member of anaristocratic family and all that he could do was sputter forth an indignant, "What!?!"


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Gertrud was unimpressed. She knew Jacob long before he was able to gain the post ofthe Mayor through the influence of HER family...

"Be still, Jacob. You know very well that your father thought nothing ofChristianity."

"Leave the old man out of this! He didn't understand the times. So long as the

Christians have power, we will have to abide by their rules. Look, I've organized aprocession through the town for the Festival of John and Paul. That should keep anyrebellious farmers from thinking of staging a fertility dance or a midsummer binge.Everyone has a party, and everyone is happy!"

"Your father would not have understood."Jacob sounded very tired as he noted, "He would never have been the mayor."

IX

The following morning, Lieschen was underway early. She dashed about the town and

spoke with many of the young people. Although all of them were outwardly Christian,many had heard the tales of the High-Time and were willing to try something rebellious,as all teens will, in an attempt to break the molds of their families.

Presently, she arrived at the fruit merchant's. Karl was watching the shop again,and she carefully approached, "Is your father here?"

"No, he just started off.""Uh-huh." She moved nearer. "Karl, you're not really all that religious, are you?""My grandfather helped build the Nicolai Church!""But you don't really spend too much time there, do you?" Lieschen was a master

of conspiratorial probing.

"Well, no - not really." Whatever was she getting at? Is this another one of herplans that will get him a further beating?Karl still harbored a great infatuation in Lieschen and he was happy just to be able tospeak to her alone, but the next question was really more than he could have wished for.

"You've heard of the old dances for the High-Time?""Yeah.""Could you imagine joining something like that?"His wildest dreams come true! Lieschen wants to dance off and marry him. "Oh,

Yeah!""We'll be starting on Tuesday, after everyone's asleep in the afternoon." She was still

being very conspiratorial, very near, and speaking softly. He could smell her and healways liked that smell. It reminded him of the times they fought and played as smallchildren.

Karl was ecstatic. "Great!""Do you know some other boys who might want to go along?""Sure.""That's wonderful! The colorful Piper with the rats will lead us up to the mountain."

She was anxious to begin."Yeah." He watched her face flush with excitement as she thought of going up the

mountain with him. His face was almost as red as his hair..."Which girl do you want to dance with?"

"Such a silly question..." He reached for her as passionately as he had alwayswanted to and never dared until now.


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That was not the answer that Lieschen had expected. She was pulled into hisembrace stammering, "What? Karl! I'M dancing with the Piper!" She tried to free herself,but it was unnecessary.

Karl's face darkened as she had never seen before and he shoved her to theground, "You Bitch! Get out of my sight!" He turned as drastically away from her as he

had taken her in his arms.Lieschen was still perplexed as she rose from the dusty ground rubbing her elbows.

She turned away very slowly, not as to have to stare long at the rejecting back of a manshe thought she knew...

X

The shrill music filled the small square where the Piper was playing. The women who hadcome to fetch their water stood about with other passers-by and were astounded to seethe rats come out of the wagon. Although he had visited the small villages in the area and

played many times in Hamelyn, the people were still interested in seeing his work. Someof the faces were familiar, others entirely new. His fame was spreading in the town, whichalways means that it is nearly time to move on before the magic wears out.He held his bag out and gathered a few coins from the decaying crowd. One of theyounger ladies gave him a conspiratorial look, which set him to wondering why. She didnot look familiar to him, nor was it the usual look of invitation. She moved away before hecould consider the situation further, taking their secret with her...

As he packed his things together, Lieschen arrived at his side. "Everything is readyfor Tuesday! As soon as the town has gone to sleep, we can begin."

"Wonderful." What a pleasure to see her face again! He was surprised at himself

that he could be so giddy over a woman. He had met enough on his tours, but noneaffected him like this girl who seemed to be constantly full of energy."I love you, Piper."

She made a move toward him, but his sense of self-protection caused him to turn andquickly place his box between them. "Not here, there are eyes everywhere."

"Oh." She cast a glance about. The few people in the little square seemed not tohave noticed her actions. Did the Piper know that she was the daughter of the mayor? Orwas he worried about HIS reputation? In either case, "Oh. Yes, you're right." She smiledat him for being so smart.

XI

The tower clock showed two in the afternoon as the Piper pressed his flute to his lips andbegan a haunting melody. It was not the music of celebration that he would play later,but it would do to draw his followers out of their houses and still be quiet enough not towake those who wished to continue sleeping. His walk down the main street was met by afew curious looks but he was already rather well known in Hamelyn and no one thoughtto stop or question him. A few young people looked around the corner and then began tofollow him along the main street.Lieschen was sneaking down the last stair to her loft as the step squeaked. Damn! Shefroze to see if the noise had attracted any attention out of the back room and was soonrewarded with the sound of her father rising out of his bed. As he reached the main roomshe had already turned and was climbing the steps again - muttering something about adrink of water. Jacob absent-mindedly waved her up to her loft and looked for some


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water himself. As the ladle reached his lips he heard the strange music coming from thestreet. He was perhaps one of the few people in the town who would have recognized itas a melody from the High-Time. His father had played it for him when he was a younglad and he hadn't heard it since.His curiosity took hold of him and led him to look out the door to see who could be

playing that tune. What he saw defied his comprehension. The colorful Piper was leadinga troop of young people out of the town. There must have been over forty and still moreand more were coming to join the procession. The situation seemed unreal in the mistyconsciousness of being awakened out of a deep sleep...

