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ALI BABA, OR, THE
FORTY THIEVES N a town of Persia
there lived two brothers, the sons of a poor man; the one was named
Cassim, and
the other Ali Baba. Cassim, the elder, married a
wife with a considerable
fortune, and lived at his ease, in a handsome house, with plenty of
servants;
but the wife of Ali Baba was as poor as himself; they dwelt in a mean
cottage
in the suburbs of the city, and he maintained his family by cutting
wood in a
neighbouring forest. One day, when Ali Baba was in the forest, and
preparing to
load his asses with the wood he had cut, he saw a troop of horsemen
approaching
towards him. He had often heard of robbers who infested that forest,
and, in a
great fright, he hastily climbed a large thick tree, which stood near
the foot
of a rock, and hid himself among the branches.
THEIR CAPTAIN . . . SAID, “OPEN SESAME” Ali Baba remained
in the tree a longtime, and seeing that the robbers did not return, he
ventured
down, and, approaching close to the rock, said, open Sesame. Immediately the
door flew open, and Ali Baba
beheld a spacious cavern, very light, and filled withall sorts of
provisions,
merchandise, rich stuffs, and heaps of gold and silver coin, which
these
robbers had taken from merchants and travellers. Ali Baba then went in
search
of his asses, and having brought them to the rock, took as many bags of
gold
coin as they could carry, and put them on their backs, covering them
with some
loose fagots of wood; and afterwards (not forgetting to say shut Sesame) he drove the asses
back to
the city, and having unloaded them in the stable belonging to his
cottage,
carried the bags into the house, and spread the gold coin out upon the
floor
before his wife. His wife, delighted with possessing so much money,
wanted to
count it; but finding it would take up too much time, she was resolved
to measure
it, and running to the house of Ali Baba’s brother, she entreated them
to lend
her a small measure. Cassim’s wife was very proud and envious: ‘I
wonder,’ she
said to herself, ‘what sort of grain such poor people can have to
measure; but
I am determined I will find out what they are doing.’ So before she
gave the
measure, she artfully rubbed the bottom with some suet. Away ran Ali Baba’s
wife, measured her money; and having helped her husband to bury it in
the yard,
she carried back the measure to her brother‑in-law’s house, without
perceiving
that a piece of gold was left sticking to the bottom of it. ‘Fine
doings,
indeed!’ cried Cassim’s wife to her husband, after examining the
measure, ‘your
brother there, who pretends to be so poor, is richer than you are, for
he does
not count his money, but measures it.’ Cassim, hearing these words, and
seeing
the piece of gold, grew as envious as his wife, and hastening to his
brother,
threatened to inform the Cadi of his wealth, if he did not confess to
him how
he came by it. Ali Baba, without hesitation, told him the history of
the
robbers, and the secret of the cave, and offered him half his treasure;
but the
envious Cassim disdained so poor a sum, resolving to have fifty times
more than
that out of the robber’s cave. Accordingly, he rose early the next
morning, and
set out with ten mules loaded with great chests. He found the rock
easily
enough by Ali Baba’s description; and having said open Sesame, he gained
admission into the cave, where he
found more treasure than he even had expected to behold from his
brother’s
account of it. He immediately began to gather bags of gold and pieces
of rich
brocades, all which he piled close to the door; but when he had got
together as
much, or even more than his ten mules could possibly carry, and wanted
to get
out to load them, the thoughts of his wonderful riches had made him
entirely
forget the word which caused the door to open. In vain he tried Bame, Fame, Lame, Tetame, and a
thousand
others; the door remained as immovable as the rock itself,
notwithstanding
Cassim kicked and screamed till he was ready to drop with fatigue and
vexation.
The thieves now
held a council, but not one of them could possibly guess by what means
Cassim
had got into the cave. They saw the heaps of treasure he had piled
ready to
take away, but they did not miss what Ali Baba had secured before. At
length
they agreed to cut Cassim’s body into four quarters, and hang the
pieces within
the cave, that it might terrify any one from further attempts; and also
determined not to return themselves for some time to the cave, for fear
of
being watched and discovered. When Cassim’s wife saw night come on, and
her
husband not returned, she became greatly terrified; she watched at her
window
till daybreak, and then went to tell Ali Baba of her fears. Cassim had
not
informed him of his design of going to the cave; but Ali Baba, now
hearing of
his journey thither, went immediately in search of him. He drove
his asses
to the forest without delay. He was alarmed to see blood near the rock;
and on
entering the cave, he found the body of his unfortunate brother cut to
pieces,
and hung up within the door. It was now too late to save him; but he
took down
the quarters, and put them upon one of his asses, covering them with
fagots of
wood; and, weeping for the miserable end of his brother, he regained
the city.
