Read MA10 Sweet Myth-tery of Life for Free Online

you ANYTHING in all these years?”
    “You’ve taught me a lot!!” I shot back at him. “And I’ve gone along with a lot ... and it usually turned out for the best. But there’s one thing we’ve never done, Aahz, for all our finagling and scrambling. To the best of my knowledge, we’ve never gouged money out of someone who couldn’t afford it. Have we?”
    “Well, no. But ...”
    “If we can beat the Deveels or the Mob out of some extra money, well and good,” I continued. “They have lots of money, and got most of it swindling other people. But with Possiltum we’re talking about a kingdom that’s on the ropes financially. How can we say we’re here to help them when at the same time we’re kicking them in the head with inflated fees?”
    Aahz didn’t answer at once, and after a moment, he dropped his eyes.
    “But Grimble’s already approved it,” he said finally, in a voice that was almost plaintive.
    I couldn’t believe it! I had actually won an argument with Aahz over money! Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to be magnanimous in my victory.
    “Then I’m sure he’ll approve of cutting the expense even more,” I said, putting my hand on Aahz’s shoulder for a change. “Aside from that, it’s just a clerical adjustment. Right, Bunny?”
    “No.”
    She said it softly, but there was no mistaking her answer. So much for my victory.
    “But Bunny ...” I began desperately, but she cut me off.
    “I said ‘No’ and I meant it, Skeeve,” she said. “Really, Aahz. I’m surprised you’ve let this go on for as long as it has. There are greater principles at stake here than basic greed!”
    Aahz started to open his mouth and then closed it without speaking. It’s probably the only time I’ve seen Aahz agree, even by silence, that there existed any higher principles than greed. Still, Bunny was arguing his side of the fight, so he let it ride.
    “Your heart may be in the right place, Skeeve,” she said, turning back to me, “but there are factors here you’re overlooking or don’t understand.”
    “So explain them to me,” I said, a little miffed, but nonetheless willing to learn.
    Bunny pursed her lips for a moment, apparently organizing her thoughts.
    “All right,” she said, “let’s take it from the beginning. As I understand it, we’re supposed to be helping the kingdom get out of its current financial crisis. What Grimble and I have been doing, aside from recommending emergency expense cuts, is to come up with a reasonable budget and operating plan to get things back on an even keel. The emphasis here is on ‘reasonable.’ The bottom line is that it is not reasonable to expect anyone ... you, me, or Grimble ... to provide such a crucial service for nothing. Nobody works for free. The army doesn’t, the farmers don’t, and there’s no reason we should.”
    “But because of that very crisis, the kingdom can’t afford to pay us!” I protested.
    “Nonsense,” Bunny snapped. “First of all, remember that the Queen got the kingdom into this mess all by herself by pouring too much money into the army. We’re not the problem. We’re the imported experts who are supposed to get them out of the hole they dug for themselves.”
    “Second,” she continued before I could interrupt, “as you can see from the sheets I’m showing you, we can save enough in expenses and generate sufficient revenues from taxes to pay our own fees. That’s part of the job of a bean-counter ... to show their employer how to afford to pay themselves. Not many professions do that!”
    What she was saying made sense, but I was still unconvinced.
    “Well, at the very least can’t we cut our fees a bit?” I said. “There’s no real reason for us to charge as much as you have us down for.”
    “Skeeve, Skeeve, Skeeve,” Bunny said, shaking her head. “I told you I didn’t just make up these numbers. I know you’re used to negotiating deals on what the client will bear, but in a budget like