The Pantomime starts in the village square, where the villagers are complaining the the useless Mayor and councillors are doing nothing to rid the town of the plague of rats. The Mayor and Mayoress are only interested in paying for new clothes and beauty treatments. The Mayor and councillors decide to announce a competition with a prize of 50 golden guilders to the designer of the most efficient rat-trap. The Pied Piper hears about the competition. He (she) plays the flute and a group of rats are entranced by the magical music.
Scene 4 is the day of the competition. Various devices are tested, but none are effective until the Piper appears, and entrances all of the Rats away. Later the Piper goes to collect his money, but the Mayor decides not to pay up. Angrily the Piper entices the children away, – apart from three who got left behind. Grizelda, who is the village crone and soothsayer tells the crowd that she did warn them of the impending doom. The crowd shoo her away, but Gretel takes pity on her, and helps her. Magically Grizelda transforms into a powerful white witch, and creates a potion.
Meanwhile the crowd turn on the Mayor and councillors, but they escape. The Mayoress has a disastrous beauty treatment session.
At last Grizelda’s trap is ready and the Piper is lured into it. It turns out that the Piper is actually Grizelda’s brother! Grizelda magically disappears, and the Piper brings the children back. The crowd decree the Herr VAX, the rat catcher be elected as the new Mayor. He declares a public holiday so that Hansel and Gretel finally can get married.