Characters.get('e', 0) tells python to look for The real key 'e' in the dictionary. If it's not discovered it returns 0. Since That is The very first time 'e' is passed through the loop, the character 'e' just isn't found in the dictionary still, Hence the get process returns 0. https://deviniheav.bloggosite.com/43544140/the-5-second-trick-for-psychedelia