Thuringia, at Saalfeld, a servant-girl fell asleep whilst her
companions were shelling nuts. They observed a little red
mouse creep from her mouth and run out of the window. One of
the fellows present shook the sleeper, but could not wake her,
so he moved her to another place. Presently the mouse ran back
to the former place and dashed about, seeking the girl; not
finding her, it vanished; at the same moment the girl
died."[19] This completes the explanation of the piper, and it
also furnishes the key to the horrible story of Bishop Hatto.

[19] Baring-Gould, Curious Myths, Vol. II. p. 159.

This wicked prelate lived on the bank of the Rhine, in the
middle of which stream he possessed a tower, now pointed out
to travellers as the Mouse Tower. In the year 970 there was a
dreadful famine, and people came from far and near craving
sustenance out of the Bishop's ample and well-filled
granaries. Well, he told them all to go into the barn, and
when they had got in there, as many as could stand, he set
fire to the barn and burnt them all up, and went home to eat a
merry supper. But when he arose next morning, he heard that an
army of rats had eaten all the corn in his granaries, and was
now advancing to storm the palace. Looking from his window, he
saw the roads and fields dark with them, as they came with
fell purpose straight toward his mansion. In frenzied terror
he took his boat and rowed out to the tower in the river. But
it was of no use: down into the water marched the rats, and
swam across, and scaled the walls, and gnawed through the
stones, and came swarming in about the shrieking Bishop, and
ate him up, flesh, bones, and all. Now, bearing in mind what