Hanuman replied: "O proud King, how false is your claim! Till the time I am protected by Ram, no one on this earth can injure me in the least, let alone kill me. But I will tell you who I am. Sri Ram has sent me here. He had told me to give this message to save your life by releasing Sita without any delay. It will be beneficial to you and your people. Otherwise the punishment Ram would bestow upon you will be of total annihilation! Be warned and heed this warning."
On hearing these arrogant words, Ravan was hurt to the core. He was furious that this monkey, in the name of Ram, had the audacity to threaten him. Hence he ordered his minister to kill Hanuman on the spot. At this juncture, Vibhishan rose from his seat and politely said to Ravan:
"O mighty brother, have you forgotten the rules of treating the ambassador? What has happened to your intellect and reason that such a simple custom of honouring a messenger is lost on you. I request you to release Hanuman at most with a warning to leave Lanka and never to come back. Next time, if he is caught, he may be punished more severely."
"And O mighty King", continued Vibhishan "It does not befit you to keep defenseless Sita under arrest. I support Hanuman's appeal to release her instantly with honour and dignity." At this, Ravan called Vibhishan a traitor and injured him by hitting him with his foot. Thus Vibhishan was gravely insulted by Ravan; and therefore, mentally Vibhishan resolved to join Ram in the war against his own brother.
Ravan meanwhile turned to his ministers and said, "Ok. Do not kill this monkey, but teach him a lesson for creating the nuisance in Lanka. Tie a long cloth to his most lovable tail and put it to fire."
As ordered, the servants brought huge length of cotton cloth and tied it to the tail of Hanuman. Fire was applied to it. Hanuman by his special power increased the length of his tail by many many yards and started jumping here and there!
He ran all around Lanka and in this process set most of the houses on fire! Hanuman was not hurt at all. Ram was there to take care of him! At last Hanuman jumped in the waters of ocean and decided to return to his friends on the other side of the sea.