"Halt!" Wait a minute! This is real. This can't be happening!The group looked surprised for only a moment and began to sprint in all directions.

"Guards!"

The Piper was surprised to see that his followers were not as sure of themselves as theythought. The youths dashed off in all directions and some strange man was screaming for

the city guards. This looks like serious trouble. His immobility only lasted a second. Eloisawas not among those who had followed him so far, so he needen't worry about her at themoment. Wodon and Thor! He had left them in a small alley after working the city thismorning. He turned and dashed off, not knowing that he was being followed by the half-clothed Mayor and the city guards.

As the rest of the town slept, Moritz was sleeping with fine young lady in one of the bathhouses on the lower side of the town. He was stirred in his rhythmic ministrations by theshouting in the street below. Something was certainly going on, and whenever somethinghappened it was his custom to be involved...

The Piper had reached his wagon and pulled it a few meters when he realized too latethat he would have to cross the marketplace in order to leave the town. The noise of asearch was readily heard coming from the square. He doubled back and turned in thedirection of the Weser Gate.

Moritz was moving quickly through the town. He was not as impeccably dressed as youwould usually see him, but then again the others were also tossed out of their beds by theconfusion. His black mare led him quickly to the square where he ordered a guard toreport to him the cause of the trouble. A Piper. With rats. Witch-dance?Just then came a shout and someone pointed down the Fisherman's Street to the river.Moritz spurred his horse and reached the fleeing Piper before the guards could. Hereached out with his foot and kicked the wagon over as he steered his horse in the way ofthe fugitive. A maddening high-pitched squealing could be heard out of wagon. ThePiper's concerned expression was quickly covered by Moritz' boot as his head wassnapped to one side and the darkness overcame him...

XII

"How could this happen!" Moritz was in his glory. He now had the chance that he hadbeen waiting for and planned to enjoy every minute of bereaving the Mayor of his honor.

"I do everything I can to see that the farmers don't get any ideas about the old Tutonicreligion and you allow a Witch-Dance in your town!!"


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"I had no idea. The Rat-Catching Piper never once made any kind of gesture likethis." Jacob was floundering. "But I can assure you that he certainly won't come backafter that beating we gave him."

Lieschen had been listening intently upstairs but now she pressed her face into herpillow so that her sobs wouldn't be heard.

"If anything like this happens again, you can be sure that there will be direconsequences, and I will have the support of the Abbot and Church on MY side!" Heslammed the door on the way out to punctuate his threat without giving Jacob a chanceto answer. The Mayor stood staring at the door, trying to control his rage.

XIII

The left side of his face was so terribly cold. It was the first sensation that reached him,that and the strange fact that he couldn't hear anything out of his left ear. As he movedhis arm to sit up the pain crashed into his consciousness with a red, flaming brutality that

brought with it the broken memories of the beating he had received just moments before.The Piper lifted his head out of the water and realized that he had been laying on thebank of the river. Ironic. They threw him out of the town in the direction that he hadwanted to go.Wodon! The image of his favorite companion flashed before his eyes. How the rat camecharging out of the overturned wagon to bite into the boot of a guard, only to beimmediately struck dead by his lance. He had some unclear memories of Thor runningaway and of himself being held pinioned as another guard struck him again and again...He was grateful that the human mind refuses to store memories of pain, but the feeling ofhelplessness would certainly haunt him for some time. He saw that most of his property

was thrown over the river bank with him, and he began to gather up as much as hecould. There seemed to be no bones broken. Probably because he was unable to resistand the guards had tired quickly of the sport. His money pouch was gone, too, but thenagain, he hadn't really expected to find it.He reached the street level to meet the taunting and laughter of the guards:

"There goes a good magician, but a lousy fighter!""Play us another song, Piper!""Hey, I thought you'd floated downstream like your dead rat!"

He circled the high stone walls of the town that he had been rudely ejected from. Fourmeters of cold beige stone laughed down at his inferiority and depressed him in a way

that the jibes of the guardsmen never could. The way up the mountain seemed to take aneternity. It was a supreme mental effort to take each step. After what seemed like days,the Piper finally made it to his campground and started a fire to fight off the shivers of thedousing and fatigue. The sun began to bloat in the evening sky as he heard someonecrunching through the forest.He turned anxiously to see Lieschen as she ran to take him in her arms, "I knew I'd findyou here."

"Ouch, Don't squeeze too much.""Are you badly hurt?""The guards did very good work. The worst part of it is Thor and Wodon are gone,

along with all of my possessions." He looked sadly at her, "I'm not worth marrying any

more..."


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She pressed her fine fingers against his rather swollen lips and shook her head, only toreplace her fingers with lips of her own. Her touch and nearness helped force off thedread that had taken hold of him and robbed him of all hope.

"I know how you can redeem yourself and get even with the townspeople.""What?" The idea of taking revenge had not even occurred to him in his self-pity.

"There's a church festival on Sunday. It's supposed to replace the dance of the High-Time.After the Mass, there will be a musical procession through the town."

