Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Story
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves There once lived in a town in Persia two brothers, one named Cassim, and the other Ali Baba.
One day when he was in the forest cutting wood, he saw a
troop of horsemen coming toward him. Fearing they might be robbers, he
climbed a tree to hide. Near the tree there was a steep bank formed of
solid rock. When the horsemen came up Ali Baba counted them and found
they were forty in number. They dismounted in front of the rock, and
one, who seemed to be captain, said the words, “Open, Sesame” when
instantly a door opened in the rock. Then they all passed through, and
the door closed after them. Ali Baba stayed in the tree, and after
awhile the door opened again, and the robbers came out. Then the captain
closed the door by saying, “Close, Sesame” and they all rode away.
When they were out of sight Ali Baba came down, and, going up
to the rock, said, “Open, Sesame.” The door at once opened, and Ali
Baba, entering, found himself in a large cave, lighted from a hole in
the top, and full of all kinds of treasure like rich silks and carpets,
gold and silver ware, and great bags of money. He loaded his three asses
with as many of the bags of gold as they could carry; and, after
closing the door by saying, “Close, Sesame” made his way home.
When he got there and told his wife of their good luck she
was overjoyed, and wished to count the gold to see how rich they were.
“No” said Ali Baba, “that will take too long. I must dig a hole and bury
it at once.” “You are right” said she, “but at least let us form some
idea how much there is. Let me measure it while you dig the hole.”
But as she had no measure of her own, she ran to Cassim’s
wife to borrow one. Now Cassim’s wife was very inquisitive, and wished
to find out what they were going to use the measure for, so she covered
the bottom of it with suet. When Ali Baba’s wife had done with it she
carried it back, but did not notice that a piece of gold had stuck to
the suet. When Cassim’s wife saw the gold she wondered greatly, knowing
Ali Baba to be so poor, and told her husband about it. He went to Ali
Baba, and persuaded him to explain how he had become rich enough to have
to measure his money, and when he heard the story, he made up his mind
that he, too, would get some of the treasure.
So he started for the forest with a lot of mules the next
morning. He opened the door by saying, “Open, Sesame” and when he went
in, it closed after him. He began to pile up bags of gold near the door,
but when he was ready to go he found that he had forgotten the magic
words which opened it, and before he could recall them, the robbers
returned. The moment they caught sight of him they rushed upon him with
their swords and killed him, and then cut his body in four quarters and
hung them up in the cave.
When night fell, and Cassim had not returned, his wife was
greatly alarmed and ran to Ali Baba. He tried to comfort her; but when
morning came, and Cassim did not yet appear, he set out for the cave
with his three asses. When he reached there, and saw his brother’s body,
he was struck with horror at the sight, but he quickly wrapped up the
pieces and carried them home on one of the asses loading the other two
again with gold.
He now wished to get Cassim buried without letting anyone
know that he had not died a natural death. Cassim’s wife had a slave
named Morgiana, who was very quick-witted, and Ali Baba took her into
his confidence, and got her to assist him. She went very early in the
morning, to an old cobbler named Then it was given out that Cassim had
died, and the funeral was held without betraying the secret of his
death.
The robber at once felt that he was on the track of the one
he was looking for, so he offered the old man a large piece of gold to
show him the house where he had done the sewing. Mustapha explained that
his eyes had been covered on the way, but the robber thought that if he
were again blindfolded he might remember the turns he had made, and so
find the place. They tried this plan. Mustapha walked on and at last
stopped before a house which was, indeed, Ali Baba’s. The robber marked
the door with chalk, and returned to his comrades.ali baba, 1001 nights,
Shortly after, Morgiana came out of the house and saw the mark, and
thinking it might mean mischief, she marked two or three doors on each
side in the same way.
The robber, in the meantime, had reported his success, and
the captain ordered all to go into the town, separately, and meet
together at a certain place, where he would join them. He took the
robber who had found the house, and went with him to look at it, and see
what had best be done. The robber led him into the street where Ali
Baba lived, and when they came to one of the doors which Morgiana had
marked, he pointed to it, but the captain noticed that the next house
was marked in the same way, and on looking further found five or six
more. He saw that they were foiled, and ordered his men to return to the
forest. When they got there, they put to death the robber who they
thought had deceived them, a fate which he admitted he deserved for not
taking more pains.
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