In the last days of Narnia, far to the west, beyond Lamppost Wild, next to the Great Falls, lived an Ape.He was so old that no one could remember when he first came to live in this country, and he was the smartest, ugliest, most wrinkled ape you could imagine.Its name is Treacherous.It consisted of a small house, with a wooden frame and a leaf roof, built in the branches of a great tree.There were very few human-speaking beasts, men, dwarfs, or people of any kind in this part of the wood, but Shift had a neighbour, a donkey named Puzzle.At least they both said they were friends, but from the way things were going, you might well think that Puzzle was not so much a friend as a servant of Shift.All the work is done by deceit.They went to the river together, and Shift filled the big skins with water, but it was Puzzle who brought the water back.When they need something from the towns downstream of the river, they run to the town with empty panniers on their backs and come back with heavy panniers full of them.And all kinds of exquisite food that Puzzling brought back were eaten by Shift, because, Shift said. "Look, Puzzle, I can't eat grass and thistles like you, and it's only fair that I make up for it in other ways." Puzzle always said, "Of course, shift, of course. I understand." Puzzle never Complain and complain, because it thinks that Shift is smarter than it, and it also thinks that Shift makes friends with it, which is to give it face.If Puzzle tried to argue with Shift about anything, Shift always said:

"Listen, Puzzle, I know better than you what needs to be done. Puzzle, you know you're not smart." Puzzle always said "Yeah, Shift. You're right, I'm not smart." "So it gave a long sigh, and it did what Shift told it to do. One morning at the beginning of the year, the pair of friends went out for a walk along the shore of Daguoyuan.The Cauldron Deep is deep and wide, just below the cliffs in the west of Narnia.The Great Cataract poured down the cliff with a thunderous thunderclap, and the Narnia River rushed by on the other side.The big waterfall keeps the water in the abyss jumping, bubbling, and tumbling in circles, as if a pot of water is boiling, so it is naturally called the big pot deep.The Cauldron Deep was at its liveliest in early spring, when the cataracts were plentiful from the snow-melt waters from the mountains in the moors west of Narnia, from which the Narnia River rose.The two of them were looking at the Cauldron Abyss when Shift suddenly pointed with his shiny black fingers and said:

"Look! What's that?" "What is what?" said Puzzled. "That yellow thing that was washed down by the waterfall just now. Look! There it is again, and it's floating on the water. We must find out what it is." "Do we have to?" Puzzle asked. "Of course we've got to find out," said Shift, "that it might be a useful thing. Jump in like a good guy and scoop it up so we can see it for ourselves." "Jump into the abyss?" said Puzzle, flapping his ears. "How are we going to get it if you don't jump in?" said the Ape.

"But--but," said Puzzle, "wouldn't it be better if you jumped into the water? Because, you know, it's you who want to know what it is, and I don't really want to know. And, you see, you Got hands. When it comes to grabbing something. You're as good as a man or a dwarf. I've got a donkey's hooves." "Honestly, confused," said Shift, "I don't think you've ever said that. Really, I don't think you've said that." "Yeah, did I say something wrong?" said the Donkey, in a rather humble tone, seeing that Shift was getting very angry with him, "I meant nothing more than—"

"It's all about jumping into the water," said the Ape, "as if you don't quite understand that we Apes always have weak lungs and are always prone to colds and colds! Well, I will Go into the water. I'm cold in this bitter wind. But I'm determined to go into the water. I might die. Then you'll regret it." Shift said in a voice that sounded like it was about to cry. "Don't, don't, don't, please don't," said Puzzle, half talk, half bray, "I never meant it, Shift, I didn't mean it, you know how stupid I am, I can't think of more than one thing at a time. I forgot about your weak lungs. Of course I'll go in. You don't even think about going in the water yourself. Promise me, Shift, you No water."

Shift agreed, and promised not to go into the water, so the four bewildered hooves walked on the edge of the stone in the cauldron, looking for a place where he could go into the water.Not to mention the bone-chilling cold, going into the trembling, frothing water was no joke, and Puzzle had to stand there shivering for a full minute before making up his mind to jump in.But then Shift called from behind "Perhaps I'd better jump into the water at all!" Puzzle heard this, and said, "No, no, you promised not to go into the water. I'm going into the water now." And he jumped into the water.

