Pied Piper

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Pied Piper the central character of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a poem by Robert Browning (1842), based on an old German legend. The piper, dressed in particoloured costume, rid the town of Hamelin (Hameln) in Brunswick of rats by enticing them away with his music, and when refused the promised payment he lured away the children of the citizens.

In extended usage, the term is used for a person who entices people to follow, especially to their doom.

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