"Ask your ministers.
They know what's going on in the country."
The State Councillor made a funny cackling noise.
The ministers drummed their fingers on their plates.
"Ask them," Prospero continued, "they'll tell you...."
He stopped speaking.
Everyone waited anxiously.
"They'll tell you that the peasants whom you rob of the grain they work so hard to grow are rising up against the landowners.
They are burning down their, estates, they are chasing them off their land.
The miners don't want to dig coal that will all belong to you.
The workers are smashing their machines so as not to earn more gold for you.
The sailors are tossing your goods into the sea.
Your soldiers don't want to serve you any more.
The scientists, clerks, judges and actors are all going over to the side of the people.
All those who used to slave for you and got pennies for their work, while you grew fat, all the unfortunate, hungry and poor, the orphans, cripples and beggars, all of them have risen up against you, against the fat and the rich, who have exchanged their hearts for stones."
"I think he's talking too much," the State Councillor said.
But Prospero continued.
"For fifteen years I taught the people to hate you and your power.
We've been gathering our forces for a long, long time!
And now your last hour has come."
"That's enough!" the Third Fat Man shrieked.
"Put him back in his cage!" the Second Fat Man thundered.
And then the First Fat Man said:
"You'll sit in your cage until we catch Tibul the Acrobat.
We'll execute you together.
And the people will forget all about rising up against us!"
Prospero said nothing.
He bowed his head again.
The First Fat Man continued:
"You forget whom you're rising up against.
We Three Fat Men are mighty and strong.
Everything belongs to us.
I, the First Fat Man, own all the grain that grows in our land.
The Second Fat Man owns all the coal, and the Third Fat Man has bought up all the iron.
We are richer than anyone else!
The richest man in the country is a hundred times poorer than us.
We can buy anything we want to with our gold!"
Then the gluttons all became terribly excited.
The words of the First Fat Man gave them courage.
"Back into the cage with him!
Into the cage with him!" they screamed.
"Back to the zoo!"
"Get him back into the cage!"
"Rebel!"
"Back into the cage!"
Prospero was led away.
"And now, let's try the cake," said the First Fat Man.
"This is the end of me!" the balloon man thought.
Everyone was looking at him.
He closed his eyes.