"All right," he said, "drive them by force!"
And so the old devil announced that all the fools were to inscribe themselves as soldiers, and that Iván would execute those who would not go.
The fools came to the general and said:
"You say that the king will have us killed if we do not become soldiers, but you do not tell us what we shall have to do as soldiers. They say that soldiers, too, are killed."
"Yes, that cannot be helped."
When the fools heard that, they became stubborn.
"We will not go," they said. "If so, let us be killed at home! Death cannot be escaped anyway."
"Fools that you are!" said the old devil. "A soldier may be killed or not, but if you do not go, King Iván will certainly have you killed."
The fools considered the matter, and went to see Iván the Fool.
"Your general has come," they said, "and tells us all to turn soldiers. 'If you become soldiers,' he says, 'you may be killed, or not, but if you do not become soldiers King Iván will certainly put you to death.' Is that true?"