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Lascio aperta la domanda: è da raccontare ad un bambino?
Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Si salvò il bimbo zoppo, cosa può voler dire?
Chi è il pifferaio?
Chi segue il pifferaio? Perché?
Who’s following the Piper? And Why?
Who’s following the Piper?
Inside all of us is something that can see the magic, that wants to march forward laughing and singing, hand in hand with our peers.
That is the best part of us. It is our inner child euphorically running inside of those who can let him dream.
And within the image of the children of Hamelin dancing behind the piper is us chasing our chimeras.
Why such grief?
I can’t justify all those children disappearing; what is the meaning behind it? Is it a lesson for parents? Writes Norma in her comment.
Something tragic happened in Hamelin around 1300 A.D., but what we know is little more than the altered memory of a historic event.
Had the event been told as a fable, as fables end with morals, the ending would have been clear:
Because of their greed the citizens of Hamelin had driven away all cats, an as absolutely unnecessary decision since all canteens, granary and kitchens were well stocked, as near-sighted as it allowed vermin to proliferate and a crisis to manifest itself. Unfortunately later, rather than learning by their mistakes, the townsfolk fell into their old habits. The reward was well within the reach of their pockets, but they refused to pay the Pied Piper.
Had this been a fable the moral would have been clear: the townsfolk were so greedy to behave in such a dishonest way that they brought punishment upon themselves.
Fairy tales, however, have no morals.
Inside the image of the children dancing behind the piper is some sort of indication. It’s not clear what it is, but it’s a haunting omen we need to be wary of.
We feel the desperation of the children of Hamelin and dishonesty and greed are just words to the wind.
With a moral it would be easy to keep our distances and condemn mindlessness turning into greed, then into dishonesty, leading to the loss of the children.
Without a moral it’s harder to keep our distances.
The fact is, we also know that we are supposed to save our money where we can, think about tomorrow and let go of the unnecessary.
“Did we sign anything? Do you have a written contract? No! What now? It’s our word against yours!”
“If we trouble ourselves too much we’re done. Anyways if we won’t do it someone else will”
“The point is: maximize gains and keep costs low”
“I’d like to see him go to a lawyer over a fistful of coins. And even if he gets one, it’s going to take him forever to get a definitive ruling! If they rule in his favor after all…”
The mindlessness of the townsfolk of Hamelin is our own, too.
Why follow the Pied Piper?
In Hamelin everything started with the driving away of the cats, because they had their cost.It happens to give up on something here and there because of costs.
The cost isn’t always pecuniary, perhaps the coin is time, or energy that we could instead spend on our craft, or our family.
And it’s not always about giving up on an expense: we wouldn’t look back twice on investing in our career or our social status, instead we give up on what’s not functional, on what doesn’t fulfill a specific purpose.
“It’s common for women who aren’t independent to dream of cats and to be attached in a canine-like way to their husbands and children: in this case, I always point out what a cat would do. A cat goes his own way. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. He’s back for his meals to show affection, but when he wants to leave he’ll just “Meow”” *
What happens when we too often tell ourselves we can do without something?
The more we give up on something the more we get mad, we get bitter over our accomplishments feeling unrewarded, over our uncertainties towards the future, over our sense of impotence. Perhaps we just need a little something to turn these things around.
And it’s because of all the vermin that we end up in need of a Piper.
But instead of chasing a Piper, what would a cat do?
“When I was younger I enjoyed observing how much of a suck-up a cat could be. For example, when he wanted to be fed or pet, he would brush his tail against my legs and at times, if I didn’t have time for him I would say 'go away, I’m reading'.
The cat would answer 'ok, alright…' and he would brush himself against the chair, as if to say: 'If you won’t pet me, I’ll pet myself! That’s fine too…' A dog would have been deeply wounded and would have looked at me full of grief; you wouldn’t do something like that to him. But a cat: 'Oh, nevermind…' He would never put himself in our hands. He’s friendly, he uses us, but he keeps his independence."*
* Excerpts from M.L. Von Franz’s “The Cat: A Tale of Feminine Redemption”
Il pifferaio magico
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...
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Lascio aperta la domanda: è da raccontare ad un bambino?
Riflessioni e considerazioni:
Si salvò il bimbo zoppo, cosa può voler dire?
Chi è il pifferaio?
Chi segue il pifferaio? Perché?
Who’s following the Piper? And Why?
