Small And Short Stories

The Tale Of The Piper

The lower levels of the palace were swarming with fat stinking rats. They seemed to get in through every possible crevice in each servants hall and kitchen. The stench of the bodies was drawing them in. Then eventually they would fine their way into the palace, like insects burrowing through wood.
The servants were used to the sight and smell of rats. However when one somehow ended up in a drawing room upstairs or heaven forbid the throne room, it would cause all sorts of panic. It was almost like they had made tunnels in the walls to enable them to get around easier.
This was the trouble the almighty King of the Land had caused himself. His egotistical personality made for a King that longed to be feared- meaning that any wrong do-ers were beheaded, hung or thrown from the palace walls. Sometimes all three. The lim bodies were then thrown into the streets for the peasants to see. Along with the fear the King longed for came a convoy of rats. The deeds a King will do just to be feared really are diabolical.
The rat infestation was making the King angry and sick now- disease was spreading and the stench was becoming unbearable. However the rats were too quick for the lazy and somewhat stout King. He needed a slender man, with a cunning mind to catch the rats. He didn't care what it cost as long as the kingdom was rid of the rats.
However the King had an issue with other people demanding payment from him. He didn't think that he (as King of the Land) should have to pay anyone to do anything. Even though he hac plenty of gold, he begrudged giving his gold away- even to his own son. But something had to be done and the King would just have to swallow his pride.
Then one morning an adversisement appeared in the town's newspaper, it was an advert for a man named...Well he called himself The Piper. The advert claimed that he could get rid of people's problems. The King upon hearing about the advert immediately sent a messenger boy to find this Piper and bring him back to the palace. The King was so excited that he missed the small black writing at the bottom of the page that read 'Payment must be made in full. Or else'.
A few days later a strange man appeared in the Kingdom, he wore a faded red and yellow tunic, large fabric shoes and a strange red hat with a pointy top and a black feather. The man must have been and was in fact The Piper. The King laughed when he saw him, he thought he looked more like a jester than a Piper. The King ordered the Piper to get straight to work, he wanted rid of the rats as quickly as possible.
The Piper did as commanded, producing a small flute from inside a brown leather satual he carried by his side. The King almost laughed all over again at the sight.
However as the Piper began to play a sweet melody on the flute, something happened that the King did not expect. As the melody played thousands and thousands of rats came crawling out of every crack in the wall and the ground. The rats seemed to be heading towards the Piper and his tune. He was luring them away under some sort of spell. Many of the villagers had come out of their huts to watch the scene, and they squirmed as the rats ran over their feet.
As more and more rats made their way towards the Piper he began to move backwards, skipping along to his song, the rats following him as he moved. He was leading them away from the village.
The villagers stared in awe until the Piper had disappeared and his tune was nothing but a faint whisper on the afternoon breeze.
The King could not believe his eyes, and rejoiced at the good riddence of the rats. The whole Kingdom celebrated that night. There was a feast in the palace, with lots of singing, dancing and drinking. The merriment went on almost all night, the cheers could be heard from all around.
The next morning the King looked out of his window to see the Piper waiting patiently at the palace gates. The King stormed down to the gate and demanded to know what the Piper wanted. The Piper simply said that he required payment for his work the previous day. This made the King's blood boil with anger, so he told the Piper that as the King of the Land he will not pay for any services that had been performed.
Then the Piper calmly turned around and walked away. Disappearing into the busy market with a sly smile on his face. This was the last the Kingdom saw of the Piper for days.
Then one day when the King was lazing around basking in his greed for gold he heard a faint sound in the distance. It was a soft and sweet melody, almost like a child's lullaby. The sound was getting louder and louder by the moment.
The King stumbled to his feet and strode over to the window. He looked out over the vast hills but couldn't see where the sound was coming from, yet still it continued to grow louder and louder. This made the King very angry, he hated not being in control of what was happening over the lands.
A figure finally began to appear on the hill in the distance. The figure was moving fast and the sound was moving along with it. Slowly the King began to see a clearer picture of the figure.
It was the Piper.
He was striding towards the village, he wasn't dressed in the hilarious outfit from before. This time he wore an all black tunic with a red mishapen handprint on the front. On his head he wore a blood red hat, on it was a terrifying face with black eyes and sharp pointed teeth. He had come for his payment and clearly wasn't going to leave without it.
The King could feel a slight nausea rising in his stomach. Why had the Piper bothered coming back? Surely there was plenty more business out there for him. There were always rats to be dealt with.
The Piper was fast approaching, the tune was loud now, ringing out in the villagers ears. It's sweet melody swimming around in their minds driving them mad. The King looked down at the villagers, they were panicked, scrambling out of the path of the Piper. The villagers began to retreat into their homes and bar the doors closed. They were terrified and so they should have been. The Piper's plan was to take something valuable in return for the payment he never received. To show the King that he couldn't get away with his greed and deceit any longer.
The King was expecting the Piper to come up to the gates ready for a brawl, but the Piper stayed in the village circling the huts playing his tune louder than ever. The King began to think this was all just a practical joke.
But what the Piper did next was the most tercherous thing of all.
As he stood there playing his flute, the doors of the villagers' huts began to open and out wandered the children. Every child from every family started to make their way towards the Piper. He continued to play as the children began to gather around him, just like the rats. Slowly the Piper began to move away from the village taking the children with him. Realising what was happening the mothers and fathers of the children began to weep, and the King watched in terror.
The Piper left the village, after casting a menacing glance over at the King. The children followed the Piper out of the village and down the road until they could no longer be seen nor heard.
The disapperence of the children marked the downfall of the King from his throne. The villagers revolted, they stormed the palace blaming the King for the loss of their innocent children and accusing him of loving his gold more than his people. They took over the palace and killed the King, they then hung his body from the palace walls for all to see. Deep down they hoped that the Piper would see that the King had been punished and return the children to them, but the Piper did no such thing. He knew of the King's demise, but only smiled when he heard of it.
You see the Piper had been sent by the devil himself, to test the King and find out how truly greedy and careless he had become. Then when the King refused to give the Piper his payment for getting rid of the rats the devil sealed the King's doom. As punishment the devil sent his minion back to the kingdom to take the children and bring them back to a secret cave that led to the very pit of hell. And there the devil and the Piper ate the children and threw their bones back onto the floor of the cave.

Therefore if you are ever in a situation similar to this one, and you don't honour your word, then you might find yourself paying the Piper...one way or another.