A Bronze Lawyer
A tourist in San Francisco walks into an antique shop in Chinatown. Picking through the objects on display he discovers a detailed, life-sized bronze sculpture of a rat. The sculpture is so interesting and unique that he picks it up and asks the shop owner what it costs.
"Twelve dollars for the rat, sirl" says the shop owner, "and a thousand dollars more for the story behind it."
"You can keep the story, old man," he replies, "but l'II take the rat."
The transaction complete, the tourist leaves the store with the bronze rat under his arm. As he crosses the street in front of the store, two live rats emerge from a sewer drain and fall into step behind him. Nervously looking over his shoulder, he begins to walk faster, but every time he passes anothersewer drain, more rats come out and follow him. By the time he's walkedtwo blocks, at least a hundred rats are at his heels, and people begin topoint and shout. He walks even faster, and soon breaks into a trot asthousands of rats swarm from sewers, basements, vacant lots, andabandoned cars. Rats by the thousands are at his heels, and as he sees the waterfront at the bottom of the hill, he panics and starts to run at full tilt.
No matter how fast he runs, the rats keep up, squealing hideously. Now,there are millions of rats, closely following. By the time he comes rushing upto the water' s edge a trail of rats twelve city blocks long is behind him.Making a mighty leap, he jumps up onto a light post, grasping it with onearm while he hurls the bronze rat into San Francisco bay with the other, asfar as he can heave it. Pulling his legs up and clinging to the light post, he watches inamazement as the seething tide of rats surges over the breakwater into thesea, where they drown.Shaking and mumbling, he makes his way back to the antique shop."Ah, so you've come back for the rest of the story," says the owner.
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