---
type: article
status: Published
slug: "ali-baba"
title: "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"
author: "Antoine Galland, from the telling of Hannā Diyāb"
tradition: "arabic"
language: "fr"
genre: "tale"
period: "told 1709; printed 1717"
source_url: "https://fr.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Les_Mille_et_Une_Nuits/Histoire_d%E2%80%99Ali_Baba&oldid=13692295"
certainty: observed
source: "https://fr.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Les_Mille_et_Une_Nuits/Histoire_d%E2%80%99Ali_Baba&oldid=13692295"
unknowns: none known
---
# Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

## Original

### The Two Brothers and the Forty Riders

La sultane Scheherazade éveillée par la vigilance de Dinarzade sa sœur, racontoit au sultan des Indes, son époux, l’histoire à laquelle il s’attendoit:

Puissant sultan, dit-elle, dans une ville de Perse, aux confins des états de votre Majesté, il y avoit deux frères, dont l’un se nommoit Cassim, et l’autre Ali Baba. Comme leur père ne leur avoit laissé que peu de biens, et qu’ils les avoient partagés également, il semble que leur fortune devoit être égale: le hasard néanmoins en disposa autrement.

Cassim épousa une femme qui, peu de temps après leur mariage, devint héritière d’une boutique bien garnie, d’un magasin rempli de bonnes marchandises, et de biens en fonds de terre, qui le mirent tout-à-coup à son aise, et le rendirent un des marchands les plus riches de la ville.

Ali Baba, au contraire, qui avoit épousé une femme aussi pauvre que lui, étoit logé fort pauvrement, et il n’avoit d’autre industrie pour gagner sa vie, et de quoi s’entretenir lui et ses enfans, que d’aller couper du bois dans une forêt voisine, et de venir le vendre à la ville, chargé sur trois ânes qui faisoient toute sa possession.

Ali Baba étoit un jour dans la forêt, et il achevoit d’avoir coupé à-peu-près assez de bois pour faire la charge de ses ânes, lorsqu’il aperçut une grosse poussière qui s’élevoit en l’air, et qui avançoit du côté où il étoit. Il regarde attentivement, et il distingue une troupe nombreuse de gens à cheval qui venoient d’un bon train.

Quoiqu’on ne parlât pas de voleurs dans le pays, Ali Baba néanmoins eut la pensée que ces cavaliers pouvoient en être: sans considérer ce que deviendroient ses ânes, il songea à sauver sa personne. Il monta sur un gros arbre, dont les branches à peu de hauteur se séparoient en rond, si près les unes des autres, qu’elles n’étoient séparées que par un très-petit espace. Il se posta au milieu avec d’autant plus d’assurance, qu’il pouvoit voir sans être vu; et l’arbre s’élevoit au pied d’un rocher isolé de tous les côtés, beaucoup plus haut que l’arbre, et escarpé de manière qu’on ne pouvoit monter au haut par aucun endroit.

Les cavaliers, grands, puissans, tous bien montés et bien armés, arrivèrent près du rocher, où ils mirent pied à terre; et Ali Baba, qui en compta quarante, à leur mine et a leur équipement, ne douta pas qu’ils ne fussent des voleurs. Il ne se trompoit pas: en effet, c’étoient des voleurs, qui, sans faire aucun tort aux environs, alloient exercer leurs brigandages bien loin, et avoient là leur rendez-vous; et ce qu’il les vit faire, le confirma dans cette opinion.

Chaque cavalier débrida son cheval, l’attacha, lui passa au cou un sac plein d’orge qu’il avoit apporté sur la croupe, et ils se chargèrent chacun de leur valise; et la plupart des valises parurent si pesantes à Ali Baba, qu’il jugea qu’elles étoient pleines d’or et d’argent monnoyé.

Le plus apparent, chargé de sa valise comme les autres, qu’Ali Baba prit pour le capitaine des voleurs, s’approcha du rocher, fort près du gros arbre où il s’étoit réfugié; et après qu’il se fut fait chemin au travers de quelques arbrisseaux, il prononça ces paroles si distinctement, Sésame, ouvre-toi, qu’Ali Baba les entendit. Dès que le capitaine des voleurs les eut prononcées, une porte s’ouvrit; et après qu’il eut fait passer tous ses gens devant lui, et qu’ils furent tous entrés, il entra aussi, et la porte se ferma.

