Ali Baba

[Pari]

Ali Baba climbed a tree to hide from the approaching men.​

In a town in Persia there lived a man called Ali Baba. He was a poor woodcutter, and he struggled each day to feed his wife and children. All he ever wanted was to own a shop in the town, sell goods to his neighbors, and have plenty for his family.

One day Ali Baba was cutting wood in the forest. He saw a troop of men on horseback approaching. Ali Baba thought these men were robbers, so he climbed a tree to hide.

Ali Baba counted 40 men. He wondered whether this could be the band of Forty Thieves he had heard so much about, the dread robbers that all of Persia feared.

Their leader dismounted and stepped around a bush toward a large rock wall. The powerful man faced the wall, and Ali Baba clearly heard him shout, "Open, sesame!"

A door opened in the rock wall!

The door revealed a secret opening to a cave. The leader of the thieves stepped in, and the other robbers followed him.

Ali Baba waited until the thieves filed out from the cave. The Captain closed the door, saying, "Shut, sesame!" Then the thieves rode away.

When he was sure they were gone, Ali Baba stepped toward the rock and shouted, "Open, sesame!" And the door opened for him just as miraculously as it had for the Captain of Thieves.

Ali Baba stepped through the threshold to find a large room, filled at every inch with all sorts of valuables, so brilliant with gold, silver, and jewels that Ali Baba had to squint.

Ali Baba found a road filled with valuables.
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He feared the robbers might soon return. He quickly gathered as much gold as he could carry. Ali Baba remembered in his haste to say, "Shut, sesame!" when he left the cave.

Ali Baba did not notice that a single gold coin dropped from his cloak to the base of the bush that covered the secret door. Fortunately for Ali Baba, the thieves did not notice the coin that day, or the next day, or for several days, until a few weeks later.

The Captain of Thieves caught sight of the coin glimmering in the sunlight one day. He was very angry.

The Captain of Thieves found the gold coin glimmering in the sunlight
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"How could you drop this and risk revealing our hiding place!?!" the Captain shouted at his 39 robbers.

"But, Master," the thieves said, "we know the punishment for such mistakes is most severe. Surely none of us has done this."

"Then we have been found out," the Captain growled. He paced for several minutes with the thieves waiting anxiously for him to speak. Then he announced, "We must learn who is newly rich in the town. That man and all his family must die."

By now Ali Baba had opened the shop of which he'd always dreamed. He was a fair and generous shop owner. He was happy, his family had plenty, and every neighbor was his friend.

Ali Baba hired a helper named Morgiana. She was a very clever and beautiful young lady. She enjoyed her work at the shop. And Morgiana cared for Ali Baba and his family very much.

A stranger asked Morgiana many questions about Ali Baba
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One day, a stranger came calling at the shop. He asked Morgiana many questions about the owner, Ali Baba. The odd stranger's questions worried Morgiana. She vowed to keep a watchful eye on the shop.

The stranger was really a thief in disguise. The thief returned to the robbers' cave to report back to the Captain. "His name is Ali Baba, Captain," said the thief. "He lives behind his new shop in town. He was a poor woodcutter only a few weeks ago."

"Go back there at nightfall," the Captain ordered. "Mark his house with this white chalk, and later, I will take 20 men to the marked house and finish him."

Clever Morgiana marked all of the doors with white chalk.
​

As he was told, the thief crept in the shadows to mark Ali Baba's home. Little did he know that clever Morgiana had spotted him. As the thief marked the door, she followed with white chalk, too, and marked all the doors.

When the Captain and his 20 thieves arrived later that night, they found every door was marked. They did not know which house to attack, so they crept away in shame.

The Captain impersonated an oil merchant and asked Ali Baba for a place to stay.
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Their leader was angry and said, "Who will get this right?"​

One brave thief stepped forward.

"Here is some red chalk," the Captain offered. "Mark the door, and I will lead 30 men to storm Ali Baba's home."

The thief did as he was told, but again Morgiana played her trick on the Captain and his 30 thieves.

The Captain decided to use all his power against Ali Baba. The Forty Thieves gathered together and made a plan. The Captain would disguise himself as an oil merchant. He would lead a train of mules that carried 39 barrels. The thieves would hide inside the barrels and await their Captain's signal. It was a great plan.

Early that night, they arrived at Ali Baba's shop.

"I have brought some oil to sell at market tomorrow," the Captain lied. "But tonight I need a place to stay and I have a lot of cargo. Will you take me in?"

Ali Baba was as generous as usual. "Of course you can stay here," he replied. "Leave your cargo in back. There is hay there for the mules. Then come in for dinner."

In the yard, the Captain whispered to his men, "Wait until you hear my signal. Then, leave your barrels and storm the house."

Morgiana helped Ali Baba's family feed their guest. She thought it strange that a man would arrive so early for market, but the oil merchant seemed very polite.

After everyone had gone to bed, Morgiana finished cleaning up. Her lamp ran out of oil. She thought she'd have to finish cleaning in the dark until she remembered the barrels of oil in the yard.

She walked up to a barrel. A voice whispered, "Is it time?"

Morgiana sensed danger. She answered, "Not yet, but soon." Then, gathering some hay around each barrel, Morgiana lit the hay with a torch. The 39 cowardly thieves coughed from the smoke. They popped out from their barrels and ran away to keep from getting burned.

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Morgiana set fires around the thieves to smoke them out.

The Captain of Thieves made his signal, but none of his men moved. Something had gone wrong again. The Captain returned to the cave to find his 39 robbers gone. Now on his own, the thief decided he would have to use all his cunning to plan his revenge. It would take time, too.

The Captain dressed as a shop owner, went into town, and took up lodgings at an inn. He opened a shop across the road from Ali Baba's shop. The Captain lived as Cogia Hassan for many months. He waited in this disguise until just the right moment.

After a while, Ali Baba invited the newest shop owner over for dinner. Cogia Hassan graciously accepted and brought a basket of fine goods. He smiled as he met Ali Baba and his family.
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The Captain dressed as a shop owner, and Ali Baba invited him to dinner.

Despite his politeness, Cogia Hassan carried a dagger in his cloak. The blade was intended for Ali Baba and his son.

Morgiana saw the dagger first. She then recognized the man as the oil merchant who had threatened Ali Baba's household.

Morgiana quickly came up with a plan. She wore long, flowing scarves, then entered the dining room to dance for the guest.

Morgiana danced close to Cogia Hassan. Stepping behind him, Morgiana wrapped the scarf lightly around his arms then pulled hard. He could not move.​

Morgiana spotted the Captain's disguise.

"What are you doing?" Ali Baba cried. "This man is our guest."

"He is your enemy," she explained. "He has a dagger!"

At that, Ali Baba's son seized the dagger, and the Captain of Thieves was sent directly to prison.

"I owe you my life, Morgiana," Ali Baba said. "Please marry my son and join our family in name as well as deed."

Morgiana agreed and they celebrated with a splendid wedding.​