A drunk was floundering down an alley carrying a box with holes in the sides.

He bumped into a friend who asked, “What do you have in there, pal?”

“A mongoose,” the drunk replied.

“What for?”

“Well, you know how drunk I can get. When I get drunk, I see snakes, and I’m scared to death of snakes. That’s why I got this mongoose—for protection.”

The friend shook his head and said, “You idiot! Those snakes are imaginary.”

The drunk opened the box and showed him the inside. “That’s okay,” he said, “so is the mongoose.”