Les voleurs demeurèrent long-temps dans le rocher; et Ali Baba qui craignoit que quelqu’un d’eux, ou que tous ensemble ne sortissent s’il quittoit son poste pour se sauver, fut contraint de rester sur l’arbre, et d’attendre avec patience. Il fut tenté néanmoins de descendre pour se saisir de deux chevaux, en monter un, et mener l’autre par la bride, et de gagner la ville en chassant ses trois ânes devant lui; mais l’incertitude de l’événement fit qu’il prit le parti le plus sûr.

La porte se rouvrit enfin, les quarante voleurs sortirent; et au lieu que le capitaine étoit entré le dernier, il sortit le premier, et après les avoir vus défiler devant lui. Ali Baba entendit qu’il fit refermer la porte, en prononçant ces paroles: Sésame, referme-toi. Chacun retourna à son cheval, le rebrida, rattacha sa valise, et remonta dessus. Quand ce capitaine enfin vit qu’ils étoient tous prêts à partir, il se mit à la tête, et il reprit avec eux le chemin par où ils étoient venus.

### Open Sesame

Ali Baba ne descendit pas de l’arbre d’abord; il dit en lui-même: « Ils peuvent avoir oublié quelque chose à les obliger de revenir, et je me trouverois attrapé si cela arrivoit. » Il les conduisit de l’œil jusqu’à ce qu’il les eut perdus de vue, et il ne descendit que long-temps après, pour plus grande sûreté. Comme il avoit retenu les paroles par lesquelles le capitaine des voleurs avoit fait ouvrir et refermer la porte, il eut la curiosité d’éprouver si en les prononçant elles feroient le même effet. Il passa au travers des arbrisseaux, et il aperçut la porte qu’ils cachoient. Il se présenta devant, et dit: Sésame, ouvre-toi, et dans l’instant la porte s’ouvrit toute grande.

Ali Baba s’étoit attendu à voir un lieu de ténèbres et d’obscurité; mais il fut surpris d’en voir un bien éclairé, vaste et spacieux, creusé, de main d’homme, en voûte fort élevée qui recevoit la lumière du haut du rocher, par une ouverture pratiquée de même. Il vit de grandes provisions de bouche, des ballots de riches marchandises en piles, des étoffes de soie et de brocard, des tapis de grand prix, et sur-tout de l’or et de l’argent monnoyé par tas, et dans des sacs ou grandes bourses de cuir les unes sur autres; et à voir toutes ces choses, il lui parut qu’il y avoit non pas de longues années, mais des siècles que cette grotte servoit de retraite à des voleurs qui avoient succédé les uns aux autres.

Ali Baba ne balança pas sur le parti qu’il devoit prendre: il entra dans la grotte, et dès qu’il y fut entré, la porte se referma; mais cela ne l’inquiéta pas: il savoit le secret de la faire ouvrir. Il ne s’attacha pas à l’argent, mais à l’or monnoyé, et particulièrement à celui qui étoit dans des sacs. Il en enleva à plusieurs fois autant qu’il pouvoit en porter et en quantité suffisante pour faire la charge de ses trois ânes. Il rassembla ses ânes qui étoient dispersés; et quand il les eut fait approcher du rocher, il les chargea des sacs; et pour les cacher, il accommoda du bois par-dessus, de manière qu’on ne pouvoit les apercevoir. Quand il eut achevé, il se présenta devant la porte; et il n’eut pas prononcé ces paroles: Sésame, referme-toi, qu’elle se referma; car elle s’étoit fermée d’elle-même chaque fois qu’il y étoit entré, et étoit demeurée ouverte chaque fois qu’il en étoit sorti.

Cela fait, Ali Baba reprit le chemin de la ville; et en arrivant chez lui, il fit entrer ses ânes dans une petite cour, et referma la porte avec grand soin. Il mit bas le peu de bois qui couvrait les sacs, et il porta dans sa maison les sacs qu’il posa et arrangea devant sa femme qui étoit assise sur un sofa.

