In 'The Pied Piper', a village is overrun with rats. A man is hired to rid the town of the vermin, and once he does, the villagers won't pay up. For payback, the Piper takes it upon himself to rid the town of another nucance: the villagers' children. In modern versions, he leads the kids to a cave, where they hang out until he gets his money and then he releases them. In the original, he drowns them all in a river.