4 A
long time ago there was a town called Hamelin in
Germany. It was a wealthy town, and everyone' ate well. .
But then there was a plague of rats. No one knew where the
rats had come from. They
up and down
every street and in and out of every house. Soon the rats
every scrap of food in the town. No one had
any idea how to get rid of them.
One day a stranger
He said he was a
rat-catcher called the Pied Piper. The people of Hamelin
promised to give him as much gold as he wanted if he could get
rid of the rats.
The Pied Piper walked along the streets. He
a special pipe with him, and he played a tune that no one
before. Rats came out of every corner of the

Almost everyone i know looks forward for summer holidays. it’s the longest period of time during the year when people can do whatever they like. some of them prefer to spend time away from the city in their country houses. others choose to spend most of their summer at the seaside or travelling. any of these holiday plans are suitable for me. nearly every summer i spend a week or two at the seaside and about a month at my grandparents’ place. this summer was no different. after the term exams i went to the black sea shore with my parents and one family we are friends with. we had a great time there. i love swimming more than any other activity. even in winter i visit our local swimming-pool and it gives me so much pleasure to spend an hour swimming. this summer at last i’ve learned some basics of wind-surfing. other than that we rode on a yacht that my father rented. it was a fantastic adventure. when we returned my parents drove me to the grandparents’ country house, where i stayed for the rest of the month. my dad had some work to do in the city, so they couldn’t stay. time passed quickly there. nearly every day i went to the local lake with my country friends to swim and sunbathe. at the end of my stay my skin was so brown that my parents hardly recognized me. after all it was a great and memorable holiday. i wish summer was all year round and perhaps i’m not the only one.