Wednesday 11 May 2011
Ali Baba and his forty thieves.
Ali Baba (Arabic: علي بابا ʿAli Bāba) is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Some critics believe that this story was added to One Thousand and One Nights by one of its European translators, Antoine Galland, an 18th-century French orientalist who may have heard it in oral form from a Middle Eastern storyteller from Aleppo. However, Richard F. Burton claimed it to be part of the original One Thousand and One Nights. The American Orientalist Duncan Black MacDonald discovered an Arabic-language manuscript of the legend at the Bodleian Library however, it was later found to be counterfeited.
This story has been used as a popular pantomime plot such as in the pantomime/musical Chu Chin Chow (1916). Like many other folk tales frequently adapted for children, the original tale is darker and more violent than the more familiar bowdlerised versions. Popular perception of Ali Baba, and the way he is treated in popular media, sometimes implies that he was the leader of the "Forty Thieves": in the story he is actually an "honest man" whom fortune enables to take advantage of the thieves' robberies.
The Story Of The Pied Piper Of Hamelin.
Hamelin was a small town in Germany. It was infested with rats. Rats ruled Hamelin. They were in houses, inns, shops, schools and in every street. It was a menace and a solution had to be found fast.
The mayor had often held meetings with the town folks to discuss this problem. In the beginning they had thought that cats would drive away the mice. But since there were so many rats, the people of Hamelin could find the same number of cats. They were in a dilemma.
One day, a stranger came to the town of Hamelin. He carried with him a flute. He had a stern look on his face and walked straight to the mayor's building. He faced the mayor of Hamelin and said, "It is well known around Germany that Hamelin has a problem with rats. I will get rid of all the rats. What would my reward be?" For a moment the mayor was stunned; here was a strange looking man come from, it seemed nowhere, who promised to get rid of Hamelin's biggest problem.
"Ten Thousand gold coins from our treasury if you can do as you promise," said the mayor. The stranger nodded his head in agreement and said, "In a day's time Hamelin will have no rats."
The stranger walked out in the street, pulled out his flute and started playing it. An eerie sound floated in the air; it carried far, to every corner of Hamelin. The people of Hamelin were paralyzed hearing this enchanting tone.
All of a sudden, there was a 'whirring' noise. It was the rats; they came from all directions hundreds of thousands of them. They followed the eerie sound that came from the Piper's flute. It seemed the rats were mesmerized. The stranger headed to the sea, with all the rats of Hamelin behind him. It was an extraordinary sight for the folks of Hamelin.
The stranger continuing to play the flute walked right into the sea. The rats followed him and before they knew it, the rats were caught by the waves and dragged into the sea. All the rats of Hamelin drowned. The strange piper had got rid of all the rats just like he had promised.
The stranger approached the mayor for his reward. The mayor and the town's people rejoiced at the miracle the stranger had performed. But the mayor had changed his mind about rewarding the strange ten thousand gold coins. Instead when the stranger came he said, "It is a wonderful task you have accomplished but isn't ten thousand gold coins a hefty reward for a day's work. I will pay you five hundred gold coins." The stranger looked at the mayor and then walked out.
In the street he pulled out his flute again and started playing it. This time the sound that came from the flute was different but no less eerie. All the children of Hamelin started to follow the stranger.
The stranger walked out of town and disappeared into the mountains with the children following him. The parents of the children wept. "Where had the stranger taken their children," they went complain to the mayor. The mayor was helpless. He knew he had been dishonest with stranger.
The stranger returned to Hamelin but without the children. The mayor ran to him, begging for forgiveness and pleaded with him to get the children back. Without a word the stranger turned and walked away. He returned after a few hours, this time with all the children.
The stranger was rewarded his ten thousand gold coins. The mayor had learnt his lesson.
The mayor had often held meetings with the town folks to discuss this problem. In the beginning they had thought that cats would drive away the mice. But since there were so many rats, the people of Hamelin could find the same number of cats. They were in a dilemma.
One day, a stranger came to the town of Hamelin. He carried with him a flute. He had a stern look on his face and walked straight to the mayor's building. He faced the mayor of Hamelin and said, "It is well known around Germany that Hamelin has a problem with rats. I will get rid of all the rats. What would my reward be?" For a moment the mayor was stunned; here was a strange looking man come from, it seemed nowhere, who promised to get rid of Hamelin's biggest problem.
"Ten Thousand gold coins from our treasury if you can do as you promise," said the mayor. The stranger nodded his head in agreement and said, "In a day's time Hamelin will have no rats."
The stranger walked out in the street, pulled out his flute and started playing it. An eerie sound floated in the air; it carried far, to every corner of Hamelin. The people of Hamelin were paralyzed hearing this enchanting tone.
All of a sudden, there was a 'whirring' noise. It was the rats; they came from all directions hundreds of thousands of them. They followed the eerie sound that came from the Piper's flute. It seemed the rats were mesmerized. The stranger headed to the sea, with all the rats of Hamelin behind him. It was an extraordinary sight for the folks of Hamelin.
The stranger continuing to play the flute walked right into the sea. The rats followed him and before they knew it, the rats were caught by the waves and dragged into the sea. All the rats of Hamelin drowned. The strange piper had got rid of all the rats just like he had promised.
The stranger approached the mayor for his reward. The mayor and the town's people rejoiced at the miracle the stranger had performed. But the mayor had changed his mind about rewarding the strange ten thousand gold coins. Instead when the stranger came he said, "It is a wonderful task you have accomplished but isn't ten thousand gold coins a hefty reward for a day's work. I will pay you five hundred gold coins." The stranger looked at the mayor and then walked out.
In the street he pulled out his flute again and started playing it. This time the sound that came from the flute was different but no less eerie. All the children of Hamelin started to follow the stranger.
The stranger walked out of town and disappeared into the mountains with the children following him. The parents of the children wept. "Where had the stranger taken their children," they went complain to the mayor. The mayor was helpless. He knew he had been dishonest with stranger.
The stranger returned to Hamelin but without the children. The mayor ran to him, begging for forgiveness and pleaded with him to get the children back. Without a word the stranger turned and walked away. He returned after a few hours, this time with all the children.
The stranger was rewarded his ten thousand gold coins. The mayor had learnt his lesson.
History of the Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great many children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in pied (multicoloured) clothing, leading the children away from the town never to return. In the 16th century the story was expanded into a full narrative, in which the piper is a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizenry refuses to pay for this service, he retaliates by turning his magic on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as a fairy tale. This version has also appeared in the writings of, among others, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, Robert Browning and Megadeth.
The story may reflect a historical event in which Hamelin lost its children. Theories have been proposed suggesting that the Pied Piper is a symbol of the children's death by plague or catastrophe. Other theories liken him to figures like Nicholas of Cologne, who lured away a great number of children on a disastrous Children's Crusade. A recent theory ties the departure of Hamelin's children to the Ostsiedlung, in which a number of Germans left their homes to colonize Eastern Europe. It is also quite likely that it is just a story about paying those who are due.
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