def get_original(mod_name, item_name):
    """Retrieve the original object from a module.
    If the object has not been patched, then that object will still be retrieved.
    :param item_name: A string or sequence of strings naming the attribute(s) on the module
        ``mod_name`` to return.
    :return: The original value if a string was given for ``item_name`` or a sequence
        of original values if a sequence was passed.
    """
    if isinstance(item_name, string_types):
        return _get_original(mod_name, [item_name])[0]
    else:
        return _get_original(mod_name, item_name)