Sa femme mania les sacs; et comme elle se fut aperçue qu’ils étoient pleins d’argent, elle soupçonna son mari de les avoir volés; de sorte que quand il eut achevé de les apporter tous, elle ne put s’empêcher de lui dire:

« Ali Baba, seriez-vous assez malheureux pour… »

Ali Baba l’interrompit.

« Paix, ma femme, dit-il, ne vous alarmez pas, je ne suis pas voleur, à moins que ce ne soit l’être que de prendre sur les voleurs. Vous cesserez d’avoir cette mauvaise opinion de moi quand je vous aurai raconté ma bonne fortune. »

Il vuida les sacs, qui firent un gros tas d’or dont sa femme fut éblouie; et quand il eut fait, il lui fit le récit de son aventure, depuis le commencement jusqu’à la fin; et en achevant, il lui recommanda sur toute chose de garder le secret.

La femme, revenue et guérie de son épouvante, se réjouit avec son mari du bonheur qui leur étoit arrivé, et elle voulut compter, pièce par pièce, tout l’or qui étoit devant elle.

« Ma femme, lui dit Ali Baba, vous n’êtes pas sage: que prétendez-vous faire? Quand auriez-vous achevé de compter? Je vais creuser une fosse et l’enfouir dedans; nous n’avons pas de temps à perdre. »

« Il est bon, reprit la femme, que nous sachions au moins à-peu-près la quantité qu’il y en a. Je vais chercher une petite mesure dans le voisinage, et je le mesurerai pendant que vous creuserez la fosse. »

« Ma femme, repartit Ali Baba, ce que vous voulez faire, n’est bon à rien; vous vous en abstiendriez si vous vouliez me croire. Faites néanmoins ce qu’il vous plaira; mais souvenez-vous de garder le secret. »

### The Borrowed Measure

Pour se satisfaire, la femme d’Ali Baba sort, et elle va chez Cassim, son beau-frère, qui ne demeuroit pas loin. Cassim n’étoit pas chez lui, et à son défaut, elle s’adresse à sa femme, qu’elle prie de lui prêter une mesure pour quelques momens. La belle-sœur lui demanda si elle la vouloit grande ou petite, et la femme d’Ali Baba lui en demanda une petite.

« Très-volontiers, dit la belle-sœur; attendez un moment, je vais vous l’apporter. »

La belle-sœur va chercher la mesure, elle la trouve; mais comme elle connoissoit la pauvreté d’Ali Baba, curieuse de savoir quelle sorte de grain sa femme vouloit mesurer, elle s’avisa d’appliquer adroitement du suif au-dessous de la mesure, et elle y en appliqua. Elle revint, et en la présentant à la femme d’Ali Baba, elle s’excusa de l’avoir fait attendre sur ce qu’elle avoit eu de la peine à la trouver.

La femme d’Ali Baba revint chez elle; elle posa la mesure sur le tas d’or, l’emplit et la vuida un peu plus loin sur le sofa, jusqu’à ce qu’elle eût achevé, et elle fut contente du bon nombre de mesures qu’elle en trouva, dont elle fit part à son mari qui venoit d’achever de creuser la fosse.

Pendant qu’Ali Baba enfouit l’or, sa femme, pour marquer son exactitude et sa diligence à sa belle-sœur, lui reporte sa mesure; mais sans prendre garde qu’une pièce d’or s’étoit attachée au-dessous.

« Belle-sœur, dit-elle en la rendant, vous voyez que je n’ai pas gardé long-temps votre mesure; je vous en suis bien obligée, je vous la rends. »

La femme d’Ali Baba n’eut pas tourné le dos, que la femme de Cassim regarda la mesure par le dessous; et elle fut dans un étonnement inexprimable d’y voir une pièce d’or attachée. L’envie s’empara de son cœur dans le moment.

« Quoi, dit-elle, Ali Baba a de l’or par mesure! Et où le misérable a-t-il pris cet or? »

Cassim son mari n’étoit pas à la maison, comme nous l’avons dit; il étoit à sa boutique, d’où il ne devoit revenir que le soir. Tout le temps qu’il se fit attendre fut un siècle pour elle, dans la grande impatience où elle étoit de lui apprendre une nouvelle dont il ne devoit pas être moins surpris qu’elle.

