In the town of Hamelin, the rich and greedy live like kings and queens while the poor and sick scavenge rubbish tips for scraps. In this part of the story, a lame orphan boy describes the moment when the Pied Piper arrives in town:

“None of us could take our eyes off him. This man was long and lanky, with a sharply pointed nose, and darting, twinkling eyes that flickered around the chamber. He was so light and nimble on his feet that it seemed as if he was walking on air. And his clothes! You should have seen his clothes! He was dressed in a costume of brightly coloured checks and patterns, with a hat on his head that had an enormous brim shading his eyes. He looked like some kind of court jester, or a travelling player maybe. All I knew was that whatever he was, he was wonderfully weird.

I noticed then that around his neck, on a fine grey cord, there hung a silver flute. He walked right up to the mayor and stood before him, his face bathed in the light from the window, his silver flute flashing like lightning in the sun. He glanced down at me, and noticing my penny whistle, he smiled at me. A gentle, kindly smile it was, as from a fellow musician, one friend to another. But the smile was quickly gone, and he was suddenly serious again, his brow darkening as he turned his gaze on the counsellors all around him.”

Storytelling challenge:In the text above, Michael Morpurgo suggests the Pied Piper is clever and quick thinking because of his “twinkling eyes that flickered around the chamber”. We know he’s kindly, because of the smile he gives the orphan, but also he can be stern and serious as his “brow darkens”.

Can you use “show, not tell” to give the reader some information about a different character?

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Stuck for ideas?If you get stuck, perhaps your character could be:

• A hero who everyone thinks is very brave, but who is trying to hide that they are really scared

• A new child at school who is feeling nervous about meeting their new classmates

• Someone who has just had some good news and is feeling really happy

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

You should:• Choose a particular character trait for

your character. Are they clever, brave, nervous or untrustworthy? Or is your character feeling a particular emotion: are they happy, upset or angry?

• Working with a partner, describe your character’s actions and see if your partner can guess how they were feeling. Then try writing a description of your character that “shows, not tells” in the space below.

You might:• Use interesting or precise verbs to

describe their actions (they don’t just smile, they beam or smirk).

• Use carefully chosen adjectives to describe your character.