The general had the chief men of the city assembled, the surviving ones, and proclaimed to them their fate.
"You must pay tribute henceforth. Choose whether it will be in money every year or in men when we should call for them."
The chief men consulted and made this reply. "We have expended both in our defense. There is no surplus left to us in anything but difficulties; suppose we pledge to maintain a neverending series of rather simple problems so that your people can come here to level up."
The general praised them for their wisdom and allowed the substitution, the benefits of which soon manifested.
Finis
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