A large cloud of foam rushed to Puzzled's face, making Puzzled's mouth full of water and his eyes unable to see clearly.It then sank for a few seconds, and by the time it resurfaced, it was in another part of the abyss.The swirl vortex engulfed it, took it around and around, and turned faster and faster, and finally washed it right under the big waterfall. There was nothing he could do to hold his breath until he came up to the surface.When Puzzle came up to the surface, and at last got close to the thing, and tried to catch it, it floated away from Puzzle again, and it too was swept down the falls, where it was crushed to the bottom.It was farther from confusion when it resurfaced.But, at last, dead tired, bruised and numb from the cold, Puzzle managed to get his teeth around the thing.Puzzle crawled out of the chasm, and laid the thing before him, with his fore hooves inside it, and lifted it up with all his might, for it was big, like a hearth-rug, and heavy, and cold, and slippery.

Puzzle dropped the thing on the ground in front of Shift, dripping and shaking, trying to catch his breath.But the Ape didn't look at it, and didn't ask how it felt.The Ape was busy circling the thing, spreading it out, patting it, and sniffing it.With a wicked gleam in the Ape's eye, he said: "It's a lion's pelt." It's called Yoon Yi-o-o-ah, isn't it? " Confused said out of breath. "Now I want to know...I want to know...I want to know." Shift said to himself, as he was thinking desperately. "I want to know who killed the poor lion," said Puzzle at once, "and he should be buried. We must have a funeral for him."

"Oh, it's not a talking lion," said Shift. "You needn't trouble yourself with that. There's no speaking beast beyond the Great Falls in the Wild West. This pelt must belong to Of a dumb wild lion." By the way, Shift was right.A hunter, a man, somewhere in the Wild West had killed and skinned the lion a few months earlier, but that's irrelevant to this story. "That's exactly the same, Shift," said Puzzle, "even if the skin belonged to a dumb wild lion, shouldn't we give it a decent burial? I mean, don't all lions—oh, Isn't it all awe-inspiring? You understand, because of whom. Don't you understand?"

"Bewilderment, don't let any bad idea start to come into your head," said Shift, "because, you know it. Thinking is not your forte. We're going to sew you a good quality warm coat out of this lion pelt Winter jackets." "Ah, I don't think I'd like it," said the Donkey. "Put this on and I'll look like—I mean, the other beasts would think—that is, I'll feel—" "What are you talking about?" said Shift, scratching himself the way an ape usually does. "If a donkey like me wears a lion's fur coat, I think it is disrespectful to the great Lion King, Aslan the Lion King," said Puzzled.