"So?"It was like an obsession with her, and she leaned closer, "If you were to start

earlier than they, and lead all of our friends up here to the mountain, no one would noticeat all!"The aching in his limbs was still fresh in his mind. "Yah, maybe, but how do I get backinto the town? I've been banned forever!"

"It won't be a problem because one of the guards is with us. He wants to celebratewith a girlfriend of mine and he will be glad to help us in. Just after the church bells call to

mass he's always alone at the East Gate because the other is responsible for order in thechurch square. I'll bring you Grandfather's hunting cape and hat so that no one will takenotice of you until you're in the town."

"Why should I risk my neck again for people that I don't even know?" He reachedto pull her closer, "Can't we just go off together and leave Hamelyn behind us?"

She held him off disapprovingly, "Do you really expect me to go off with a cowardinto an unknown future? And what about our traditions and relationship with Mother Earthand the holy mountain? Should we leave the town in the hands of these Romanics withtheir damned, imported faith!"

"Eloisa!"

"I am sick and tired of being told what to do! My Grandfather was right! Wodonand Thor never asked for 10% of our harvest or income. We lived as a people in harmonywith nature. Now we must force nature to our wills, so that we make more money to buildbigger churches. Wodon needed no church to live in, and neither do we. The forest andthe holy stones of the elders will seal our unity!"She pulled him to her in her passion and he lost all sense of doubt. What strange luck tofind an eloquent and bright girl in the midst of this backward land, as singular as a flowerthat grows out of the barren rock wall north of the town...

XIV

The next day found Lieschen back at the same business, informing everyone of the newplans. Annchen was not happy with the idea. "You can't ask us to take another risk likethat again! We're all in trouble and our parents are watching our every move."

"Nothing can go wrong! Everyone is in the church. We can come back later and tellthem that we took a walk or went on a picnic." Lieschen, as always, had the other girlsunder control.

For some reason Annchen was being adamant. "I can't go along with this.""Annche', you know too much already. This is not the time to back out, or else we

will all be very angry with you..."Anne could see the fire in her eyes flashing and she remembered that she had lost a

scuffle or two with Lieschen over the years. Lieschen was always a little bit bigger andjust because her father was the mayor, she always wanted to get her way. Annchen hadbeen waiting for some time to get even for the defeats that she had given her over the


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years and take her rightful place as leader of their clique. Yes, this time I will get back allthe scratches and pulled hair for the years of disgrace..."All right, all right! You know thatI'll keep quiet."Toward evening, the girls broke up. Lieschen was certain to have informed everyonebecause the others had helped her, with the exception of Annchen who claimed that she

had to go home and watch after her little brother.Soon after the evening meal, Annchen could be seen moving in the shadows of the town.She proceeded slowly, careful to make sure that no one notice a young girl be underwayin the evening. In the area of the Stuben, where the men sought entertainment of aspecial nature, she finally found exactly what she expected to. There before the bathhouse was a large black horse who's saddle was covered with decorative rivets...

XV

Sunday lived up to it's name. The weather couldn't be better and the spirits of the

townsfolk were high. Everyone was happy about a festival and the related merrityafterward when a celebratory keg of beer or two would be brought in from the city cellarsacross the river. As the bells chimed their call, the people were already underway to theMarket Church. The bustling about and friendly greetings were part of every street scene,there was almost as much going on as a regular workday.Outside the gates of the city, a hunter was making his way back to the portals of Hamelynafter a mornings stalk, or so it would have seemed if anyone had been there to notice. Hecarried not a bow nor sling, but had a long wooden flute clamped in his belt of wovenrope. The Piper, crouched in some underbrush outside of the East Gate, heard the bells aswell. It was his queue to watch the guards. Sure enough, the older one left his post to

move toward the center of the town.Having lost everything in the earlier struggle, he still wore his somewhat tatteredmagician's cloak of yellow and purple, but now the green cape with the red lining coveredthe bright colors well. He did not, however, even consider hiding like a thief, and so hehad decorated the red and green cap she had brought with some pheasant feathers foundon his journey through the forest. Surely anyone seeing him would have taken more,rather than less, notice of him due to this impossible combination of colors and design.Luckily, not a soul was underway outside the town who wished to run the risk of missingone of the most important celebrations of the year.Lieschen had used one of her patented excuses in order to avoid going along to the mass,

she simply informed her mother that the monthly cramps were there again. Motherreacted with the expected sympathy and passed the word on to Jacob that their daughtercould certainly not be expected to sit on the hard church pews for a long sermon. Hedidn't want the secret of her actual age to be revealed to all the townsfolk because of anasty stain on her dress, did he?The Piper crept closer to the gate as Lieschen arrived there and spoke with the remainingyoung guard. Still, the prearranged wave for him to come out in the open did not come.The guard gestured back down the street toward the center of the town and the Musicianknew that something wasn't right...

Johann, the guard, was more worried about his partner than the possibility ofoutside attack, he stared, wide-eyed, back into the town over Lieschen's shoulder, "He's

coming back already! He hates that duty and never waits for everyone to get into thechurch. Damn!"


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19/28

Eerie Gregorian Chants could be heard throughout the town. As the Piper strode withLieschen out onto the open market, the entire centre of Hamelyn rang with the surrealmusic. The fire in their eyes matched the passion that was echoing out of the MarketChurch of Hamelyn. The Piper laid his flute to the lips that Lieschen had kissed with noless intensity just moments before.

