Once more he stept into the street;
And to his lips again
Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane; ...
There was a rustling, that seem'd like a bustling
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering, ...
Conversation
Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering,
And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scattering,
Out came the children running.
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, ...
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Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter. ...
And after him the children pressed;
Great was the joy in every breast. ..
When, lo, as they reached the mountain's side,
A wondrous portal opened wide, ...
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As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed;
And the Piper advanced and the children follow'd,
And when all were in to the very last,
The door in the mountain side shut fast.
Did I say, all? No! One was lame,
And could not dance the whole of the way...
“I can't forget that I'm bereft
Of all the pleasant sights they see,
Which the Piper also promised me; ...
For he led us, he said, to a joyous land,
Joining the town and just at hand,
Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew, ...
And every thing was strange and new...”
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From Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin. (Woodcut by Fritz Eichenberg)
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