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The tales have done all this . Walser 's people , suggested Benjamin , are like fairy-tale characters once the tale has come to an end , characters who now have to live in the real world . " You cannot conceive what an effect the composition of these tales has had on me . Although the outlines of the tale have become part of South Florida lore , what has not been disclosed are the full details of the alleged fraud at the heart of the transaction and the extent of Abramoff 's role - - including his use of contacts with Republican Reps. Tom DeLay ( Tex. ) and Robert W. Ney ( Ohio ) and members of their staffs as he worked to land the deal . Even the various incidents in the tale had been forgotten . As the tale has it , she once came on carrying a cat , which she held in her lap . The tale has circulated as an urban legend around for many years and in many a variation Cecil Adams even rolled out a French version in a 1997 " Straight Dope " column .