Although it rang through the streets quite clearly, the joyous music of the flute was notable to be heard by the masses chanting behind their thick stone walls. The melody sailedover the tragic tones that arose from a place men had decided was a home for God. In asupreme farce, the Piper played a descant high above the church music in the samechord. As his tune danced flagrantly over theirs, he also began to move forward.Hardly twenty steps had been taken as the next young pair joined them on the way downthe Baker Street to the south corner of the town where most of the simple people lived.The youth came out of the expensive stone houses that were built to last for centuries.Others exited wooden homes or simple huts with roofs that looked as though they mightnot last the winter. In the area of the Cloister, where monks and their students kept to

themselves behind high walls, the party turned left onto what once was the original mainroad through Hamelyn.This area suffered quite a shock some years before. The merchants living here on theHellweg, around 1200, were the victims of city planning. As the walls of the city were builtof stone and the wooden palisades replaced, the existing Baker Street and the East Streetwere laid on to be the new main roads through Hamelyn. This path led past the MarketChurch of the Hamelyn citizenry, which they proudly showed as a contrast to theCathedral and Cloister of the catholic monastery on the river. The streets were muchwider than the New Market Road where pedestrians, oxcarts and wagons had to fighttheir way through. The new roads had enough space for the merchants to display their

wares and for 2-way traffic! Thusly, it did not take long for all of the successful merchantsto build or move to the East Road leaving the New Market Road and the Old Market Roadto those who had missed the call of opportunity. Once again, someone had promised thepeople that moving the through-traffic out of the shopping area would make for betterbusiness. The failing "new money" of the travelers would eventually cause the old roadsto fall into the hands of the craftsmen once the merchants had moved on. In this sectionof the town, full of young people who saw little future in what they were doing, Lieschenand the Piper gathered quite a number of followers together who longed for the "good olddays."Over 100 young people were following Lieschen and the Piper as they moved along thenarrow streets leading to the East Gate. Those who were not in the church themselvesthought nothing of the procession, as there was to be one after the mass, anyway. Somelooked out of their windows and may have been puzzled not to see the mayor and councilleading the way, but the daughter of the mayor was there, so there couldn't be anythingwrong, right?

Annchen lived on this street as well. She also had an excuse not to go to the church, shewas taking care of her baby brother. Holding him in her arms, she looked out the windowand viewed the passers-by. She would later be able to report what she witnessed to thecouncil and secure an important place within the citizenry of Hamelyn once Lieschen wasgone.

As they neared the East Gate, Lieschen raced ahead to the guards. Johann and his

Sergeant were waiting for the procession that could be heard in the distance to arrive.The older guard was once again enthralled by Lieschen's presence, as planned. He beganto ask her how her leg felt now and if he could be of any further assistance. As he doffed


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his helmet and concentrated all his charms on the young girl, he neglected to noticeJohann stalking him from behind. As he was struck, a puzzled expression took his face

just seconds before unconsciousness prevailed. Lieschen would have laughed out loudhad the situation not been so serious. He fell aside to reveal Johann smiling at her andsaying what she had been thinking, "That should teach him to take advantage of young

women!"The erstwhile procession now turned to the right and out of the East Gate. Maria, a smalldark haired beauty, charged forward from out of the group and threw her arms aroundher Johann, who had tossed his spear and helmet aside to join the party. Once outside ofthe governing influence of the city, the young people began in earnest to celebrate.Wineskins appeared and were passed about. The couples were doing the forbidden,walking hand-in-hand, or even worse, embracing their partner and kissing in public. Theywere breaking the rules and taboos of their parents and the church and reveled in theirnew-found independence. The summer sun supported the merry march and warmed thecelebrants from without. Wine, mead, and passion heated them from within. Almost two

miles back, the bells ringing in the churchtower could hardly be heard over the merrymusic of the Piper...

XVI

The doors of the Market Church were dutifully opened and the Mayor, Abbot, andcouncilmen squinted into the bright sunlight. They, too, had been drinking wine, of thesacramental sort, and were of good spirits in plan of the evening's celebration. A drummerand piper exited behind them and were followed by eight strong men carrying the statueand ark of the patron, Saint Nicklaus, floating high above the heads of the crowd.

The Procession turned to the right and began its tour around the church and through thetown by crossing the open square, the Horsemarket. The gregorian chants and the winehad created a pleasant disorientation in the minds of the councilmen, enhanced by thesurreal march into the bright sunlight. Still, a nagging sense of something being wrongcontinued to scratch at Jacob's thoughts, just like the burrowing of rats between the wallsof a well-constructed house. Hardly five minutes had expired as the thought broke forth,"Were are the others?"Some older people who no longer visited the mass, due to infirmity or difference ofopinion, were to be seen in the street for the procession. Young children danced aboutand celebrated the festival. But where were the Youth? One or the other teenager could

be witnessed viewing the procession out of tradition, or perhaps, boredom, but therewere a large number missing...The Abbot reached the same conclusion simultaneously and being a man of words,formed the question first, "Where are the young people? They always lined the streetswith the remainder of the citizenry. What could they be doing?"

