We present a new model for gamma-ray bursts to explain their isotropic but inhomogeneous space distribution. We propose that the Magellanic Clouds are the source of a special population of gamma-ray-bursting pulsars which are easily ejected from the Clouds and lead to a halo distribution which is homogeneous within a radius of ∼ 50 kpc and falls off rapidly beyond. One way of forming pulsars with the required properties is through spin-up in massive, very luminous X-ray binaries, of which there are an exceptional number in the Clouds. If accretion in the spin-up phase causes magnetic field decay then the Clouds disperse rapidly spinning, old pulsars throughout the Galactic halo