They hurried back to the mud hut only to find Sita had disappeared. They hunted high and low for Sita, calling out her name till their voices were weak.

But there was only silence in the forest. Not a leaf moved and the birds and animals were silent.

The princes needed help. Help was on hand. The ‘monkey people’ arrived led by their king Sugreeva.

Ram and Laxman told Sugreeva all about Sita. The monkey king offered to help them. The monkeys could climb to great heights and travel long distances jumping from branch to branch of trees. Sugreeva promised to reward the first monkey who found Sita.

So hundreds of these nimble little creatures scattered in different directions to look for Sita.

A bird flying high, so high, saw Sita sitting crying in Lanka. The bird whispered the news to Hanuman.

But Lanka was an island… many miles of water would need to be crossed to reach the island.

Hanuman said he would leap across the ocean.

Hanuman sneaked into the city. After searching everywhere Hanuman found Sita.

He told Sita that he was a friend of Ram and gave her Ram’s ring.

Sita took a jewelled ornament from her hair and told Hanuman to give it to Ram so that he would know that she was alive and well.