“Do not the young herren know the story?”
The young herren did not know the story, or if they did had forgotten it.
“Is there a story?” cried Tom. “Tell it to us, won’t you, Herr Director?”
The Director bowed gravely.
“Probably the young herren will recall it, for one of their English poets has written about it. It happened nearly six hundred years ago that the town of Hameln was overrun with rats—”
That was enough. Tom had found his clue.
“Of course I’ve read it!” he cried. “That was what I’ve been trying to remember all day:
“‘Hamelin town’s in Brunswick,
By famous Hanover city;
The River Weser, deep and wide,