Where are the heads ? ' The ratcatcher did not expect this treacherous stroke . He paled with anger and his eyes flashed fire . ` The heads ! ' cried he , ` if you care about them , go and find them in the river . ' ` So , ' replied the Town Counsellor , ` you refuse to hold to the terms of your agreement ? We ourselves could refuse you all payment . But you have been of use to us , and we will not let you go without a recompense , ' and he offered him fifty crowns . ` Keep your recompense for yourself , ' replied the ratcatcher proudly . ` If you do not pay me I will be paid by your heirs . ' Thereupon he pulled his hat down over his eyes , went hastily out of the hall , and left the town without speaking to a soul . When the Hamel people heard how the affair had ended they rubbed their hands , and with no more scruple than their Town Counsellor , they laughed over the ratcatcher , who , they said , was caught in his own trap . But what made them laugh above all was his threat of getting himself paid by their heirs . Ha ! they wished that they only had such creditors for the rest of their lives . Next day , which was a Sunday , they all went gaily to church , thinking that after Mass they would at last be able to eat some good thing that the rats had not tasted before them . They never suspected the terrible surprise that awaited them on their return home . No children anywhere , they had all disappeared ! ` Our children ! where are our poor children ? '
was the cry that was soon XXXXX in all the streets .
Keep cried disappeared expect flashed go heard laughed thinking wished