Reading A: More English Fairytales

The Pied Piper 

• A town is overrun by rats that they can't seem to get rid of
• They try everything to no avail until eventually a strange man comes to town
• The Pied Piper promises to get rid of the rats for 50 pounds and they agree
• He plays his pipe and all the rats drown themselves in the river
• The town doesn't acctually want to pay him so they offer him 30 instead
• He refuses and plays his pipe until all the children follow him and leave the town

The Golden Ball

• A strange man gives two sisters each a golden ball that they must never lose or they will be hanged
• Obviously one of the sisters loses hers (in this case the younger) and is set to be hanged
• She is taken away and her sweetheart sets out to retrieve the ball and save her
• To do so he must stay three nights in the house where the ball is held
• He does  so and faces a giant and a group of bogles. 
• He eventually retrieves the ball and saves her just as she is to be hanged

Tattercoats

• A sort of Cinderella story
• Tattercoats is the granddaughter of a Lord who refuses to look at her because he is bitter over the death of his wife and favorite grandchildren
• Because of this she is often mocked and given, you guessed it, tattered clothes to wear
• She spends most of her time with the geese herd
• Eventually a ball is held and Tattercoats wishes to go but is refused
• Saddened by this she returns to the geese and their herdboy who encourage her to go to the town and watch the preparations with them 
• On their way they run into a handsome stranger who falls in love with Tattercoats and promises to profess his love to her exactly as she is if she shows up to the ball at midnight
• She does so and he is revealed to be the prince and then her dress becomes beautiful and the geese become pages and she lives happily ever after