À l’arrivée de Cassim chez lui: « Cassim, lui dit sa femme, vous croyez être riche, vous vous trompez: Ali Baba l’est infiniment plus que vous; il ne compte pas son or comme vous, il le mesure. »

Cassim demanda l’explication de cette énigme, et elle lui en donna l’éclaircissement en lui apprenant de quelle adresse elle s’étoit servie pour faire cette découverte, et elle lui montra la pièce de monnoie qu’elle avoit trouvée attachée au-dessous de la mesure: pièce si ancienne, que le nom du prince qui y étoit marqué lui étoit inconnu.

### Cassim in the Cave

Loin d’être sensible au bonheur qui pouvoit être arrivé à son frère pour se tirer de la misère, Cassim en conçut une jalousie mortelle. Il en passa presque la nuit sans dormir. Le lendemain il alla chez lui, que le soleil n’étoit pas levé. Il ne le traita pas de frère: il avoit oublié ce nom depuis qu’il avoit épousé la riche veuve.

« Ali Baba, dit-il en l’abordant, vous êtes bien réservé dans vos affaires, vous faites le pauvre, le misérable, le gueux; et vous mesurez l’or! »

« Mon frère, reprit Ali Baba, je ne sais de quoi vous voulez me parler? Expliquez-vous. »

« Ne faites pas l’ignorant, repartit Cassim » Et en lui montrant la pièce d’or que sa femme lui avoit mise entre les mains: « Combien avez-vous de pièces, ajouta-t-il, semblables à celle-ci que ma femme a trouvée attachée au-dessous de la mesure que la vôtre vint lui emprunter hier? »

À ce discours, Ali Baba connut que Cassim, et la femme de Cassim (par un entêtement de sa propre femme), savoient déjà ce qu’il avoit un si grand intérêt de tenir caché; mais la faute étoit faite: elle ne pouvoit se réparer. Sans donner à son frère la moindre marque d’étonnement ni de chagrin, il lui avoua la chose, et il lui raconta par quel hasard il avoit découvert la retraite des voleurs, et en quel endroit; et il lui offrit, s’il vouloit garder le secret, de lui faire part du trésor.

« Je le prétends bien ainsi, reprit Cassim d’un air fier; mais, ajouta-t-il, je veux savoir aussi où est précisément ce trésor, les enseignes, les marques, et comment je pourrois y entrer moi-même, s’il m’en prenoit envie; autrement je vais vous dénoncer à la justice. Si vous le refusez, non-seulement vous n’aurez plus à en espérer, vous perdrez même ce que vous avez enlevé, au lieu que j’en aurai ma part pour vous avoir dénoncé. »

Ali Baba, plutôt par son bon naturel, qu’intimidé par les menaces insolentes d’un frère barbare, l’instruisit pleinement de ce qu’il souhaitait, et même des paroles dont il falloit qu’il se servît, tant pour entrer dans la grotte, que pour en sortir.

Cassim n’en demanda pas davantage à Ali Baba. Il le quitta, résolu de le prévenir; et plein d’espérance de s’emparer du trésor lui seul, il part le lendemain de grand matin, avant la pointe du jour, avec dix mulets chargés de grands coffres, qu’il se propose de remplir, en se réservant d’en mener un plus grand nombre dans un second voyage, à proportion des charges qu’il trouveroit dans la grotte. Il prend le chemin qu’Ali Baba lui avoit enseigné; il arrive près du rocher, et il reconnoît les enseignes, et l’arbre sur lequel Ali Baba s’étoit caché. Il cherche la porte, il la trouve; et pour la faire ouvrir, il prononce les paroles: Sésame, ouvre-toi. La porte s’ouvre, il entre, et aussitôt elle se referme. En examinant la grotte, il est dans une grande admiration de voir beaucoup plus de richesses qu’il ne l’avoit compris par le récit d’Ali Baba; et son admiration augmente à mesure qu’il examine chaque chose en particulier. Avare et amateur des richesses, comme il l’étoit, il eût passé la journée à se repaître les yeux de la vue de tant d’or, s’il n’eût songé qu’il étoit venu pour l’enlever et pour en charger ses dix mulets. Il en prend un nombre de sacs, autant qu’il en peut porter; et en venant à la porte pour la faire ouvrir, l’esprit rempli de toute autre idée que ce qui lui importoit davantage, il se trouve qu’il oublie le mot nécessaire, et au lieu de Sésame, il dit: Orge, ouvre-toi; et il est bien étonné de voir que la porte, loin de s’ouvrir, demeure fermée. Il nomme plusieurs autres noms de grains, autres que celui qu’il falloit, et la porte ne s’ouvre pas.