"Bartsch, Lindhoff" called the Mayor to his council at hand, "Send some of yourmen about to find out why our youngsters are not present. There seem to be quite a fewmissing in the town somewhere."Fortunately, Jacob was a rather good actor. You had to be if you wished to be a rathergood politician. He was used to acting; acting interested when the other councilmenpresented something that was entirely ridiculous, acting convincing when presenting

something that you yourself don't believe in, acting concerned when the poor and weakneeded help. This was another acting job that he was familiar with - acting happy. But hehad never needed to do it like this before, in a time of uncertainty.


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"What could the young people be doing?" The Abbot's question raced through his mindagain and again. He had created this celebration to unify the townsfolk, and still somewould not be a part of it. The Mass had lasted a bit longer than usual, but this was aspecial occasion that only came once a year. Normally everyone would be on their feet forthis sort of thing. He continued to act happy and wave at those gathered by the wayside

while the thought continued to nag him, "What have I done wrong?"The merry dance of the Piper was glorious. It was a procession of love, passion, andfreedom. Not the march of control and threat of damnation that was being showcased inthe town. Not a single participant thought of the city. They were dancing about inwhichever way they pleased, breaking out of the confines of the walls of the town,breaking out of the confines of the oppression of the church, which stated that all thingsthat are not in reverence to God simply must be evil.They used their bodies to dance to the glory of life itself with movements and gesturesthat were never allowed before. Singing loudly and falling on the ground in the ecstasy ofmovement, just like the lame who suddenly learn to walk. Wildflowers were plucked and

carried or placed in their hair as a tribute to nature itself. They walked arm-in-arm in amanner otherwise forbidden to them. Drink flowed freely and in excess, filling their bodieswith the natural sunlight gathered in by the grapes and flowers.Lieschen walked with her Piper at the head of the group. She saw the astounded faces ofthe few travelers underway on the Hellweg this day. She gloried in those who staredopen-mouthed at them and cursed loudly and vehemently at those who covered theireyes or turned their heads as not to lose their souls for having witnessed such "deviltry".The group finally turned off of the Hellweg and began the climb up the Koppen Mountain.The sweat was beading up on Jacob's brow. Not only was it excruciatingly warm in hismayoral robe with heavy chain around his neck, the discomfort of not knowing what was

going on tried him as well. A murmuring from the rear of the procession told him thatsoon he would receive news and at the same time that the news was not good.The runners reported that the guards had been overwhelmed at the East Gate and one ofthem taken prisoner by unknown forces. Lieschen was the last person that the remainingguard reported seeing. Lieschen!!! She was at home in bed! The procession degeneratedinto an uncontrollable throng. Gertrud arrived at his side now, "Have you heard? Lieschen!Taken away by strangers! And the other young people cannot be found. What will wedo?"Jacob had been prepared to take action, and took immediate command, "Send theremaining guards out of the town! All available men should join in search parties.Question everyone as to what they may have seen. I shall move off to the East.Councilmen! You will not neglect the other directions, search there as well. A gold rewardto the man who brings our children back!"In moments, the street cleared as the people of Hamelyn dashed away in search. The

Abbot stood in the settling dust, alone except for his mass servants and Nicklaus, patronSaint of Sailors, Merchants, and Children, hurriedly grounded by the men off to look fortheir lost families.Expectations rose with the altitude. 65 pairs of lovers were about to embark on the nextphase of their lives. They had chosen to shun the edicts of their fathers and seek theiranswers in an older manner of thought. They would take their partners together with allthe others as witnesses in a orgiastic dance of unifying passion.

A giddiness moved through the ranks. It was the direct effect of exertion, alcohol, andinfatuation. The participants saw only the eyes of their beloved and heard the romanticcry of the Piper's flute. At the entrance to the underground labyrinth, Lieschen called


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loudly, "It's rather cool inside, but not for long!" and harvested giggles from the girls andsly looks from the boys.The Piper had paused a few times to rest his weary fingers but was in a fantastic formnow for the beginning of the dance. His music accompanied the youth as they duckeddown, or fell down onto tired knees, and entered the low opening of the cave. It was at

the base of a sheer cliff of nearly black stone, over ten meters high. The opening wasguarded on three sides by larger stone formations so that it was only in direct sunlight atthe high time of the year. Certainly the old druids had planned that it not be discoveredby chance, although every adult in pre-Christian Hamelyn would have known where itwas.Lieschen had remained with her lover at the opening and now threw her arms around himas his song ended. The music still ringing off of the stone walls fought with the rush oftheir own heartbeats in their ears. He let the flute slip out of his fingers and groped forthe softest parts of Lieschen's body as she suddenly tore away from his grip and fell tothe ground with a strange cry of pain...

"So this is what the Mayor's daughter does in her spare time!" Moritz. A thousandthoughts crossed the Piper's mind in an instant. Moritz, the man who, although royalty,prefers to wear black leather. The man who had seen to his beating in Hamelyn. The manwho had killed his companions Wodon and Thor. Who he had never witnessed without anevil, mocking sneer on his face. The man who at this moment of triumph in his life hadpulled his Lieschen away from him.