"Oh, please stop standing there arguing," Shift said. "What does a donkey like you know about such things? You know, Puzzle, you're no good at thinking, why don't you Let me think for you? Why don't you treat me like I treat you? I don't think I can do everything well. I know you are better than me at some things. That's why I let you go down to the abyss I know you'll do better than me. But why shouldn't it be my turn to do something I can do that you can't? Should I never be allowed to do something? Be fair Treats, in turn. "If you say that, of course it's okay," said Puzzled. "I'll tell you," said Shift, "you'd better trot briskly down the river to Chippingford and see if there's any oranges or bananas." "But I'm tired, Shift," Puzzle pleaded. "Yes, but you are cold and wet," said the Ape, "and you need something to warm you up. A brisk trot is just the thing. Besides, it's market day at Chippingford." So of course Puzzle said it was willing to go. When Shift was left alone, he began to shuffle around, sometimes on two feet, sometimes on all fours, until he finally reached his own big tree.Then it swayed from branch to branch, squeaked and laughed until it showed its teeth, and at last it entered its little house on the branch.In the house he found a needle and thread and a pair of great scissors; for he was a wise Ape, and the Dwarfs had taught him how to sew clothes.It put a ball of yarn (it was a very thick thing, more like a rope than a thread) into its mouth, and its cheeks puffed up, as if it had taken a swig of coffee.It bit the needle between its upper and lower lips, and held the scissors in its left paw, and then it climbed down the tree and staggered towards the Lion-fur.It squats down to work. Shift saw at once that the lion-skin body was too big for a donkey's coat and the neck was too short.So he cut off a big piece from what was too big to make a long collar for the donkey's long neck.He cut off the fur of the lion's head, and sewed on the long collar between the head and the shoulders.It sewed the whole lion's fur on both sides with thread, so that the chest and belly of the donkey's coat could be tightened.Every now and then a bird flew over his head, and he would stop sewing and look up anxiously.It doesn't want any animal to see what it's doing.However, none of the birds it saw were human-speaking birds, so it didn't matter much if they saw them. Bewildered came back late in the afternoon.He did not trot, but patiently trotted along the way, the way donkeys walk. "No oranges," said the Donkey, "no bananas. I'm very tired." He lay down. "Come on, try on your beautiful new lionskin coat," Shift said. "Ah, nasty old fur," said Puzzle, "I'll try it on in the morning, I'm too tired tonight." "Bewilderment, you're so inhuman," said Shift. "What do you think of me if you're tired? You go down the valley all day for a nice, refreshing walk, and I'm Hard work, sewing you a coat. My feet are so tired I can barely hold the scissors. And now you won't say thank you - won't even look at the coat - you don't care --you you--" "My dear Shift," said the lying Puzzle, standing up immediately, "I'm sorry. I was rough. Of course I'd love to try it on. The coat looks absolutely gorgeous. Let me try it on right away. Please." Let me try it on." "Well, then stand still," said the Ape.The lion's fur was so heavy that the Ape could hardly lift it, but, after much pulling, pushing, and panting, he managed to slip the lion's fur coat over the donkey.He bound the skin of the lion's body to the body of the donkey, the skin of the lion's leg to the leg of the donkey, and the skin of the lion's tail to the tail of the donkey.Much of the donkey's nose and face can be seen through the fur of the lion's head with its mouth open.No one who has seen a real lion will be deceived.However, if anyone who has never seen a lion, if he does not come very close, if the light is not very good, if Puzzle does not bray and make no sound with his hooves, see Puzzle wearing a lion Fur coat, which might be mistaken for a lion. "You look great, great," said the Ape, "and anyone who sees you now will think you are Aslan, the Great Lion himself. "That would be scary," said Puzzled. "No, it won't be scary," said Shift, "everybody will do what you tell them to do. "But I don't want to ask everyone to do anything." "But just think of the good things we could do," said Shift. "You know, you have me to advise you. I'll think up all sorts of wise orders for you, and you'll issue them. So everyone has to Obey our orders, even the King himself. Then we can put everything in order in Narnia." "But isn't everything all right in Narnia?" said Puzzled. "What!" cried Shift. "Is everything all right?—Aren't there not even oranges or bananas now?" "Oh, you know," said puzzled, "not many people—in fact, I don't think there's anyone but you—are going to eat something like that." "No sugar either," said Shift. "Well, yes," said the donkey, "it would be wonderful if there were a little more sugar." "Then it is settled," said the Ape, "you must pretend to be Aslan, and I will tell you what to say." "No, no, no," said Puzzle, "don't mention such dreadful things. It's going to be wrong, treacherous. I may not be very bright, but I can see the pros and cons of such things. If the real Aslan What will happen to us when it appears?" "I expect the Lion will be very pleased," said Shift. "It is probable that the Lion sent the lion's fur on purpose, so that we could put things in order. Anyway, you know, the Lion never Appeared. In today's world, the Lion King does not appear." Just then, a huge thunderbolt sounded overhead, the ground trembled, and a small earthquake broke out.Both beasts couldn't stand, lost their balance, and fell face down on the ground. "Ah!" gasped Puzzle, as soon as he had recovered his breath, "this is a sign, a warning. I know we are doing something terribly evil. Get off this nasty thing on me at once." Fur coat bar I" "No, no," said the Ape (with a quick mind), "on the contrary, it is a good omen. I was just about to say: if the real Aslan (as you call him) ) would have us do it, and he'd send us a thunderbolt and an earthquake—only before I could say it, the auspicious omen appeared. Bewilderment, this is what you must do now. Let us stop arguing. You know in your own heart: you don't understand these things. How can an ass understand signs."