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Rats
A tourist walks into a curio shop in San Francisco.
Looking around at the exotica, he notices a very
lifelike life-sized bronze statue of a rat. It has no
price tag, but is so striking he decides he must have
it. He takes it to the owner: "How much for the bronze
rat?" "$12 for the rat, $100 for the story," says the
owner. The tourist gives the man $12. "I'll just take
the rat, you can keep the story." As he walks down the
street carrying his bronze rat, he notices that a few
real rats have crawled out of the alleys and sewers and
begun following him down the street. This is
disconcerting, and he begins walking faster. But within
a couple of blocks, the herd of rats behind him has
grown to hundreds, and they begin squealing. He begins
to trot toward the Bay, looking around to see that the
rats now number in the MILLIONS, and are squealing and
coming toward him faster and faster. Concerned, even
scared, he runs to the edge of the Bay, and throws the
bronze rat as far out into the water as he can.
Amazingly, the millions of rats all jump into the Bay
after it, and are all drowned. The man walks back to the
curio shop. "Ah ha," says the owner, "you have come back
for the story?" "No," says the man, "I came back to see
if you have a bronze Republican."
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