Lieschen. THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAYOR?!?She had been first to recover from the surprise, "What are you doing here?"The daughter of the mayor. What have I gotten myself into? He was lamed by thethought. His coordinated world was suddenly upside-down. Although Lieschen lay on the

ground, it was he who was rocked and disoriented at the sudden appearance of Moritz."That is the question that I should be asking, my dear. But I've seen enough to knowwhat YOU were doing. As for ME, I am here saving your soul from this heathen seducer!"The seconds of immobility passed instantly with Moritz' insult. The animal instincts in themusician rose up in a manner that was totally unlike his nature. Although normally quietand suffering, he saw a man between him and his rightful woman, and he moved forwardwith deadly intent.Moritz was prepared. Suddenly, a knife flashed into his hand. The moment's madnessdissipated, just as quickly as it had come. The Piper was again lame as he saw the coldsteel. He had been a coward for too many years, roaming the land and always seekingthe path of minimal resistance. Never had he stood up for his beliefs at any time. Whenthings got difficult, he fled. Looking at the metal of the open blade, as hard as the eyes ofthe man who held it, the musician knew that he had lost. Graciously, voices called to himfrom the cave "Piper! Where are you?""Don't you want to go to your Playmates?" Moritz stretched the word in a mockery,"Lieschen," he grabbed her hair and forced a small cry, "will be staying with me."The Piper stood immobile. Expressionlessly he stared at Eloisa and Moritz. He neededdesperately to do something, to make a decision, but was unable to change the patternthat had shaped his life.Lieschen looked sadly into his eyes and nodded ever so slightly. The Piper was relieved tohave had someone decide for him, but, then again, hadn't she decided for him all along?

He suddenly looked like an old, defeated man as he bent slowly to the ground to retrievehis pipe. The last thing he saw was Moritz holding the woman that he loved. She with thesad eyes of defeat, he glorious and smirking.


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Turning to the cave, he began again to play the music that the group wished to hear. Butall emotion was gone from his work. The melody that had so inspired the youth ofHamelyn now rang tragically back to him from the cold walls of the cave.Lieschen was still somewhat hopeful that she could rid herself of this man and return toher friends. By not allowing the Piper to attack, she had kept her options open. In an

attempt to see where the situation was headed, she queried, "What do you want fromme?"

"Nothing," Moritz leered, "yet. Just watch this." He pushed her ungracefully downonto a large stone and sheathed the now unnecessary knife in his riding boot.Lieschen was still thinking of how she could rid herself of this oaf as he looked up the highwall and whistled on his fingers. Her attention was drawn upward as well. High abovethem she noticed the other Steinberg Brothers, Nickolas and Hermann who had piledsome larger stones together at the cliff's edge. What she saw had hardly time to dawn onher as the brothers kicked the keystones away and allowed the deadly delivery to crashdown the face of the mountain. The noise was tremendous as more and more stone

crashed to the foot of the high wall. Earth broke loose and added to the mass as didsmaller stones and broken trees.The Avalanche was avidly watched by Moritz who saw in it a great ironic triumph over theunfaithful. Buried under the forces of nature itself that they had tried to honor with theirevil dance. Such was godly justice in his eyes.Lieschen could do nothing now to stop this madman from trying to bury her lover andfriends, but she was certainly not going to let him get away with it. As the dust billowedforward, forced on by the first stones to reach the opening of the cave, she shot forth andthrew herself onto Moritz from behind. If he cried out in surprise as the girl struck him inthe back, it was not able to be heard. A gigantic rumbling took every other sound into

itself and smothered it completely. Moritz turned and shook her off, but she charged himagain and beat at his face and chest with her fists.He was just beginning to enjoy the useless flailing of the girl and was thinking of keepinga calm manner in order to cruelly disillusion her even more, as fate took a hand for her. Alarger rock, almost the size of a human skull, bounced and accelerated silently towardthem under the cacophony. It struck Moritz in the left leg just below the knee and cut itout from under him. Startled by the pain, he fell and, unwillfully, reached automaticallytoward the shattered knee with both hands.Lieschen's moment of triumph had arrived. Moritz knelt before her in momentarydistraction and she went for the throat, literally. Fired on by the mad rush of adrenaline, aflood with repulsion for this man who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends, herhands grasp his neck and her strong thumbs relentlessly pressed down on his windpipe.Just as suddenly as the pain crashed into his mind and focused on his knee, his eyes nowfogged over at the pressure on his larynx. She had, luckily, closed off his throat at thatvery moment he had cried out, thus emptying his lungs of life-giving oxygen. Had sheplanned it in detail, it could not have been any worse for him as his mind reeled with thebright red pain and the slowly growing blackness rising to take its place.Now it was his turn to flail uselessly at the hands that held him in a lethal vice. Somehowhe could not command his arms to strike with the usual force. What was going on? Hehad won out in so many fights, but now a girl was near to defeating him? Secondsseemed like days to him as everything moved in slow motion. The rockfall had begun to

lessen, although the smoky dust wafted everywhere. Tragic, that he should choke and diein the same manner as those he had buried in the cave. Die? No! Moritz von Steinbergreached down into the last reserves of the fighter. He let his arms go wide as if he had no


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more strength to call upon, then formed his hands into cups, rather than useless fists, andbrought them together over Lieschen's ears with as much force as he could muster.She heard one crashing explosion louder even than the avalanche that had gone before.