The door of his brother’s house was opened by Morgiana, an intelligent,
faithful female slave, who Ali Baba knew was worthy to be trusted with
the
secret. He therefore
delivered the body to Morgiana, and went himself to impart the sad
tidings to
the wife of Cassim. The poor woman was deeply afflicted, and reproached
herself
with her foolish envy and curiosity, as being the cause of her
husband’s death;
but Ali Baba having convinced her of the necessity of being very
discreet, she
checked her lamentations, and resolved to leave every thing to the
management
of Morgiana. Morgiana
having
washed the body, hastened to an apothecary’s and asked for some
particular
medicine; saying it was for her master Cassim, who was dangerously ill.
She
took care to spread the report of Cassim’s illness throughout the
neighbourhood; and as they saw Ali Baba and his wife going daily to the
house
of their brother in great affliction, they were not surprised to hear
shortly
that Cassim had died of his disorder. The next difficulty was to bury
him
without discovery; but Morgiana was ready to contrive a plan for that
also. She
put on her veil, and went to a distant part of the city very early in
the
morning, where she found a poor cobbler just opening his stall. She put
a piece
of gold into his hand, and told him he should have another, if he would
suffer
himself to be led blind‑folded and go with her, carrying his tools with
him.
Mustapha the cobbler hesitated at first; but the gold tempted him, and
he
consented; when Morgiana, carefully covering his eyes, so that he could
not see
a step of the way, led him to Cassim’s house, and taking him to the
room where
the body was lying, removed the bandage from his eyes, and bade him sew
the mangled
limbs together. Mustapha obeyed her order; and having received two
pieces of
gold, was led blindfold the same way back to his own stall. Morgiana
then
covering the body with a winding sheet, sent for the undertaker to make
preparations for the funeral; and Cassim was buried with all due
solemnity the
same day. Ali Baba now removed his few goods, and all the gold coin
that he had
brought from the cavern, to the house of his deceased brother, of which
he took
possession; and Cassim’s widow received every kind attention both from
Ali Baba
and his wife. After an
interval
of some months, the troop of robbers again visited their retreat in the
forest,
and were completely astonished to find the body taken away from the
cave, and
everything else remaining in its usual order. ‘We are discovered,’ said
the
captain, and shall certainly be undone if you do not adopt speedy
measures to
prevent our ruin. Which of you, my brave comrades, will undertake to
search out
the villain who is in possession of our secret?’ One of the boldest of
the
troop advanced, and offered himself; and was accepted on the following
conditions; namely, that if he succeeded in his enterprise, he was to
be made
second in command of the troop; but that if he brought false
intelligence, he
was immediately to be put to death. The bold robber readily agreed to
the
conditions; and having disguised himself, he proceeded to the city. He
arrived
there about daybreak, and found the cobbler Mustapha in his stall,
which was
always open before any other shop in the town. ‘Good morrow, friend,’
said the
robber, as he passed the stall, ‘you rise betimes; I should think old
as you
are, you could scarcely see to work by this light.’ — ‘Indeed, sir,’
replied
the cobbler, ‘old as I am, I do not want for good eyesight; as you must
needs
believe, when I tell you I sewed a dead body together the other day,
where I
had not so good a light as I have now.’ — ‘A dead body!’ exclaimed the
robber,
‘you mean, I suppose, that you sewed up the winding sheet for a dead
body.’ —
‘I mean no such thing,’ replied Mustapha; ‘I tell you that I sewed the
four
quarters of a man together.’ This was enough to
convince the robber he had luckily met with the very man who could give
him the
information he was in search of. However, he did not wish to appear
eager to
learn the particulars, lest he should alarm the cobbler. ‘Ha! ha!’ said
he, ‘I
find, good Mr. Cobbler, that you perceive I am a stranger here, and you
wish to
make-me believe that the people of your city do impossible things.’ —
‘I tell
you,’ said Mustapha, in a loud and angry tone, ‘I sewed a dead body
together
with my own hands.’ — ‘Then I suppose you can tell me also where you
performed
this wonderful business.’ Upon this, Mustapha related every particular
of his
being led blindfold to the house, &c. ‘Well, my friend,’
said the robber, ‘‘tis a fine story, I confess, but not very easy to
believe:
however, if you will convince me by showing me the house you talk of, I
will
give you four pieces of gold to make amends for my unbelief.’ — ‘I
think,’ said
the cobbler, after considering a while, ‘that if you were to blindfold
me, I
should remember every turning we made; but with my eyes open I am sure
I should
never find it.’ Accordingly the robber covered Mustapha’s eyes with his
handkerchief,
who led him through most of the principal streets, and stopping by
Cassim’s
door, said, ‘Here it is, I went no further than this house.’ The robber
immediately marked the door with a piece of chalk; and giving Mustapha
his four
pieces of gold, dismissed him. Shortly after the thief and Mustapha had
quitted
the door, Morgiana coming home from market, perceived the little mark
of white
chalk on the door: suspecting something was wrong, directly marked four
doors
on one side and five on the other of her master’s, in exactly the same
manner,
without saying a word to any one. The robber meantime rejoined his
troop, and
boasted greatly of his success. His captain and comrades praised his
diligence;
and being well armed, they proceeded to the town in different
disguises, and in
separate parties of three and four together. It was agreed among them,
that
they were to meet in the market-place at the dusk of the evening, and
that the
captain and the robber who had discovered the house, were to go there
first, to
find out to whom it belonged. Accordingly being arrived in the street,
and
having a lantern with them, they began to examine the doors, and found
to their
confusion and astonishment, that ten doors were marked exactly alike.
