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CHAPTER ONE
And Puzzle always said, "Of course, Shift, of course. I see that." Puzzle never complained, because he knew that Shift was far cleverer than himself and he thought it was very kind of Shift to be friends with him at all. And if ever Puzzle did try to argue about anything, Shift would always say, "Now, Puzzle, I understand what needs to be done better than you. You know youre not clever, Puzzle." And Puzzle always said, "No, Shift. Its quite true. Im not clever." Then he would sigh and do whatever Shift had said.
One morning early in the year the pair of them were out walking along the shore of Caldron Pool. Caldron Pool is the big pool right under the cliffs at the western end of Narnia. The great waterfall pours down into it with a noise like everlasting thunder, and the River of Narnia flows out on the other side. The waterfall keeps the Pool always dancing and bubbling and churning round and round as if it were on the boil, and that of course is how it got its name of Caldron Pool. It is liveliest in the early spring when the waterfall is swollen with all the snow that has melted off the mountains from up beyond Narnia in the Western Wild from which the river comes. And as they looked at Caldron Pool Shift suddenly pointed with his dark, skinny finger and said, "Look! Whats that?”
"Whats what?" said Puzzle.
"That yellow thing thats just come down the waterfall. Look! There it is again, its floating. We must find out what it is.”
"Must we?" said Puzzle.
"Of course we must," said Shift. "It may be something useful. Just hop into the Pool like a good fellow and fish it out. Then we can have a proper look at it.”
"Hop into the Pool?" said Puzzle, twitching his long ears.
"Well how are we to get it if you dont?" said the Ape.
"But - but," said Puzzle, "wouldnt it be better if you went in? Because, you see, its you who wants to know what it is, and I dont much. And youve got hands, you see. Youre as good as a Man or a Dwarf when it comes to catching hold of things. Ive only got hoofs.”
"Really, Puzzle," said Shift, "I didnt think youd ever say a thing like that. I didnt think it of you, really.”
"Why, what have I said wrong?" said the Ass, speaking in rather a humble voice, for he saw that Shift was very deeply offended. "All I meant was -”
"Wanting me to go into the water," said the Ape. "As if you didnt know perfectly well what weak chests Apes always have and how easily they catch cold! Very well. I will go in. Im feeling cold enough already in this cruel wind. But Ill go in. I shall probably die.
Then youll be sorry." And Shifts voice sounded as if he was just going to burst into tears.
"Please dont, please dont, please dont," said Puzzle, half braying, and half talking. "I never meant anything of the sort, Shift, really I didnt. You know how stupid I am and how I cant think of more than one thing at a time. Id forgotten about your weak chest. Of course Ill go in. You mustnt think of doing it yourself. Promise me you wont, Shift.”
So Shift promised, and Puzzle went cloppety-clop on his four hoofs round the rocky edge of the Pool to find a place where he could get in. Quite apart from the cold it was no joke getting into that quivering and foaming water, and Puzzle had to stand and shiver for a whole minute before he made up his mind to do it. But then Shift called out from behind him and said: "Perhaps Id better do it after all, Puzzle." And when Puzzle heard that he said, "No, no. You promised. Im in now," and in he went.
A great mass of foam got him in the face and filled his mouth with water and blinded him. Then he went under altogether for a few seconds, and when he came up again he was in quite another part of the Pool. Then the swirl caught him and carried him round and round and faster and faster till it took him right under the waterfall itself, and the force of the water plunged him down, deep down, so that he thought he would never be
able to hold his breath till he came up again. And when he had come up and when at last he got somewhere near the thing he was trying to catch, it sailed away from him till it too got under the fall and was forced down to the bottom. When it came up again it was further from him than ever. But at last, when he was almost tired to death, and bruised all over and numb with cold, he succeeded in gripping the thing with his teeth. And out he came carrying it in front of him and getting his front hoofs tangled up in it, for it was as big as a large hearthrug, and it was very heavy and cold and slimy.
He flung it down in front of Shift and stood dripping and shivering and trying to get his breath back. But the Ape never looked at him or asked him how he felt. The Ape was too busy going round and round the Thing and spreading it out and patting it and smelling it.
Then a wicked gleam came into his eye and he said: "It is a lions skin.”
"Ee - auh - auh - oh, is it?" gasped Puzzle.
"Now I wonder . . . I wonder . . . I wonder," said Shift to himself, for he was thinking very hard.
"I wonder who killed the poor lion," said Puzzle presently. "It ought to be buried. We must have a funeral.”
"Oh, it wasnt a Talking Lion," said Shift. "You neednt bother about that. There are no Talking Beasts up beyond the Falls, up in the Western Wild. This skin must have belonged to a dumb, wild lion.”
This, by the way, was true. A Hunter, a Man, had killed and skinned this lion somewhere up in the Western Wild several months before. But that doesnt come into this story.
"All the same, Shift," said Puzzle, "even if the skin only belonged to a dumb, wild lion, oughtnt we to give it a decent burial? I mean, arent all lions rather - well, rather solemn?
Because of you know Who. Dont you see?”
"Dont you start getting ideas into your head, Puzzle," said Shift. "Because, you know, thinking isnt your strong point. Well make this skin into a fine warm winter coat for you.”
"Oh, I dont think Id like that," said the Donkey. "It would look - I mean, the other Beasts might think - that is to say, I shouldnt feel -”
"What are you talking about?" said Shift, scratching himself the wrong way up as Apes do.
