For any harm that men should put on him,
Saving to strike a shadow on the wall!
He is a Nothing, by the statute-book;
And, by the book, so let him live or die,
Like to a masterless dog!

[The PIPER stands motionless with head up-raised, not looking
at KURT. The people, half-cowed, half-doubting, murmur and
draw back. Lights appear in the Minster; the music continues.
KURT and JACOBUS lead in the people. JACOBUS picks up the
money-purse and takes it with him.

VOICES
[laughing, drunkenly]
One thousand guilders to a 'masterless dog'!
[Others laugh too, pass by, with pity and derision for the PIPER,
and echoes of 'MASTERLESS DOG!' Exeunt WOMEN and MEN to the
Minster. Only the children are left, dancing round the motionless
figure of the PIPER.

CHILDREN
Oh, pipe again! Oh, pipe and make us dance!
Oh, pipe and make us run away from school!
Oh, pipe and make believe we are the mice!

[He looks down at them. He looks up at the houses. Then he signs
to them, with his finger on his lips; and begins, very softly, to
pipe the Kinder-spell. The old CLAUS and URSULA in the windows
seem to doze.