"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" Quiz

What problem is the town of Hamelin facing in the beginning of the poem?

• They are running out of money.

• Their mayor and council are greedy and corrupt.

• Hamelin is infested with rats.

• The children are out of control.

Which of the following best describes a central theme of the text?

• Nature (in this case: rats) will always win when pitted against mankind.

• Greed and corruption can have terrible consequences.

• Magic never works out well because it is never worth the price.

• Family is the most important thing in life.

Which of the following quotes best supports the theme of this poem?

• "But, when begins my ditty, / Almost five hundred years ago, / To see townsfolk suffer so / From vermin, was a pity." (Lines 6-9)

• "Into the street the Piper stept, / Smiling first a little smile, / As if he knew what magic slept / In his quiet pipe the while" (Lines 98-101)

• "There came into many a burgher's pate / A text which says, that heaven's Gate / Opes to the rich at as easy rate / As the needle's eye takes a camel in!" (Lines 257-260)

• "And on the great church-window painted / The same, to make the world acquainted / How their children were stolen away, / And there it stands to this very day." (Lines 285-288)

What does the description of the Pied Piper reveal about his character?

• His piercing eyes and smiling face imply that the Pied Piper is secretly evil.

• His strange and prominent instrument reveals that the Pied Piper uses music to manipulate people.

• His mismatched style of dress suggests that the Pied Piper is somewhat unbalanced and corrupt.

• His unusual appearance suggests that the Pied Piper is strange and mischievous, and unlike other people.

Which of the following quotes best supports insight into the Pied Piper's character?

• "And in did come the strangest figure! / His queer long coat from heel to head / Was half of yellow and half of red" (Lines 56-58)

• "No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin, / But lips where smiles went out and in— / There was no guessing his kith and kin!" (Lines 62-64)

• "Quoth one: 'It's as my great-grandsire, / Starting up at the Trump of Doom's tone, / Had walked this way from his painted tombstone'" (Lines 67-69)

• "And at the scarf's end hung a pipe; / And his fingers, they noticed, were ever straying / As if impatient to be playing" (Lines 83-85)

How do the mayor and the council decide to pay the Piper after he drives the rats away?

• The mayor and the council decide to live up to their promise and pay him the thousand guilders.

• They explain that they don't actually have to pay the Piper because they will need the money for the betterment of the town.

• The mayor and the council decide to trick the Piper and give him the wrong amount of money, passing it off as a joke.

• They reason that they should keep the money instead for themselves, as the Piper probably cannot bring the rats back to life.

How does the Pied Piper react to the mayor's and the council's decision?

• He seemingly accepts but then leads the children out of town.

• He decides to drown the children of Hamelin like he did the rats.

• He lures the children away like the rats but leads them into a portal instead of a river.

• He lures the children away to a mountain cliff and off of the mountain cliff.

Which of the following best describes the moral, or message, of the poem?

• Always keep your promises and pay your debts.

• Never trust a strange-looking outsider.

• Music has a strong power over people.

• Question the integrity of greater authorities.