Cassim ne s’attendoit pas à cet événement. Dans le grand danger où il se voit, la frayeur se saisit de sa personne, et plus il fait d’efforts pour se souvenir du mot de Sésame, plus il embrouille sa mémoire, et bientôt ce mot est pour lui absolument comme si jamais il n’en avoit entendu parler. Il jette par terre les sacs dont il étoit chargé, il se promène à grands pas dans la grotte, tantôt d’un côté, tantôt de l’autre, et toutes les richesses dont il se voit environné ne le touchent plus. Laissons Cassim déplorant son sort, il ne mérite pas de compassion.

Les voleurs revinrent à leur grotte vers le midi; et quand ils furent à peu de distance, et qu’ils eurent vu les mulets de Cassim autour du rocher, chargés de coffres, inquiets de cette nouveauté, ils avancèrent à toute bride, et firent prendre la fuite aux dix mulets que Cassim avoit négligé d’attacher, et qui paissoient librement; de manière qu’ils se dispersèrent de çà et de là dans la forêt, si loin qu’ils les eurent bientôt perdus de vue.

Les voleurs ne se donnèrent par la peine de courir après les mulets: il leur importoit davantage de trouver celui à qui ils appartenoient. Pendant que quelques-uns tournent autour du rocher pour le chercher, le capitaine, avec les autres, met pied à terre et va droit à la porte le sabre à la main, prononce les paroles, et la porte s’ouvre.

Cassim qui entendit le bruit des chevaux du milieu de la grotte, ne douta pas de l’arrivée des voleurs, non plus que de sa perte prochaine. Résolu au moins à faire un effort pour échapper de leurs mains, et se sauver, il s’étoit tenu prêt à se jeter dehors dès que la porte s’ouvriroit. Il ne la vit pas plutôt ouverte, après avoir entendu prononcer le mot de Sésame, qui étoit échappé de sa mémoire, qu’il s’élança en sortant si brusquement, qu’il renversa le capitaine par terre. Mais il n’échappa pas aux autres voleurs, qui avoient aussi le sabre à la main, et qui lui otèrent la vie sur-le-champ.

Le premier soin des voleurs après cette exécution, fut d’entrer dans la grotte: ils trouvèrent près de la porte, les sacs que Cassim avoit commencé d’enlever pour les emporter, et en charger ses mulets; et ils les remirent à leur place sans s’apercevoir de ceux qu’Ali Baba avoit emportés auparavant. En tenant conseil et en délibérant ensemble sur cet événement, ils comprirent bien comment Cassim avoit pu sortir de la grotte; mais qu’il y eût pu entrer, c’est ce qu’ils ne pouvoient s’imaginer. Il leur vint en pensée qu’il pouvoit être descendu par le haut de la grotte; mais l’ouverture par où le jour y venoit, étoit si élevée, et le haut du rocher étoit si inaccessible par dehors, outre que rien ne leur marquoit qu’il l’eût fait, qu’ils tombèrent d’accord que cela étoit hors de leur connoissance. Qu’il fût entré par la porte, c’est ce qu’ils ne pouvoient se persuader, à moins qu’il n’eût eu le secret de la faire ouvrir; mais ils tenoient pour certain qu’ils étaient les seuls qui l’avoient, en quoi ils se trompoient, en ignorant qu’ils avoient été épiés par Ali Baba qui le savoit.

De quelque manière que la chose fût arrivée, comme il s’agissoit que leurs richesses communes fussent en sûreté, ils convinrent de faire quatre quartiers du cadavre de Cassim, et de le mettre près de la porte en dedans de la grotte, deux d’un côté, deux de l’autre, pour épouvanter quiconque auroit la hardiesse de faire une pareille entreprise; sauf à ne revenir dans la grotte que dans quelque temps, après que la puanteur du cadavre seroit exhalée. Cette résolution prise, ils l’exécutèrent; et quand ils n’eurent plus rien qui les arrêtât, ils laissèrent le lieu de leur retraite bien fermé, remontèrent à cheval, et allèrent battre la campagne sur les routes fréquentées par les caravanes, pour les attaquer et exercer leurs brigandages accoutumés.

