The core theme of the poem, as summarized for the reader in the final stanza, is the value of keeping one’s word. When the Pied Piper arrives on the scene and offers to rid the town of its rat problem, the mayor and his men hastily agree. There is a sense that they don’t truly believe the Piper can fulfill his promise; the men agree to his very high price quickly, without discussion, because the threat of the rats feels more desperate and immediate than the threat of financial loss. This is why the mayor initially offers “[o]ne? fifty thousand!” (Line 90). When the Piper does keep his word and rids the town of its infestation, the victory comes as a pleasant surprise.

Because the Piper is an honest man, he doesn’t take advantage of the townspeople’s desperation; even though the mayor offered fifty thousand, the Piper only asks for the initial agreed amount: one thousand guilders. This is still a very large sum of money—about three years’ wages for an unskilled laborer. At this point, the poem juxtaposes the two characters: While the Piper did exactly what he promised, the mayor tries to evade the pledge he made, first with charm and humor, and then with anger and judgment.