A man was wandering through an antique store one day, just browsing at the knick-knacks and wasting some time. Just as he was getting ready to leave, something caught his eye. It was an unusual and very realistic brass rat. For some strange reason, he was very fascinated by it, so he picked it up and brought it to the clerk to see how much it cost.

The clerk was quite pleased that the gentleman was interested in the brass rat and told him the price, which was quite affordable. However, the clerk added a very stern warning, "I have to tell you up front," he said, "with that particular item we have a very strict no-return policy. No matter what happens and no matter how much you beg me, I cannot take the rat back or refund your money."

The man found this a bit unusual, but was so intrigued by the rat that he decided to buy it anyway. He left the store and continued walking through town, carrying his new brass rat. After a few minutes had passed, he got a very strange feeling like he was being followed. He turned around and was startled to notice a very large real rat following a few steps behind him. After he got over his initial shock, he started walking again.

A few minutes later, he glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to see that about half a dozen other rats had joined the one that was originally following him. He started walking faster and was dismayed when the rats also quickened their pace. Before too long, the number of rats following him was in the dozens. He began to jog away from them, but the growing herd of rats matched his increased speed. Soon he discovered that there were hundreds, if not thousands of rats now chasing him.

He began to panic and was running full speed by now. The rats followed close behind. He suddenly realized that the rats following him must somehow be attracted to the brass rat he had bought. He was frightened nearly to death by now because he was running out of strength and soon would be overcome by the thousands and thousands of rats which were now right on his heels.

He came to the sea wall at the town's edge and in a sudden rush of panic he stopped and threw the brass rat as far as he could out into the water. To his surprise, the multitude of rats which was following him jumped over the seawall and dove into the bay, instantly drowning every single one of them.

The man was bewildered, but amazed. He made his way back across town to the antique store where he had bought the brass rat. Upon seeing the man enter the store and seeing his disheveled appearance, the clerk approached him immediately and said, "I'm sorry sir, but I told you very clearly that there was no way that I could refund your money for that brass rat you bought."

"Refund?" Said the man, "Heck, I don't want a refund. I just want to know if you have any brass lawyers I can buy."