mardigras

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 and asks, "How much for the bronze rat?"

"Twelve dollars for the rat ... a hundred dollars for the story," says the owner.

The tourist gives the man twelve dollars, stating, "I'll just take the rat ... you can keep the story."

As he walks down the street carrying his bronze rat, the man notices that a few real rats have crawled out of alleys and sewers, and begun following him down the street. This is a bit disconcerting, so he begins to walk a little faster.

Within a couple blocks, the group of rats behind him has grown to more than a hundred, and they begin squealing. He starts to trot toward the Bay. He takes a nervous look around and sees that the rats now number in the thousands, maybe millions, and they are all squealing and coming toward him faster and faster.

Terrified, he runs to the edge of the Bay, and throws the bronze rat as far out into the Bay 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.

"Ahh...," says the owner, "I'll bet you have come back for the story?"

"No," said the man, "I came back to see if you have a bronze Republican."

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