The
robber, who was the captain’s guide, could not say one word in
explanation of
this mystery; and when the disappointed troop got back to the forest,
his
enraged companions ordered him to be put to death. Another
now offered
himself upon the same conditions as the former; and having bribed
Mustapha, and
discovered the house, he made a mark with a dark red chalk upon the
door, in a
part that was not in the least conspicuous; and carefully examined the
surrounding doors, to be certain that no such mark was upon any of
them. But nothing
could escape the prying eyes of Morgiana; scarcely had the robber
departed,
when she discovered the red mark; and getting some red chalk, she
marked seven
doors on each side, precisely in the same place and in the same manner.
The
robber, valuing himself highly upon the precautions he had taken,
triumphantly
conducted his captain to the spot: but great indeed was his confusion
and
dismay, when he found it impossible to say which among fifteen houses
marked
exactly alike, was the right one. The captain furious with his
disappointment,
returned again with the troop to the forest; and the second robber was
also
condemned to death. The captain having
lost two of his troop, judged that their hands were more active than
their
heads in such services; and he resolved to employ no other of them, but
to go
himself upon the business. Accordingly here paired to the city, and
addressed
himself to the cobbler Mustapha, who for six pieces of gold, readily
performed
the services for him he had done for the two other strangers; and the
captain,
much wiser than his men, did not amuse himself with setting a mark upon
the
door, but attentively considered the house, counted the number of
windows, and
passed by it very often, to be certain that he should know it again. He
then
returned to the forest, and ordered his troop to go into the town, and
buy
nineteen mules and thirty-eight large jars, one full of oil, and the
rest
empty. In two or three days the jars were brought, and all things in
readiness;
and the captain having put a man into each jar, properly armed, the
jars being
rubbed on the outside with oil, and the covers having holes bored’ in
them for
the men to breathe through, loaded his mules, and in the habit of an
oil-merchant, entered the town in the dusk of the evening. He proceeded
to the
street where Ali Baba dwelt, and found him sitting in the porch of his
house.
‘Sir,’ said he to Ali Baba, ‘I have brought this oil a great way to
sell, and
am too late for this day’s market. As I am quite a stranger in this
town, will
you do me the favour to let me put my mules into your court-yard, and
direct me
where I may lodge to-night.’ Ali Baba, who was a
good-natured man, welcomed the pretended oil-merchant very kindly, and
offered
him a bed in his own house; and having ordered the mules to be unloaded
in the
yard, and properly fed, he invited his guest in to supper. The captain,
having
seen the jars placed ready in the yard, followed Ali Baba into the
house, and
after supper was shown to the chamber where he was to sleep. It
happened that
Morgiana was obliged to sit up later that night than usual, to get
ready her
master’s bathing linen for the following morning: and while she was
busy about
the fire, her lamp went out, and there was no more oil in the house.
