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All was done as he wished, and Cyrus, on cutting the hare open,
found the letter inside, and read as follows: "Son of Cambyses,
the gods assuredly watch over thee, or never wouldst thou have passed
through thy many wonderful adventures - now is the time when thou mayst
avenge thyself upon Astyages, thy murderer. He willed thy death,
remember; to the gods and to me thou owest that thou art still alive.
I think thou art not ignorant of what he did to thee, nor of what I
suffered at his hands because I committed thee to the cowherd, and did
not put thee to death. Listen now to me, and obey my words, and all
the empire of Astyages shall be thine. Raise the standard of revolt
in Persia, and then march straight on Media. Whether Astyages
appoint me to command his forces against thee, or whether he appoint
any other of the princes of the Medes, all will go as thou couldst
wish. They will be the first to fall away from him, and joining thy
side, exert themselves to overturn his power. Be sure that on our
part all is ready; wherefore do thou thy part, and that speedily."
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