Who is the author of a legend? No single person. Over the years, many people add to an initial story, which is based on fact.

The legend of the Pied Piper was linked with the German town of Hameln, or Hamelin in English, in medieval times. In 1803, the story became a poem by the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832).

Goethe, born in Frankfurt, loved reading, the theatre, and puppets when young. As a youth, he studied law at Leipzig University, but he found writing more interesting. As an adult, he wrote novels, poems, plays, and scientific books.