Fill in the blanks with words from the box. You may need to change the forms of some of the words. You may need to use one word more than once.

conscious	desire	check	blind	lose
lie	imitate	symbol	argument	wise

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is more than a tale of revenge- it's a lesson of (a) _____ and desire. Through René Girard's mimetic theory, the Piper becomes a model whom others (b) ______  follow, just as people today imitate celebrities or influencers. The Piper, whose tune draws rats and later children, (c) ______ the model - someone others(d) _____ imitate. The children represent imitators, (e) _______ their will as they follow him blindly. Girard -(f) _______  that people don't have original (g) ______ ; they borrow them from others. Girard warns that (h) ______ imitation breeds unhappiness and self-loss, while conscious imitation choosing worthy models - leads to (i) _______ . The Stoics and many religions knew this well: you can't avoid imitation, but you can decide whom to follow. The tragedy of Hamelin (j) _______ not just in revenge - but in the danger of following the wrong tune.