repr( open('/etc/motd', 'rt').read() )

[Veek. M]

When I do at the interpreter prompt, 
repr( open('/etc/motd', 'rt').read() ) 
i get # 1 #:

"'\\nThe programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free 
software;\\nthe exact distribution terms for each program are described 
in the\\nindividual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.\\n\\nDebian 
GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent\\npermitted 
by applicable law.\\n'"

whereas if i just do:
open('/etc/motd', 'rt').read()
i get # 2 #:

'\nThe programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free 
software;\nthe exact distribution terms for each program are described 
in the\nindividual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.\n\nDebian 
GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent\npermitted by 
applicable law.\n'
---------------

With # 2 # read returns a string that the interpreter displays by 
calling __str__ via print so newlines are converted to \n.

What is happening with # 1 # (repr)?
repr calls __repr__ which gives you bytes.. why does this result in \\n