very newbie question

[garywood]

stuck on python for absolute beginners 
chapter 6 
i actually done what i was supposed to do use the function ask_number for guess a number 
but for some reason it does not count correctly the number of tries 

# Guess My Number
#
# The computer picks a random number between 1 and 100
# The player tries to guess it and the computer lets
# the player know if the guess is too high, too low
# or right on the money

import random  

print "\tWelcome to 'Guess My Number'!"
print "\nI'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100." 
print "Try to guess it in as few attempts as possible.\n"

# set the initial values



def ask_number():
    the_number = random.randrange(100) + 1
    guess = int(raw_input("Take a guess: "))
    tries = 1
    
    
    
    
    while (guess != the_number):
        
        
        if (guess > the_number):
            print "Lower..."
        
        else:
            print "Higher..."
            tries += 1
        
        
        guess = int(raw_input("Take a guess: "))
        tries += 1
        
        
        
        
ask_number()




print "You guessed it!  The number was", the_number
print "And it only took you", tries, "tries!\n"
  
raw_input("\n\nPress the enter key to exit.")
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