It happened that day that Little Bear found his playground full of caterpillars, and he did not like caterpillars. They were everywhere—on the ground, on the grass, on flowers, on the trees, humping along and humping along, eating green leaves.
"Oh, you old humpty-humps," exclaimed Little Bear,
"I wish you would go away!"
But the caterpillars would not go away. They even began crawling over Little Bear. He shook them off and was about to run away when along came that man, tall and thin, with a sharp chin and a mouth where the smiles went out and in, and two blue eyes each like a pin.
And he was dressed half in red and half in yellow, and as we have often been told, he really was the strangest fellow. Around his neck he wore a red and yellow ribbon, and on it was hung something like a flute, and his fingers went straying up and down it as if he wished to be playing.
"I understand that you do not like caterpillars," said this queer fellow to Little Bear. "Men call me the Pied Piper," he went on when he saw that Little Bear was too surprised to speak. "And I know a way to draw after me everything that walks or flies or swims! What will you give me if I rid your playground of caterpillars?"
"I shall give you my porridge bowl," answered Little
Bear, "if you can take away these caterpillars."
Little Bear afterward told his father and mother that he did not believe that the Pied Piper could do it.
Straightway the Pied Piper put the long pipe to his lips and began to play a tune—a strange, high little tune. And before the pipe had uttered three shrill notes the caterpillars humped after the Piper—thin ones, plump ones, skinny ones, woolly ones, striped ones, plain ones, great caterpillars, small caterpillars, lean ones, brawny ones, brown caterpillars, black caterpillars, gray ones, tawny ones, they all followed the Piper for their lives until they came to the edge of the river. Then the Piper suddenly stepped aside and down they tumbled and—were—drowned!
Only one too-plump caterpillar came humping slowly back to the playground, making great lamentation.
"What is the matter with you?" asked Little Bear, who had laughed until he was obliged to wipe away tears with the back of his paw at the sight of so many caterpillars following the Pied Piper.