As if a crossbow bolt had struck her brain from both sides, pain flashed into her mindsuch as she had never witnessed before. All thoughts of her friends, the Piper, or the man

who's life she had tried to end were washed out in a single flash of glaring red.Moritz gasped for air as the steel-clawed grip released his throat. Others might have beenpleased to just stay put and enjoy being able to breathe again, but the man who hadfought and beaten so many moved, instead, mechanically forward. Like an injured snakewho notices its prey is reeling, he coiled and struck Lieschen with a blow that sent herfalling. She was either knocked out by the punch, or lost consciousness as her careeningbody left her head crashing upon a rock. In either case, Lieschen lay deathly still in thesettling dust and debris.Moritz wasn't sure if he could rub his injured leg as he wanted to without losing hisbalance. Perhaps he should kneel or sit down to do so. The decision was taken from him.

His brothers arrived back from the top of the cliff and he needed to play the strongmanagain."Hey! It's closed off completely!" cried Hermann, surveying the damage, "We have to getthem out!" He dashed over the loose stones to the periphery of the avalanche which hadformed itself cone-shaped against the sheer wall of stone. With his bare hands he beganto toss the stones aside in an attempt to reach the opening. Each larger stone he pulledout caused others to fall at his feet.He was as oblivious of the senselessness of his task as he was of the limping approach ofMoritz from behind. The elder Steinberg grabbed him by the collar and pulled him awayfrom the rubble. Moritz wound him around to look in his face with the mad conviction of

the true fanatic, "We don't save Heathens!""Moritz!" Hermann was not able to articulate anything more to describe the guiltand helplessness that he was feeling.

His brother instinctively followed that line of attack, "Get home, the both of you!Begone NOW and I'll certainly forget who started the avalanche..."

"But Moritz, the people!""Both of you be off! Finish packing for our huntingtrip. I'll be along." Moritz ruled

to them with all the finality of the house of Steinberg.Nickolas knew well enough that no amount of lamentation would be able to convinceMoritz and he silently took Hermann by the shoulder. The downtrodden look of theyouthful man spoke of the torment that he was feeling. Hardly had the beard on his chinbegun to grow, already he had helped over a hundred people to their death. Hermannlooked suddenly much older and Nickolas knew that the youthful gladness had gone outof him forever, it another victim of the power-hungry Moritz. Nickolas shook his headsadly. It was the sign of final resignation. The two brothers turned and began the walkdown the mountain to the Steinberg castle.Behind Moritz there was movement and groaning. He wheeled around to see thatLieschen was returning to consciousness. Very slowly a smile widened on his face, one ofhis more vicious smiles. He reached for the knife in his boot and approached her with theslow movements of the wildcat, sliding ever-so-slowly up to its prey and reveling in themoment of triumph just before the spring to the throat.

She was still so groggy that she didn't know where or who she was. It was the sadisticalfeast for the man in leather that he had always hoped for. She had forever treated him asif she was something better. Daughter of the mayor, ha, who was that? A peasant elected


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by peasants. Only her mother was of the aristocracy, albeit penniless. What did this bitchhave to be so proud of? She had always fought back when he tried to get near to her.Even slapped him once as he had tried to kiss her. An incident that his brothersincessantly reminded him of whenever he began to exude about how the women couldn'tresist him. Now and finally she would be able to resist no longer. He had saved her life

and her supple body belonged to him now.Moritz knelt down between her legs and pulled her out of her trance with a handful oflong blond hair. Her eyes finally focused upon his face through the pain and he felt herbody tighten under his grip, oh, this will be fun.

"And now it's your turn." He held the knife just inches from the frightened andconfused look on her face and increased the tension on the psychological thumbscrews,"Your friends are dead and it's all your fault. YOU led them off to be buried alive in themountain. Your life will be worthless in the town, but then again," he turned the knifedeftly about in his fingers, reached for her dcollet and cut away the first button of herdress, "I may be able to find some use for you..."

The sound of the knife slicing further down her dress did not register in her mind. Nor hadthe words of Moritz reached her with meaning. Lieschen only heard the sound of her ownheartbeat and breathing. She was still terribly groggy. Her head hurt and it was difficult toconcentrate. The stupor was a welcome sensation compared to the feel of Moritz' handson her naked flesh, so she floated away in her mind rather than suffer the attack on herbeaten body. The silence opened up to her and she dove into it willfully, not knowing whythe world had become so quiet. Her head and body jerked forward and back with theviolence of Moritz' ministrations. Had she been able to see herself, the dried blood thatran out of her ears might have been Lieschen's biggest worry.

XVII

Heavy rhythmic breathing. A body physically straining to reach a summit. Groaning underthe stress and choking for air, Jacob forced himself to continue up the Koppen Mountain.He wiped his brow with his sleeve and forced himself to take a few more steps. In hisother hand he held the reins of a horse that was just as tired from carrying his weight andcould not have negotiated the steep slope with a mount.It was not only his own weight that lamed him, but the weight of his office andresponsibility. Over 100 young people were missing from the town, a tragedy such asHamelyn had never seen before. He hoped against hope that his Lieschen was not

involved in this business. The older gate guard had stated that she was well, as he sawher last, but since the loss of the Hamelyn children she was missing. If he was not able tofind the young people, what would he tell the distraught parents? How would Hamelyn asa community be able to take the loss of nearly an entire generation again, just a few shortyears after Sedemuender?