After
considering what she could possibly do for a light, she recollected the
thirty-eight oil jars in the yard, and determined to take a little oil
out of
one of them for her lamp. She took her oil pot in her hand, and
approaching the
first jar, the robber within said, ‘Is it time captain?’ Any other
slave on
hearing a man in an oil jar, would have screamed out; but the prudent
Morgiana
instantly recollected herself, and replied softly, ‘No, not yet; be
still till
I call you.’ She passed on to every jar, receiving the same question,
and
making the same answer, till she came to the last, which was really
filled with
oil. Morgiana was now convinced that this was a plot of the robbers to
murder
her master Ali Baba; so she ran back to the kitchen, and brought out a
large
kettle, which she filled with oil, and set it on a great wood fire; and
as soon
as it boiled she went and poured into the jars sufficient of the
boiling oil to
kill every man within them. Having done this, she put out her fire and
her
lamp, and crept softly to her chamber. The captain of the robbers,
finding
everything quiet in the house, and perceiving no light anywhere, arose
and went
down into the yard to assemble his men. Coming to the first jar, he
felt the
steams of the boiled oil; he ran hastily to the rest, and found every
one of
his troop put to death in the same manner. Full of rage and despair at
having
failed in his design, he forced the lock of a door that led into the
garden and
made his escape over the walls. On the following
morning, Morgiana related to her master Ali Baba his wonderful
deliverance from
the pretended oil-merchant and his gang of robbers. Ali Baba at first
could
scarcely credit her tale; but when he saw the robbers dead in the jars,
he
could not sufficiently praise her courage and sagacity: and without
letting any
one else into the secret, he and Morgiana the next night, buried the
thirty-seven thieves in a deep trench at the bottom of the garden. Ali Baba’s son
thought it was necessary to make some return to these civilities, and
pressed
his father to invite Cogia Hassan to supper. Ali Baba made no
objection, and
the invitation was accordingly given. The artful Cogia
Hassan would not too hastily accept this invitation, but pretended he
was not
fond of going into company, and that he had business which demanded his
presence at home. These excuses only made Ali Baba’s son the more eager
to take
him to his father’s house; and after repeated solicitations the
merchant
consented to sup at Ali Baba’s house the next evening. A most excellent
supper
was provided, which Morgiana cooked in the best manner, and as was her
usual
custom, she carried in the first dish herself. The moment she looked at
Cogia
Hassan, she knew it was the pretended oil‑merchant. The prudent
Morgiana did
not say a word to any one of this discovery, but sent the other slaves
into the
kitchen, and waited at table herself; and while Cogia Hassan was
drinking, she
perceived he had a dagger hid under his coat. When supper was ended,
and the
dessert and wine on the table, Morgiana went away and dressed herself
in the
habit of a dancing-girl: she next called Abdalla, a fellow slave, to
play on
his tabor while she danced. As soon as she appeared at the parlour
door, her
master, who was very fond of seeing her dance, ordered her to come in
to
entertain his guest with some of her best dancing. Cogia Hassan was not
very
well satisfied with this entertainment, yet was compelled, for fear of
discovering himself, to seem pleased with the dancing, while in fact he
wished
Morgiana a great way off, and was quite alarmed, lest he should lose
his
opportunity of murdering Ali Baba and his son. Morgiana danced
several dances with the utmost grace and agility; and then drawing a
poinard
from her girdle, she performed many surprising things with it,
sometimes
presenting the point to one and sometimes to another, and then seemed
to strike
it into her own bosom. Suddenly she paused, and holding the poinard in
the
right hand, presented her left to her master as if begging some money;
upon
which Ali Baba and his son each gave her a small piece of money. She
then
turned to the pretended Cogia Hassan, and while he was putting his hand
into
his purse she plunged the poinard into his heart. ‘Wretch!’
cried Ali
Baba, ‘thou hast ruined me and my family.’
‘No, sir,’ replied Morgiana, ‘I have
preserved, and not ruined you, and your son. Look well at this traitor,
and you
will find him to be the pretended oil-merchant who came once before to
rob and
murder you.’ Ali Baba, having pulled off the turban and the
cloak which the
false Cogia Hassan wore, discovered that he was not only the pretended
oil-merchant, but the captain of the forty robbers who had slain his
brother
Cassim; nor could he doubt that his perfidious aim had been to destroy
him, and
probably his son, with the concealed dagger. Ali Baba, who felt the new
obligation he owed to Morgiana for thus saving his life a second time,
embraced
her and said, ‘my dear Morgiana, I give you your liberty; but
my gratitude must
not stop there: I will also marry you to my son, who can esteem and
admire you
no less than does his father.’ Then turning to his son, he
added, ‘you, my son,
will not refuse the wife I offer; for, in marrying Morgiana, you take
to wife
the preserver and benefactor of yourself and family. The son, far from
showing
any dislike, readily and joyfully accepted his proposed bride, having
long
entertained an affection for the good slave Morgiana. Having rejoiced in their deliverance, they buried the captain that night with great privacy, in the trench along with his troop of robbers; and a few days afterwards, Ali Baba celebrated the marriage of his son and Morgiana with a sumptuous entertainment; and every one who knew Morgiana said she was worthy of her good fortune, and highly commended her master’s generosity toward her. During a twelvemonth Ali Baba forbore to go near the forest, but at length his curiosity incited him to make another journey. When he came to the cave, he saw no footsteps of either men or horses; and having said open Sesame, he went in, and judged by the state of things deposited in the cavern, that no one had been there since the pretended Cogia Hassan had removed the merchandise to his shop in the city. Ali Baba took as much gold home as his horse would carry; and afterwards he carried his son to the cave, and taught him the secret. This secret they handed down to their posterity; and using their good fortune with moderation, they lived in honour and splendour, and served with dignity some of the chief offices in the city.
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