A Joke: The Bronze Rat

"Humor is also a way of saying something serious." T. S. Eliot

A woman is browsing through a curio shop and notices a lifelike bronze statue of a rat. It's so striking she decides to buy it. She asks the shop owner, "How much is this bronze rat?"

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

The woman hands over twelve dollars. "I'll just take the rat; you can keep the story."

As she walks down the street carrying her bronze rat, she notices a few live rats have crawled out of alleys and sewers and begun to follow her. A bit disconcerted, she walks a little faster. Within a couple of blocks, the group of rats has grown to over a hundred. She starts to trot toward the river. The rats, now numbering in the thousands, their ranks continuing to grow, are following her faster and faster.

Terrified, she runs to the edge of the river and throws the bronze rat as far out into the water as she can. Amazingly, millions of rats all jump into the river and drown.

The woman hurries back to the curio shop. "A ha," says the owner, "I bet you have come back for the story."

"Actually no," says the woman. "I came back to see if you have a bronze Republican."



[This is a weekend for laughter and tears ... more to follow.]