` All your rats took a jump into the river yesterday , ' said he to the counsellors , ` and I guarantee that not one of them comes back . They were nine hundred and ninety thousand , nine hundred and ninety-nine , at one gros a head . Reckon ! ' ` Let us reckon the heads first . One gros a head is one head the gros . 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 XXXXX had not tasted before them .
affair agreement crowns hands hat jump rats recompense stroke town