The Pied Piper Rounds is a depiction of the magical Rat Catcher of Hamelin, one of the many names he was known by in the Middle Ages in Germany. Other names for the Pied Piper include the Pan Piper or the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the German village in Lower Saxony where he was rumored to have been hired to use his magical pipe to lure rats out of the village. One of the first visuals of the Pied Piper was recorded in a 1592 painting that was copied from a glass window in Marktkrirche in the town of Hamelin. Inscriptions on this side include only PIED PIPER.

The Pied Pipers job as a rat catcher who lured rats out of villages using his magical pipe isn't what makes this folklore memorable. What caught the attention of people in the Middle Ages was the revenge he took on towns that refused to pay for his services. He would turn his magical pipe on the children of the village and lure them away.