One night, a strange thing occurred in a village called Hamelin.

The grown-ups had all gone to attend a festival in the next village, leaving all the children alone.

Suddenly, the sound of a pipe seemed to come from nowhere, filling the village with its sweet sound.

The music it made was so lovely that even the moon and stars were transfixed by its melody.

All the children in the village were drawn out of their houses by the sound of the pipe,

including a crippled boy called Mae-mae.

Oh...what is that beautiful sound? Where is it coming from...

A man playing a silver pipe stood in the street.

The children gazed at him curiously.

Chubby Vincente was the first to speak

Who are you?

But the man was silent.

Your music...it's so beautiful...

The man still did not speak and continued to play.

Then, he turned away and began to walk off towards the fields.

Drawn by the sound of his pipe, the children followed.

Let's go with him! / Yes! Let's go with him, common!

The man led them to a big cave with heavy gates. As he played, the gate opened.

Oooo...this is increadible! Wow...

Wait! Wait for me!

Oh...the gate is closing...I've been left behind... but I wanted to come too!

Peeking through a gap in the gate, Mae-mae could see that it was a bright as day inside.

There were magnificent birds with gems in their feather.

Mae-mae could see the backs of the children following the sound of the man's pipe.

Wait...I wanna go too! Wait for me! Let me in...

But no one seemed to hear, and no one looked back.

Tired and disappointed, Mae-mae went back to the village.

The village of Hamelin had always been concerned about the growing number of rats.

One day, a man passing through the village claimed that he could rid Hamelin of rats if he was well paid.

The villagers gladly promised him a rich reward, but when the rats were gone, they broke their promise.

Now, that same man had returned to punish the villagers by taking away all of their children.

The following morning, the village of Hamelin was in a panic because all of the children were gone.

Mae-mae was still there, but no one cared because he was an orphan.

Oh, no! Can this be true? A man playing a sliver pipe led all of our children?

What's going on? Did you see him, Mae-mae? Where are the children?

Oh, how can we get our children back!? How can we do it?

The following day, all the villagers went to the woods in search of the cave, hoping to find their children.

They found nothing and came home empty-handed.

Children! Come back to us!

Time passed, and all the adults began to take special care of Mae-mae

because he was the only child left in the village.

Look Mae-mae, I made cookies for you. Would you like some?

Oh...Thank you...

Mae-mae doesn't want your cookies! Look Mae-mae, do you like this toy?

How do you know what Mae-mae likes! Leave him alone!

You're a fool! I know him better than you do! / What? What did you just call me?

Mae-mae spent each day with a different family, because they all wanted him to stay with them.

They gave him lots of nice clothes, delicious treats, and wonderful toys.

Mae-mae had everything he had ever wanted.

Thank you, thank you very much!

Look Mae-mae, do you like this?

Oh, it's wonderful, thank you!

Mae-mae was happier than he had ever been, because for the first time in his life, he felt loved.

He became the best student in school as well.

Good job Mae-mae, you've won the writing competition.

Here is your prize -- you've won a book!

It's all for you, and you alone.

Oh...thank you!

Hurray!!! Our Mae-mae is the best!

Mae-mae had never really been that good with his schoolwork,

but now he was always the best because he was the only child in school.

After a while, Mae-mae began to grow lonely.

It's not fun when I haven't got anyone to play with, or ride the see-saw with me

I feel so lonely...I wish I had my friends back...

As he said those words, a shadow fell over his face.

It's you! Please tell me...what did you do with my friends?

Hmmm....here, take this.

it's...a silver pipe!

Why are you giving this to me?

Didn't you say you want your friends back?

Yes, I did...

Well, this is how you can bring them back.

If a child from Hamelin plays this silver pipe, all of the children will return.

All you have to do is play it.

But...I can't...I don't know how to play...

Suddenly, the man clapped twice and stepped forward.

Colcolla Bacolla Yi! "North!"

Mae-mae realized that he had been taken to a part of Hamelin that was suffering from an epidemic

because of all the rats.

The man began to play his pipe and the rats emerged from the houses.

Ewww....rats!

Huh? What if we both play?

Will you play with me to help me get rid of the rats?

Alright.

The man and Mae-mae began to play together, and the rats followed them to the edge of a cliff.

Mae-mae played as well as he could, and saw the rats hurl themselves over the cliff to drown in the ocean below.

Now the epidemic will stop.

Amazing...

After that, mae-mae and the man drove off the crickets that were destroying crops in the south.

In the west, they chased away the black clouds that wouldn't let the flowers grow,

and in the east, they cleaned the waste that was polluting the river.

As they traveled together, Mae-mae could play the pipe better and better.

This pipe is magic, isn't it?

Then...

Colcolla Bacolla Yi! Cave!

The man had brought Mae-mae back to the cave where the children had been taken.

My work here is done. The only one who can save the children now is the pipe-playing child of Hamelin.

At those words, the man vanished into thin air.

Mae-mae looked through the gap in the door...

The cave was dark and cold, and the children were being watched by fierce falcons with sharp talons.

They were pale and ragged and sat in the dim candlelight looking tired and anxious.

Wrong! Again! 10 minus 7 is 3? I don't know.

What was 3 plus 8? / Hmm, what was it?

All the children were trying hard to count something on their fingers.

Mae-mae knew what he had to do, but he couldn't make himself play because he was filled with doubt.

Vincente used to tease me all the time because I was an orphan.

If all the children come back, the grown-ups won't love me anymore.

Mae-mae couldn't decide what to do.

Then, he remembered the faces of the people who had loved him for a while,

and how good they had been to him.

If I play the pipe now, I can make everyone happy again,

even if it means I have to go back to being lonely...

So Mae-mae began to play, and played as well as he could for his friends and their families,

ignoring the tears in his eyes.

Look! The door is open! We can go home now!

Hurray!

The sound of Mae-mae's pipe brought the children home to their families and everyone was happy once more.

But what happened to Mae-mae? He was never seen in the village again.

Perhaps he is still traveling the world with the piper,

and is playing his pipes somewhere right now, bringing peace and happiness.