He takes a seat at the bar and orders a pint from the landlord.
Landlord says “Uh, mate, you can’t have that rat in here.”
Man replies “Ah don’t worry. You see, he’s a special rat, he could out drink any man in this pub. Give me a pint and I’ll show you.”
The landlord is sceptical, but he brings the rat a pint. The man takes the rat off of his shoulder and dunks him into the pint. The rat swims around the glass and in seconds, the beer is gone.
This attracts the attention of the other patrons, and before long, everyone in the pub is buying drinks for the rat. He gets more pints and drains them all. One man buys him multiple shots, and the rat dips his head in each and downs them all.
After several rounds, the landlord says “alright, let’s really put this rat to the test.”
He gathers several bottles, and leads the patron upstairs to his bathroom, before filling the bathtub with spirits. The man plops the rat down in the bath, and the rat happily drains it, before keeling over, dead.
The man begins to weep. “My sweet friend, I can’t believe he’s gone.”
The landlord places a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. “He was a truly unique creature. May we honour him by hanging his tail above the bar?” The man accepts this request, and the landlord cuts off the rat’s tail, then takes it and hangs it above the bar.
Meanwhile, the rat floats on up to the pearly gates and is met by Mouse St. Peter, who invites him into Mouse Heaven.
“Hang on,” says the rat, “I can’t go to mouse heaven, I’m supposed to go to rat heaven.”
Mouse St. Peter chuckles, looking the rat up and down, “why would you go to rat heaven? You’re clearly a mouse. If you were a rat, you’d have a great stinking tail.”
“You don’t understand,” says the rat, “some bloke on earth took my tail when I died. Look, if you could just send me back for a moment, I can get my tail back and prove to you I should be in rat heaven.”
Mouse St. Peter thinks for a moment, then snaps his fingers, and suddenly the rat, now a ghost, is back in the bathtub. He scuttles back down to the bar, where he finds the landlord closing up.
“You there, landlord!” says the rat, “I need my tail back so I can get into rat heaven!”
The landlord, startled by the presence of a rat he thought to be deceased, stares at the rat in disbelief. “Y-you’re supposed to be dead!”
“I know,” says the rat, “and if you can just get me my tail, I’ll be on my way.”
The landlord looks to the rat, then to the tail behind the bar.
“I’m sorry my furry friend, I’d love to help, but I’m afraid I can’t serve spirits after hours.”
