When I was young, we read storybooks, a trait, I’m told is fast dying in this generation of i-pads and ipods.
In these stories (which we called fairytales), one would be transported to a whole new world of magical people, beautiful princesses, gnomes, genies, and sometimes…even rats.
Here’s a story that has stayed in my memory for a long time.
It’s called The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Let me try and recall the story, as far as my memory would permit me….
Long, long ago, in the city of Hamelin, folks were living happily, going about their business (but not taking care of the cleanliness in their drains – sorry, I’m adding this in) until the town became infested with rats.
These rats grew in numbers and size in no time (because there was ample food in the drains, of course) and even the cats were afraid of them!
The townfolks employed all kinds of methods to get rid of the rats, but to no avail.
Soon, a strange-looking visitor strode into town. He wore strange-looking clothes and carry nothing save for a strange-looking pipe.
Legend has it that he was known in distant lands as the “Pied Piper”.
The Piper approached the mayor and offered his help in getting rid of the rats in exchange for a few bundles of gold.
Of course the mayor most gladly took up his offer and the Piper soon set to work.
He sat at the corner of town and started blowing his pipe.
The air was filled with a strange-sounding music and soon…the rats stopped doing whatever they were doing and scurried towards the Piper, completely entranced by the music.
The Piper got up and started walking all over town. On every street that he walked by, the rats came out of the drains and holes and they all started following him.
Soon, the length and breadth of the whole street was filled with rats of all sizes. They were trotting together with the Piper in a trance-like manner.
The townsfolks watched in utter amazement from their windows.
The Piper then walked toward the pier and the battalion of rats followed.
At the pier, the Piper kept blowing his pipe even louder and a strange and eerie thing happened…
The rats trotted on, oblivious of where they were heading and one by one, they fell straight into the sea.
Soon, every single rat had fallen into the sea and every single one drowned.
The townsfolks cheered and there was a huge celebration that night.
As the mayor was merry-making with the townsfolks at the inn, the Piper appeared. He demanded for his bundles of gold.
The mayor, instead of paying the Piper, ridiculed him, disavowed his word, and went on drinking and singing.
The Piper left the inn, went to the pier and started blowing his pipe again.
This time, it was a different music.
Soon, one by one, the children of the town got up from bed, left their houses and followed the Piper.
The Piper then led them out of town.
The parents of the children tried to intercept and stop the children from following the Piper, but to no avail.
The children were in a trance.
The parents watched in agony as the trail of hundreds of children followed the Piper, prancing happily.
All the children from the town were there, following the Piper. All but one. This child was on crutches and he could not walk fast enough. He was left behind.
The parents watched and saw the Piper lead the children into a mysterious cave and from then on, they never saw their children again.
There were no more laughter and the sounds of children in the town of Hamelin…for a long, long time.
You know, the fairy tales that we grew up with were mean, weren’t they?
Nevertheless, we can learn a thing or two from them, if we bother to reflect a little on the moral behind the story.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin reminds me of human greed, human dishonesty, humans who do not honour their word (we have lots of those around town these days, don’t we?). But it also tells us that when we do harm to others for selfish reasons, out of convenience for ourselves without due consideration to the wellbeing of others, we suffer the consequences. The repercussions will come, one fine day, sometimes, in a form least expected.
And sometimes we can even be so ignorant, that we cannot put two and two together and realise why we’ve been hit.
In the subject of how we humans tackle the stray animal issues in our community, we plead that those in power use some semblance of humanity, compassion and wisdom in performing their duty. We live as a community and we function as a whole. What we do affects the whole community.
Man did not create the web of life. What he does to the web, he does to himself - Chief Tsi’al-la-kum (1786 – 1766).
When Chief Tsi’al-la-kum (renamed Chief Seattle) of the Duwamish Tribe, was asked to “sell” his land (which is now modern-day Seattle) by the whiteman, he answered, “How can I sell something that is not mine?”. He talked about respect for all living beings on the land and respect for the environment.
Now, that’s wisdom.
The modern man has far divorced himself from Nature and in his quest to take care of himself, he has forgotten his responsibility towards the giver of life itself – Nature.
Nature is alive, and every being is precious and has its place on Earth. This is to be respected.
Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man whose God walked and talked with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We will see.
Ref: http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html
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