### Ali Baba Brings His Brother Home

La femme de Cassim cependant fut dans une grande inquiétude quand elle vit qu’il étoit nuit close et que son mari n’étoit pas revenu. Elle alla chez Ali Baba tout alarmée, et elle dit: « Beau-frère, vous n’ignorez pas, comme je le crois, que Cassim votre frère est allé à la forêt, et pour quel sujet. Il n’est pas encore revenu, et voilà la nuit avancée; je crains que quelque malheur ne lui soit arrivé. »

Ali Baba s’étoit douté de ce voyage de son frère, après le discours qu’il lui avoit tenu; et ce fut pour cela qu’il s’étoit abstenu d’aller à la forêt ce jour là, afin de ne lui pas donner d’ombrage. Sans lui faire aucun reproche dont elle pût s’offenser, ni son mari, s’il eût été vivant, il lui dit qu’elle ne devoit pas encore s’alarmer, et que Cassim apparemment avoit jugé à propos de ne rentrer dans la ville que bien avant dans la nuit.

La femme de Cassim le crut ainsi, d’autant plus facilement, qu’elle considéra combien il étoit important que son mari fit la chose secrètement. Elle retourna chez elle, et elle attendit patiemment jusqu’à minuit. Mais après cela ses alarmes redoublèrent avec une douleur d’autant plus sensible, qu’elle ne pouvoit la faire éclater, ni la soulager par des cris dont elle vit bien que la cause devoit être cachée au voisinage. Alors, si sa faute étoit irréparable, elle se repentit de la folle curiosité qu’elle avoit eue, par une envie condamnable de pénétrer dans les affaires de son beau-frère et de sa belle-sœur. Elle passa la nuit dans les pleurs; et dès la pointe du jour elle courut chez eux, et elle leur annonça le sujet qui l’amenoit, plutôt par ses larmes que par ses paroles.

Ali Baba n’attendit pas que sa belle-sœur le priât de se donner la peine d’aller voir ce que Cassim étoit devenu. Il partit sur-le-champ avec ses trois ânes, après lui avoir recommandé de modérer son affliction, et il alla à la forêt. En approchant du rocher, après n’avoir vu dans le chemin ni son frère, ni les dix mulets, il fut étonné du sang répandu qu’il aperçut près de la porte, et il en prit un mauvais augure. Il se présenta devant la porte, il prononça les paroles, elle s’ouvrit; et il fut frappé du triste spectacle du corps de son frère mis en quatre quartiers. Il n’hésita pas sur le parti qu’il devoit prendre, pour rendre les derniers devoirs à son frère, en oubliant le peu d’amitié fraternelle qu’il avoit eue pour lui. Il trouva dans la grotte de quoi faire deux paquets des quatre quartiers, dont il fit la charge d’un de ses ânes, avec du bois pour les cacher. Il chargea les deux autres ânes de sacs pleins d’or et de bois par-dessus, comme la première fois, sans perdre de temps; et dès qu’il eut achevé, et qu’il eut commandé à la porte de se refermer, il reprit le chemin de la ville; mais il eut la précaution de s’arrêter à la sortie de la forêt, assez de temps pour n’y rentrer que de nuit. En arrivant, il ne fit entrer chez lui que les deux ânes chargés d’or; et après avoir laissé à sa femme le soin de les décharger, et lui avoir fait part en peu de mots de ce qui étoit arrivé à Cassim, il conduisit l’autre âne chez sa belle-sœur.

Ali Baba frappa à la porte, qui lui fut ouverte par Morgiane: cette Morgiane étoit une esclave adroite, entendue, et féconde en inventions pour faire réussir les choses les plus difficiles; et Ali Baba la connoissoit pour telle. Quand il fut entré dans la cour, il déchargea l’âne du bois et des deux paquets; et en prenant Morgiane à part: « Morgiane, dit-il, la première chose que je te demande, c’est un secret inviolable: tu vas voir combien il nous est nécessaire autant à ta maîtresse qu’à moi. Voilà le corps de ton maître dans ces deux paquets, il s’agit de le faire enterrer comme s’il étoit mort de sa mort naturelle. Fais-moi parler à ta maîtresse, et sois attentive à ce que je lui dirai. »

Morgiane avertit sa maîtresse, et Ali Baba qui la suivoit, entra.

