¡¡¡HI was quite wrong. The man I ⁴approached wouldn't look at it. I wasn't too ⁵concerned; after all, it was only the first try and there are many more shops on both sides of the road.

¡¡¡¡The ⁶reaction at the second shop, though slightly politer, was just the same, and at the third and the fourth - so I ⁷decided that my approach must be wrong.

¡¡¡¡I entered the fifth shop with some confidence because I had ⁸concocted a plan. I placed the chair gently on the floor ⁹so as not to ¹⁰disturb the damaged leg and said "Would you like to buy a chair?' The rather ¹¹fierce proprietor ¹²looked it over carefully and said "Yes, not a bad little chair, how much do you want for it?" "¡ê20," I said. "Ok," he said, "I'll give you ¡ê20." "It's got a slightly broken leg." I said. "Yes, I saw that, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

¡¡¡¡Everything was going to plan and I was getting excited. "What will you ¹³do with it?' I asked. 'Oh, it will be very saleable once the repair is done, I like the bit of old green velvet on the top, I shall leave that, yes, very saleable." "I'll buy it," I said. "What d'ye mean? You've just sold it to me," he said. "Yes I know but I've changed my mind; as a matter of fact it is just what I'm looking for - I've got a pair to it at home, I'll give you 27 quid for it." "You must be crazy," he said; then suddenly ¹⁴the penny dropped and he smiled and said, "I know what you want, you want me to mend your chair." "You're plumb right," I said.

¡¡¡¡"And what would you have done if I had walked in and said 'Would you mend this chair for me?'" "I wouldn't have done it," he said, "We don't do repairs, ¹⁵not enough money in it and too much of a nuisance, but I'll mend this for you, shall we say a fiver?" He was a very nice man and thought the whole episode rather funny.