A shout from further up the hill caused him to pause. "Mr. Mayor! Look!" He raised hisweary glance to the mountain and there appeared that which he feared never to be ableto see again. "Lieschen," he murmured to himself. "LIESCHEN!" he shouted and movedtoward her with redoubled effort.She was moving down the hill in his direction. Moritz was with her and held her steady onher upper arm as he limped along and waved with the other hand to the search party. As

the two drew nearer, Moritz ordered the others to continue the search. "Look up there onthe cliff! But you won't find any other survivors, the mountain has closed up on them!" He


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turned to the Jacob and spoke privately, "Mr. Mayor we must return immediately toHamelyn!"

XVIII

The home of the mayor had seen many family crises, but the feeling of utter loss wasnever greater. Lieschen was kneeling on the floor and lay across the lap of her mother.Her tears had reduced themselves to a pitiful sniffling while Gertrud rocked her slowlyback and forth.Jacob was sitting in the middle of the room. His usual mayoral bearing was gone, helooked more like someone on the witness stand. He had had to suffer the indignity ofreturning home through the back alleys in order not to cause a throng of 100 worriedmothers to form up in front of his house wishing to know what had happened. Now hewas being further humiliated and bereaved by the upstart Duke Moritz...

"And your daughter in the middle of it all! Whereby YOU are the one who is

supposed to be keeping order in Hamelyn!" Moritz was at the top of his form. He wasgetting exactly what he wanted. At the same time, he would be able to sell himself as thehero.

"I just can't believe it." Jacob was astonished at the sound of his own voice.Minutes, or was it now hours before, he had organized the search parties with precision,now his will was broken. The shock of loss had torn the very heart out of his saggingchest.

"Oh, you may believe it indeed Mister Mayor. You see what they did to yourdaughter. You're all lucky that I arrived when I did." He added one truthful opinion to thepack of lies, "I'm glad that they're all dead."

Jacob knew that he was in Moritz' hands. A lifetime of work destroyed by thecircumstances of one afternoon. He posed Moritz the question that he would have givenalmost anything to avoid, but would cost him everything if he didn't ask it, "What to youplan to tell the people?"Moritz smiled. How easy comes success. Not only have I had the pleasures of thedaughter today, but now the father is seeking my help, as well. It will be assistance thathe shall be paying for for years to come.The limping man had had time to think his plan through on the way down the mountain.He had written Lieschen a note in the dirt, >You never speak again!< The message waspunctuated with enough physical pain that Lieschen finally nodded her consent. Once his

only eyewitness was silenced, everyone would believe the tale that he told. And why not?He believed it himself."It was all the Piper's fault. He was an evil heathen who seduced the young people

and led them away." Moritz continued, "No one in the town will disagree because thatwould bring guilt and disgrace to their own family. Lieschenwent deaf from the evilmusic. That allowed her to regain her senses and attempt to come back. I arrived almosttoo late to save her from molestation by the unholy and was injured in the leg by heradmirers. We escaped from the cave just as the avalanche closed it off. It was God's willthat the sinners be punished."

Jacob gave a thoughtful tone to note that he was still listening."You will agree to this account," Moritz pronounced, "and support it with all of the

talents that you possess, in the same manner that you organizedLieschen's birthrecords."

Jacob drew breath to protest, but thought better of it.


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"Our mutual friend the Abbot will be glad to assist you in any way possible." Moritz'connections to the church could not be disputed. "Lieschen," he fixed her with his starewhile drawing her name out again that mocking tone, only to turn back to Jacob, "willnever speak a word again. Is that clear?"

The mayor sounded very old as he spoke resignedly, "So be it."

Moritz gave him a final, threatening look, "My brothers and I are off to Seven-Mountainson a hunting trip. I had best not hear of any problems upon my return." He pivoted backto the mother who held in her arms the broken remains of what was once her dream ofkeeping royalty in the family, and added, "And should you still have a glimmer of hopethat I would marry the deaf, sullied daughter of a commoner..." He waved toward Jacob,then took Lieschen under her chin to gain eye contact. She jerked back from his touch buthe gripped her intently, "I will take you into my services. Perhaps as a chamber-," hegrinned, "maid."Lieschen returned a confused stare. She knew by his look that he was threatening heragain, but had no idea of what was being said.

Moritz brought his dark eyes to bear on the mayor again, "Have her brought to me in thecastle. She'll be out of the town, and you can tell everyone that I took the brave girl intomy personalcare."Jacob did not respond to the open threat. He continued to stare silently at the floor. Allthe plans he had for his lovely, pampered daughter - ashes. His wife began to weep oncemore as the black boots limped wordlessly to the door and out of his vision. He had triedso adamantly to keep his child away from the man in black leather and now, ironically, hewould be forced to give her to him as a plaything. It was the first installment on the

help that he received from Moritz, and certainly not the last. The hopelessness of thesituation left him hollow and unmoving.

Duke Moritz of Steinberg was smiling widely as he reached the street. The entire family ofthe mayor would never be the slightest bit of trouble to him in the future. Hamelyn mightvery well belong to his lands. From now on, he would be able to do almost anything hewanted here, with church and state behind him.The city guards had been ordered to bring him a horse. Already his power had increasedwithin the high walls. The animal was brown and just as tall as his black stallion. Moritz'smile vanished instantly

Documents

Hamelyn - The legendary Tragedy