He bent the law a little bit and wrote for rats in the box
What happens in the story ?
In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," the phrase "He bent the law a little bit and wrote for rats in the box" refers to the way in which the town's postmaster, Mr. Homer Barron, helped Emily Grierson maintain her reputation despite her increasingly strange behavior.
Emily, a once-prominent member of Southern society, had become increasingly isolated and eccentric after the death of her father. She refused to pay her taxes, kept her house in a state of disrepair, and rarely left her home. The townspeople gossiped about her, but Mr. Barron, who was a friend of her father's, was sympathetic.
When Emily's arsenic order arrived at the post office, Mr. Barron knew that it was illegal to sell arsenic without a prescription. However, he also knew that Emily was not a danger to herself or others. He decided to "bend the law a little bit" and write for rats in the box, which would allow Emily to purchase the arsenic without raising suspicion.
Note : This is from A rose for Emily by William Faulkner