魔法の笛The Magic Flute

About this story

A mysterious piper uses his magical flute to rid a town of a rat infestation.

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Source

This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko

Base edition (底本): 「世界童話集　思ひ出の國」東西社
1947（昭和22）年6月10日発行

Typed in by 京都大学電子テクスト研究会入力班（荒木恵一）. Proofread by 京都大学電子テクスト研究会校正班（大久保ゆう）.

Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, replaced classical grammar and some archaic words with modern ones, and rephrased some sentences, keeping their meaning.

The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 4 parts.

What you'll learn

The town of Hamelin is overrun with rats. A mysterious piper arrives and offers to rid the town of rats for a fee of 1000 yen. The mayor and council agree. The piper plays his flute, leading all the rats into the river where they drown.

When the mayor refuses to pay the agreed 1000 yen, the piper plays a different tune that lures all the children away. They follow him into a mountain that opens and closes, trapping them inside. Only one lame child is left behind, who describes the beautiful paradise inside.

Key vocabulary

笛吹ふえふき男おとこ	piper (the Pied Piper)
ねずみ	rat, mouse
魔法まほうの笛ふえ	magic flute
千円せんえん	1000 yen
四辻よつじ	crossroads

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～てしまう N4Indicates completion or regret; here '死んでしまった' implies 'drowned (regrettably)'.

  ぶくぶくぶくぶく　おぼれて死しんだ。

• ～そうだ（様態） N4Appears as 'ようす' indicating appearance; 'ようすの男' means 'a man with an appearance'.

  入はいって来きたのは　こりゃまあなんと、世よにもふしぎな　ようすの男おとこ。

• ～ではあるまいし N1A classical expression meaning 'It is not as if...'.

  でんでんででむしではあるまいし、智慧ちえだせだせと　せめつけられても、無ない智慧ちえ出だされぬ。

• ～てあげる N4Expresses doing something for someone; here '退治てあげる' means 'I will exterminate for you'.

  どうだね皆みなさん　お困こまりもののねずみはわしが　退治たいじてあげる。

• ～から N5Indicates reason; 'から' appears in several places, e.g., '元気ないから' (though not in text directly).

  笛吹うすい男おとこの　やくそくの国くにへ行いかれず　残のこされた。それがかなしい　なさけない、だってこの世よで　見みられない、たのしい、たのしい　国くにだもの。

Cultural notes

• The Pied Piper of HamelinThis poem is a Japanese adaptation of the classic German legend about a piper who lures rats away from the town and, when unpaid, takes the children. The story teaches the importance of keeping promises.
• Japanese Folklore StyleThe text uses a traditional Japanese poetic form with a 7-5 syllable rhythm (typical of Japanese poetry) and classical vocabulary, giving it a folkloric feel.

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