Picture one man walking down a road in a coat of many colours, playing a pipe, and a long line of others moving behind him. Nobody pushes them and nobody is ordered to go. They follow because of what they hear. The whole word lives in that line of followers.
Short for Pied Piper of Hamelin, from pied (of more than one colour) + piper. The story tells of a ratcatcher who was not paid and led the town's children away.
這是 Pied Piper of Hamelin 的簡稱，由 pied（雜色的）加 piper（吹笛的人）組成。詞源資料說，故事講的是一個捕鼠人沒拿到報酬，於是把鎮上的孩子帶走。
Wiktionary entries for Pied Piper and pied piper, etymology_text supplied in packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1561508532 / 1561514550)
Two branches
故事裡的那個人
畫面的出處就在這裡：先認識故事，後面的比喻才站得住。
noun · B2
The main character in an old story from the German town of Hamelin: a man in brightly coloured clothes who was paid to get rid of the town's rats. He played his pipe, the rats followed him into the river and drowned, and when the town would not pay him he played again and led all the children away.
花衣魔笛手
現實裡帶著一群人走的人
把故事裡的隊伍搬到現實：笛子換成個人魅力，跟著走的換成學生、球員或觀眾。
noun · C1
Someone that other people like or admire so much that large numbers of them follow that person, follow their ideas, or go where they lead.
萬人跟隨的人物