Ilana Waters
The people of Hamelin have a problem with rats. There are rats in their houses, their storesâ€”even swimming in their stew! The rats donâ€™t think theyâ€™re a problem. They just want to live their lives in peace. With the townâ€™s approval, the mayor thinks of a clever way to solve the problem. He offers twenty gold pieces to a piper to rid the town of rats. He delivers only five.,But heâ€™s cheated the wrong piper, whoâ€™ll have to use both skill and wit to teach this town a lesson. Because thereâ€™s more than money at stake. An evil pattern is emerging in the way Hamelin treats any creature it considers inferior. And the Piper vows to put an end to itâ€”once and for all.,Think you know everything about this classic folktale of greed and cunning? In â€œPaying Piper,â€ youâ€™ll learn what really happened the day a magical musician came to Hamelinâ€”and why. ,Fans of fairy tales with a twist will delight in this tricky, witty middle-grade short story. (And if youâ€™re a parent or teacher, stay tuned for bonus discussion questions at the end!),â€œPaying Piperâ€ is approximately 5,000 words, or about twenty pages.
Paying Piper