Coxe, an unusually phlegmatic citizen, came to buy the new refrigeratorin the usual fashion. He was looking for a bargain. It was the latestmodel, fresh from the new production line in Los Angeles, and wasmarked down considerably below standard. The freezing compartment held245 lbs. of meat.

"How come so cheap?" Coxe wanted to know.

"Frankly," the salesman said, "I asked myself that. Usually there's adent in them or something, when they have that factory tag on them. ButI checked it over and I can't find anything wrong with it. However,she goes as is."

"At that price," Coxe said, "I'll take it."

It arrived, refinished in a copper color to his specifications, thefollowing Tuesday. It was plugged in and operated perfectly. He checkedit out by freezing ice cubes.

Wednesday evening, when he opened the door to chill some beer, therewas a package in the freezing compartment. He took out the package.

It was some sort of plastic and appeared to contain fish eggs.

Coxe had not seen fresh fish eggs, considered by some a delicacy, fora number of years.

He chilled the beer and fried the eggs.

Both tasted about right.

The following Friday, his girl friend came over to fix dinner for him,and when she looked in the freezing compartment, she said, "What'sthis?"

"Fish eggs," Coxe said. "How many of them?"

"Two packages."

"We'll fry them up for breakfast," he said.

Saturday morning, there were three packages of eggs in the refrigerator.

"Where do they come from?" his girl friend wanted to know.

"They just appear. I ate some and they're very good."

She was reluctant, but he talked her into preparing a package.

She agreed they were very good.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I don't think there's anything to do about it," he said. "I like fisheggs."

On Sunday, the package they had eaten Saturday had been replaced. Theywere coming in at a steady rate of one a day. Coxe cooked a package forbreakfast and took the other two to his parents.

By Tuesday, he was getting tired of the eggs, and by the end of theweek, he had four more packages. He succeeded in giving two packages tothe neighbors.

At the end of another week, he had eight packages.

He explained to his girl friend. She suggested they visit all theirfriends, leaving a package with each of them.

At the end of another two weeks, this method for disposing of the eggshad worn thin. They finally managed to give the last two packages tothe landlady.

At the end of still another week, there were seven more packages.Otherwise, the refrigerator was a good buy.

Coxe calculated that, at the present rate, had he left the packages inthe compartment, it would have been filled by the end of the month.He felt that once that point was reached, the eggs would stop coming.Should this prove to be incorrect, he was prepared to arrange for somemethod of commercial distribution for the product.

On schedule, the eggs stopped coming.

He waited two days. No more came. It was over.

He ate the last package.