a man walks into a giftshop.

he peruses the items until something out of the ordinary catches his eye. it is a rat casted in solid gold. he picks it up and takes it to the man running the shop to inquire about its significance. the man says;"well the rat itself costs $10 but you really should buy the story that goes along with it, which is $100." the man simply buys the rat, thinking this was ludicrous. he goes outside and strolls along the beach to watch the sun set. as he walks he hears the scuttling of feet behind him. He turns around and sees five rats or so following him. a moment later, he realises that the number has doubled, and he became seriously nervous. he quickened his pace in time to hear the scuttling of a thousand rats behind him. he turns around to view this spectacle, then takes the golden rat and throws it into the sea. instantly, every single one of the thousand rats dives in after it and drown. the man decides to go back to the gift shop, where he notices that the curator has been watching him slyly. the curator says;"so Ill bet you want to buy the story?" the man replies;"no, I was wondering if you could sell me a golden liberal" ~