“Oh， well， of course， if you put it that way，” said Puzzle. “I tell you what，” said Shift. “You‘d better take a goodbrisk trot down river as far as Chippingford and see if they have any oranges or bananas.”
“But I’m 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， it‘s 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.
