CARD is short for Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team.
Hamelin is named after the town in what is now Germany, made famous by the story of the Pied Piper.
(The Piper was described as wearing a multicoloured or pied coat in the Grimm's version, before that he was just a piper.)
The Grimm's version is the closest to a witness statement anyone will ever get: It tells of a being (his species is never specified, but his powers were beyond human) who could play magical music, and the consequences of crossing supernatural beings.
In 1284 the town of Hameln (Hamelin) was overrun with rodents, so when a mysterious stranger arrives and claims he can clear the town, they quickly take him up on his offer. The people are so eager to be rid of the infestation, they offer The Piper a small fortune in return for his help. He fulfills his side of the bargain; playing a tune on his pipe that summons all the rats and mice from the houses and into the street. The rats follow The Piper out of town and into the river, drowning them all (we don't question why these rats couldn't swim), but when he returns, the townspeople refuse to pay. The betrayed Piper leaves empty-handed. On June 26th, The Piper returns dressed for a hunt. This was witnessed by a young nursemaid, watching from a window. Again he walks down the street, and again he summons something from the houses; but this time it's the children. Every child over the age of 4, including the Mayor's grown daughter, follows The Piper as he leaves the town and disappears into a cave in the mountains. Some say the children passed through the mountains to Transylvania, and settled there. 130 children left with The Piper. 3 were left behind; a blind child, who couldn't keep up, but could tell the adults about the lure of The Piper's music. A deaf and mute child, who couldn't hear the music, so didn't feel compelled to follow, but could show the adults where the other children went. And a very practical child who went back to fetch his coat and got left behind. In other versions of the story The Piper takes the children straight away, or opens up the mountain instead of walking into a cave, some even preach that his magic is proof of God, but all the versions of the story agree on the basic facts of the incident.
Historical records confirm the loss of 130 children from the town of Hameln on that day. It was recorded that they "followed a piper". It was said of the town that they marked their years in two ways, "since the birth of our Lord", and "since the loss of our children". Stone crosses were erected on either side of the mountain pass the children took up to the cave. The day the children were taken by "a magician" is commemorated in a specially commissioned stained glass window in the village church. Well into the 18th Century (possibly till the present day) the street the children followed The Piper down was still called the "soundless" street because there was no music or dancing allowed on it.
In 1284 the town of Hameln (Hamelin) was overrun with rodents, so when a mysterious stranger arrives and claims he can clear the town, they quickly take him up on his offer. The people are so eager to be rid of the infestation, they offer The Piper a small fortune in return for his help. He fulfills his side of the bargain; playing a tune on his pipe that summons all the rats and mice from the houses and into the street. The rats follow The Piper out of town and into the river, drowning them all (we don't question why these rats couldn't swim), but when he returns, the townspeople refuse to pay. The betrayed Piper leaves empty-handed. On June 26th, The Piper returns dressed for a hunt. This was witnessed by a young nursemaid, watching from a window. Again he walks down the street, and again he summons something from the houses; but this time it's the children. Every child over the age of 4, including the Mayor's grown daughter, follows The Piper as he leaves the town and disappears into a cave in the mountains. Some say the children passed through the mountains to Transylvania, and settled there. 130 children left with The Piper. 3 were left behind; a blind child, who couldn't keep up, but could tell the adults about the lure of The Piper's music. A deaf and mute child, who couldn't hear the music, so didn't feel compelled to follow, but could show the adults where the other children went. And a very practical child who went back to fetch his coat and got left behind. In other versions of the story The Piper takes the children straight away, or opens up the mountain instead of walking into a cave, some even preach that his magic is proof of God, but all the versions of the story agree on the basic facts of the incident.
Historical records confirm the loss of 130 children from the town of Hameln on that day. It was recorded that they "followed a piper". It was said of the town that they marked their years in two ways, "since the birth of our Lord", and "since the loss of our children". Stone crosses were erected on either side of the mountain pass the children took up to the cave. The day the children were taken by "a magician" is commemorated in a specially commissioned stained glass window in the village church. Well into the 18th Century (possibly till the present day) the street the children followed The Piper down was still called the "soundless" street because there was no music or dancing allowed on it.