In 1284, the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation. One day, a man claiming to be a rat-catcher approached the villagers with a solution. They promised to pay him for the removal of the rats. The man accepted and thus took a pipe and lured the rats with a song into the Weser river, where all of them drowned.

Despite his success, the people reneged on their promise and refused to pay the rat-catcher. The man left the town angrily, but returned some time later, on June 26th, seeking revenge.

While the inhabitants were in church, he played his pipe again, this time attracting the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of the town, where they were lured into a cave and never seen again. Depending on the version, at most two children remained behind, who informed the villagers what had happened when they came out of the church.

Other versions (but not the traditional ones) claim that the Piper returned the children after the villagers paid several times the original amount of gold.

History

The earliest mention of the story seems to have been on a stained glass window placed in the church of Hamelin c. 1300. The window was described in several accounts between the 14th century and the 17th century but it seems to have been destroyed. Based on the surviving descriptions, a modern reconstruction of the window has been created by Hans Dobbertin. It features the colorful figure of the Pied Piper and several figures of children dressed in white.

This window is generally considered to have been created in memory of a tragic historical event for the city. But although there has been a lot of research, no clear explanation can be given of what historical event is behind the reports, see an external link with a list of theories. However, the rats were first added to the story in the late 16th century; they are absent from all previous accounts. Some traumatic event must have given rise to the tale; Hamelin town records are dated from this time.

Theories that have gained some support can be grouped into the following categories:

• The children fell victim to an accident, either drowning in the river Weser or being buried in a landslide.

• The children contracted some disease during an epidemic and were led out of town to die in order to protect the rest of the city's population from contracting it.

• An early form of Black Death has been suggested.

• Others attribute the dancing of the children to be an early reference to Huntington's disease; however, this is an inherited disorder, and the statistical probability of that many unrelated children having the same genetic condition is very low.

• Another possibility would be the outbreaks of chorea, or communal dancing mania, which are recorded in a number of European towns during the period of general distress which followed the Black Death. The 'Verstegan/Browning' date, 1376, would be consistent with this. These theories perceive the Piper as a symbolic figure of Death. Death is often portrayed dressed in motley, or "pied." Analogous themes which are associated with this theory include the Dance of Death, Totentanz or Danse Macabre, a common medieval type. Various ecstatic outbreaks were associated with the Plague, such as the Flagellants, who wandered from place to place while scourging themselves in penance for sins that presumably brought the plague upon Europe. The rat is the preferred host for the plague vector, the rat flea. When the rats die, the fleas seek humans as a substitute host. Children might be especially vulnerable to the disease.

• The children left the city to be part of a pilgrimage, a military campaign, or even a new Children's crusade but never returned to their parents. These theories see the unnamed Piper as their leader or a recruiting agent.

• The children willingly abandoned their parents and Hamelin in order to become the founders of their own villages during the colonization of Eastern Europe. Several European villages and cities founded around this time have been suggested as the result of their efforts as settlers. This claim is supported by corresponding placenames in both the region around Hamelin and the eastern colonies where names such as Querhameln ("mill village Hamelin") exist. Again the Piper is seen as their leader.

“When, lo, as they reached the mountain's side,

A wondrous portal opened wide,

As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed;

And the Piper advanced and the children followed,

And when all were in to the very last,

The door in the mountain-side shut fast.”

Top scorer with 14 wins

Must be the Sambal Belacan he had..

Front

Back

These are my words...

Life's a total mess....

Please end mine now...

T.T

This is the closest I could find to my description of the boney rat. But it did not look like tat at all in my dream...

I walked along the paveway leading to the house when suddenly I hear chittering noises. And without notice, one by one, oversized rats appeared from dark corners, emerging and revealing their thirst for human flesh. They started chasing me... I spun 180 degrees and started running. The smell of blood rushing into my nose. Don't ask me why, but I swear to you I could smell it even though I'm sleeping.

This is how it looked like... Well, almost gua..

I ran, seeking help. Funny why I never run to the cars driving by... Mayb you can't control every details in your dream. So there I was running like a man on steroids, pushing my every limit running. After constant pacing for a few minutes, I looked back to find that the rats were walking now. They slowed down. I wouldn't want to find out why. I continued running. Glancing back every now and then. Just as I slowed down, I bumped into something.

I looked straight and found myself staring at a man, a head taller than me. Standing under the streetlight with his face looking at me. Or so I thought. The shadow caused his face to be hidden and therefore I could not tell his expression.

I went, " Sir, you've got to help me..." I move around him, hoping that the light could tell me he was not a drug addict or thief. And as soon I caught a glimpse of his face under the street light, I shrieked. He had a typical face, long nose and Joker's smile (Batman, wonder how that got into my dream) and most noticeable, holes for eyes. Blood drooled from his sockets, flowing slowly as he stenched of sweat and blood. He smiled, revealing the blood-stained teeth. I stared in horror. Real horror.

I'm sure he didn't look like this. But this is not the closest to my dream.

This is more like it. More like the one in my dream exep she's a girl and she has black eyes.

But being semi-conscious, I remember telling myself, reminding that it was just a dream and there was nothing to be afraid off. To prove it, I used my two fingers and went for his eyes. I touched it, and it was proven to be wet and sticky, as blood would have been. Then, my mind was confused and frightened. No one can smell and feel in their dreams. Can they? I don't think so.

So, all my instincts told me that this wasn't a dream no more. And I picked up where I left off. AND RAN... As hard as possible.

And before I reached the end of the road, I was cornered by amazingly mutated rats. I was panting very hardly, finding it hard to breathe. Doomed, the one word that came to mind. They closed in on me. And as soon as one took a bite on me, I awoke in sweat. In an aircond room. In my room.

Thank god it was just a dream. It seemed so real. Dreams are getting more and more realistic to me these days. Better stop taking steroids.. XD not like I do...

And here's a lame pic of CJ wif Sonia's Iphone..

After feeling bad about the game, losing to a team which consisted of many athletics, me and Min Chern headed out to Amcorp in frustration. Buying stuff for steamboat tomorrow.

I have quill eggs, tofu, tofu-pok, chicken meat, straw mushroom, cabbage, prawns and some other stuff. And oh, I hate to mention this but I have to. Min Chern wanted to buy a mini-fan and a small pillow. Why? Ask him yourself...

So there we were in Giant searching high and low for the two things. We did not find them, so we went to another stall outside Giant. They sold a huge, girlish mini fan but no pillows.

The next stall directly next to it.... Sold the pillow. It cost him 20 bucks for the small tiny pillow.

Then we got the bloody mini-fan on the ground floor. After searching for veli long again...

Saw her today... Cannot ignore my feelings for her, the need to see her urges me everyday. It's my only motivation to live past everyday.

I'm Love Sick...

I

NEED

TO

SEE

HER!