"I dont think it would be respectful to the Great Lion, to Aslan himself, if an ass like me went about dressed up in a lion-skin," said Puzzle.
"Now dont stand arguing, please," said Shift. "What does an ass like you know about things of that sort? You know youre no good at thinking, Puzzle, so why dont you let me do your thinking for you? Why dont you treat me as I treat you? I dont think I can do everything. I know youre better at some things than I am. Thats why I let you go into the Pool; I knew youd do it better than me. But why cant I have my turn when it comes to something I can do and you cant? Am I never to be allowed to do anything? Do be fair.
Turn and turn about.”
"Oh, well, of course, if you put it that way," said Puzzle.
"I tell you what," said Shift. "Youd better take a good brisk trot down river as far as Chippingford and see if they have any oranges or bananas.”
"But Im so tired, Shift," pleaded Puzzle.
"Yes, but you are very cold and wet," said the Ape. "You want something to warm you up. A brisk trot would be just the thing. Besides, its market day at Chippingford today.”
And then of course Puzzle said he would go.
As soon as he was alone Shift went shambling along, sometimes on two paws and sometimes on four, till he reached his own tree. Then he swung himself up from branch to branch, chattering and grinning all the time, and went into his little house. He found needle and thread and a big pair of scissors there; for he was a clever Ape and the Dwarfs had taught him how to sew. He put the ball of thread (it was very thick stuff, more like cord than thread) into his mouth so that his cheek bulged out as if he were sucking a big bit of toffee. He held the needle between his lips and took the scissors in his left paw.
Then he came down the tree and shambled across to the lion-skin. He squatted down and got to work.
He saw at once that the body of the lion-skin would be too long for Puzzle and its neck too short. So he cut a good piece out of the body and used it to make a long collar for Puzzles long neck. Then he cut off the head and sewed the collar in between the head and the shoulders. He put threads on both sides of the skin so that it would tie up under Puzzles chest and stomach. Every now and then a bird would pass overhead and Shift would stop his work, looking anxiously up. He did not want anyone to see what he was doing. But none of the birds he saw were Talking Birds, so it didnt matter.
Late in the afternoon Puzzle came back. He was not trotting but only plodding patiently along, the way donkeys do.
"There werent any oranges," he said, "and there werent any bananas. And Im very tired." He lay down.
"Come and try on your beautiful new lion-skin coat," said Shift.
"Oh bother that old skin," said Puzzle. "Ill try it on in the morning. Im too tired tonight.”
"You are unkind, Puzzle," said Shift. "If youre tired what do you think I am? All day long, while youve been having a lovely refreshing walk down the valley, Ive been working hard to make you a coat. My paws are so tired I can hardly hold these scissors.
And you wont say thank you -and you wont even look at the coat -and you dont care - and- and-”
"My dear Shift," said Puzzle getting up at once, "I am so sorry. Ive been horrid. Of course Id love to try it on. And it looks simply splendid. Do try it on me at once. Please do.”
"Well, stand still then," said the Ape. The skin was very heavy for him to lift, but in the end, with a lot of pulling and pushing and puffing and blowing, he got it on to the donkey. He tied it underneath Puzzles body and he tied the legs to Puzzles legs and the tail to Puzzles tail. A good deal of Puzzles grey nose and face could be seen through the open mouth of the lions head. No one who had ever seen a real lion would have been taken in for a moment. But if someone who had never seen a lion looked at Puzzle in his lion-skin he just might mistake him for a lion, if he didnt come too close, and if the light was not too good, and if Puzzle didnt let out a bray and didnt make any noise with his hoofs.
"You look wonderful, wonderful," said the Ape. "If anyone saw you now, theyd think you were Aslan, the Great Lion, himself.”
"That would be dreadful," said Puzzle.
"No it wouldnt," said Shift. "Everyone would do whatever you told them.”
"But I dont want to tell them anything.”
"But you think of the good we could do!" said Shift. "Youd have me to advise you, you know. Id think of sensible orders for you to give. And everyone would have to obey us, even the King himself. We would set everything right in Narnia.”
"But isnt everything right already?" said Puzzle.
"What!" cried Shift. "Everything right?-when there are no oranges or bananas?”
"Well, you know," said Puzzle, "there arent many people - in fact, I dont think theres anyone but yourself who wants those sort of things.”
"Theres sugar too," said Shift.
"Hm yes," said the Ass. "It would be nice if there was more sugar.”
"Well then, thats settled," said the Ape. "You will pretend to be Aslan, and Ill tell you what to say.”
"No, no, no," said Puzzle. "Dont say such dreadful things. It would be wrong, Shift. I maybe not very clever but I know that much. What would become of us if the real Aslan turned up?”
"I expect hed be very pleased," said Shift. "Probably he sent us the lion -skin on purpose, so that we could set things to right. Anyway, he never does turn up, you know. Not nowadays.”
At that moment there came a great thunderclap right overhead and the ground trembled with a small earthquake. Both the animals lost their balance and were flung on their faces.
"There!" gasped Puzzle, as soon as he had breath to speak. "Its a sign, a warning. I knew we were doing something dreadfully wicked. Take this wretched skin off me at once.”
"No, no," said the Ape (whose mind worked very quickly). "Its a sign the other way. I was just going to say that if the real Aslan, as you call him, meant us to go on with this, he would send us a thunderclap and an earth-tremor. It was just on the tip of my tongue, only the sign itself came before I could get the words out. Youve got to do it now, Puzzle. And please dont let us have any more arguing. You know you dont understand these things. What could a donkey know about signs?”