The Blind Man
took one great bundle, the Deaf Man took another, and, putting the
other two great bundles on the Donkey, they started off to return
home. But the Rakshas, whom they had frightened away the night before,
had not gone very far off, and was waiting to see what his father
Bakshas might look like by daylight. He saw the door of his house open
and watched attentively, when out walked--only a Blind Man, a Deaf
Man, and a Donkey, who were all three laden with large bundles of
his treasure. The Blind Man carried one bundle, the Deaf Man carried
another bundle, and two bundles were on the Donkey.

The Rakshas was extremely angry, and immediately called six of his
friends to help him kill the Blind Man, the Deaf Man, and the Donkey,
and recover the treasure.

The Deaf Man saw them coming (seven great Rakshas, with hair a yard
long and tusks like an elephant's), and was dreadfully frightened;
but the Blind Man was very brave (because he couldn't see), and said:
"Brother, why do you lag behind in that way?" "Oh!" answered the Deaf
Man, "there are seven great Rakshas with tusks like an elephant's
coming to kill us! What can we do?" "Let us hide the treasure in the
bushes," said the Blind Man; "and do you lead me to a tree; then I
will climb up first, and you shall climb up afterward, and so we shall
be out of their way." The Deaf Man thought this good advice; so he
pushed the Donkey and the bundles of treasure into the bushes, and led
the Blind Man to a high soparee-tree that grew close by; but he was a
very cunning man, this Deaf Man, and instead of letting the Blind Man
climb up first and following him, he got up first and let the Blind
Man clamber after, so that he was farther out of harm's way than his
friend.

When the Rakshas arrived at the place and saw them both perched out of
reach in the soparee-tree, he said to his friends: "Let us get on each
other's shoulders; we shall then be high enough to pull them down." So
one Rakshas stooped down, and the second got on his shoulders, and
the third on his, and the fourth on his, and the fifth on his, and the
sixth on his; and the seventh and the last Rakshas (who had invited
all the others) was just climbing up when the Deaf Man (who was
looking over the Blind Man's shoulder) got so frightened that in his
alarm he caught hold of his friend's arm, crying: "They're coming,
they're coming!" The Blind Man was not in a very secure position, and
was sitting at his ease,