16
VIII.
You
should
have
heard
the
Hamelin
people
Ringing
the
bells
till
they
rocked
the
steeple
“Go,”
cried
the
Mayor,
“and
get
long
poles,
Poke
out
the
nests
and
block
up
the
holes!
Consult
with
carpenters
and
builders,
And
leave
in
our
town
not
even
a
trace
Of
the
rats!”—
when
suddenly
up
the
face
Of
the
Piper
perked
in
the
market-place,
With
a,
“First,
if
you
please,
my
thousand
guilders!”