A tourist walked into a Chinese curio shop in San Francisco. While looking around the exotic merchandise, he noticed a very lifelike, life-sized bronze statue of a rat.
The tourist deceided he had to have it. He took it to the old shop keeper and asked, "How much for the bronze rat?"
"Ahh, you have chosen wisely! It is $12 for the rat, but $100 dollars for the story of the rat." The tourist quickly handed the shop keeper $12. "I'll take the rat, you can keep the story."
As he walked down the street carrying his bronze rat, the tourist noticed that a few real rats had crawled out of the alleys and sewers, and had begun following him down the street. This was a bit disconcerting, so he began walking faster. A block later, he again looked back and saw to his horror that the herd of rats behind him had grown to hundreds, and they began squealing. Sweating now, the tourist began to trot towards the bay.
Again after a couple of blocks, the tourist looked back, and was shocked to see there were millions of rats following him. The rats were squealing and coming towards him faster and faster!
Terrified he ran to the edge of the bay and threw the bronze rat as far as he could into the water. Amazingly, the millions of rats followed the bronze rat into the water, and were all drowned.
The tourist walked back to the curio shop in china town. "Ahh," said the shop keeper, "you have returned for the story?"
"Nah said the tourist, "just wondering if you have a bronze liberal?"
