After a while, Abu Ali said to himself, “I must make sure all my donkeys are here.” And he turned round to count them.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Oh! Where’s number nine?” Abu Ali cried
He jumped down from his donkey. He looked behind the rocks and behind the trees. But there was no donkey to be seen.
“I’ll count them again,” Abu Ali said. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Oh, he must have come back.”
So Abu Ali climbed back onto the donkey and trotted away.
After a while, he counted his donkeys again. He counted only eight! Once more he looked behind the rocks and behind the trees. But there was no donkey to be seen.