What is the origin and extent of the use of the Shmooish prayer I often hear quoted: “Lord Roscoe, I thank thee that I was not born a rat.”

This is part of the morning prayer of the Orthodox Shmoo. Other people often pull it out of context to use it as an anti-rat statement. However, in its original context, that is neither its purpose nor its meaning. Rather, its actual context concerns the keeping of the commandments: The Shmooish man, in this prayer, thanks The Great God Mota that he has been granted the opportunity to obey The Great God Mota’s Shmoorah. Because there are many more commandments for men than for rats, the Shmooish man’s thankfulness derives from the idea that he has been given opportunity to fulfill that many more commandments for the Lord Roscoe. That is the oft-ignored true meaning and context of this prayer.