« Hé bien, beau-frère, demanda la belle-sœur à Ali Baba avec grande impatience, quelle nouvelle apportez-vous de mon mari? Je n’aperçois rien sur votre visage qui doive me consoler. »

« Belle-sœur, répondit Ali Baba, je ne puis vous rien dire, qu’auparavant vous ne me promettiez de m’écouter depuis le commencement jusqu’à la fin sans ouvrir la bouche. Il ne vous est pas moins important qu’à moi, dans ce qui est arrivé, de garder un grand secret pour votre bien, et pour votre repos. »

« Ah, s’écria la belle-sœur sans élever la voix, ce préambule me fait connoître que mon mari n’est plus; mais en même temps je connois la nécessité du secret que vous me demandez. Il faut bien que je me fasse violence: dites, je vous écoute. »

Ali Baba raconta à sa belle-sœur, tout le succès de son voyage jusqu’à son arrivée avec le corps de Cassim.

« Belle-sœur, ajouta-t-il, voilà un sujet d’affliction pour vous d’autant plus grand que vous vous y attendiez moins. Quoique le mal soit sans remède, si quelque chose néanmoins est capable de vous consoler, je vous offre de joindre le peu de bien que Dieu m’a envoyé au vôtre, en vous épousant, et en vous assurant que ma femme n’en sera pas jalouse, et que vous vivrez bien ensemble. Si la proposition vous agrée, il faut songer à faire en sorte qu’il paroisse que mon frère est mort de sa mort naturelle; et c’est un soin dont il me semble que vous pouvez vous reposer sur Morgiane, et j’y contribuerai de mon côté de tout ce qui sera en mon pouvoir. »

Quel meilleur parti pouvoit prendre la veuve de Cassim, que celui qu’Ali Baba lui proposoit, elle qui, avec les biens qui lui demeuroient par la mort de son premier mari, en trouvoit un autre plus riche qu’elle; et qui, par la découverte du trésor qu’il avoit faite, pouvoit le devenir davantage? Elle ne refusa pas le parti, elle le regarda au contraire comme un motif raisonnable de consolation. En essuyant ses larmes qu’elle avoit commencé de verser en abondance, en supprimant les cris perçans ordinaires aux femmes qui ont perdu leurs maris, elle témoigna suffisamment à Ali Baba qu’elle acceptoit son offre.

Ali Baba laissa la veuve de Cassim dans cette disposition; et après avoir recommandé à Morgiane de bien s’acquitter de son personnage, il retourna chez lui avec son âne.

### Morgiana and the Cobbler

Morgiane ne s’oublia pas; et elle sortit en même temps qu’Ali Baba, et alla chez un apothicaire qui étoit dans le voisinage: elle frappe à la boutique, on ouvre, elle demande d’une sorte de tablette très-salutaire dans les maladies les plus dangereuses. L’apothicaire lui en donna pour l’argent qu’elle avoit présenté, en demandant qui étoit malade chez son maître?

« Ah, dit-elle avec un grand soupir, c’est Cassim lui-même, mon bon maître! On n’entend rien à sa maladie, il ne parle, ni ne peut manger. »

Avec ces paroles, elle emporte les tablettes dont véritablement Cassim n’étoit plus en état de faire usage.

Le lendemain, la même Morgiane vient chez le même apothicaire, et demande, les larmes aux yeux, d’une essence dont on avoit coutume de ne faire prendre aux malades qu’à la dernière extrémité; et on n’espéroit rien de leur vie, si cette essence ne les faisoit revivre.

« Hélas, dit-elle avec une grande affliction, en la recevant des mains de l’apothicaire, je crains fort que ce remède ne fasse pas plus d’effet que les tablettes! Ah, que je perds un bon maître! »

D’un autre côté, comme on vit toute la journée Ali Baba et sa femme d’un air triste faire plusieurs allées et venues chez Cassim, on ne fut pas étonné sur le soir d’entendre des cris lamentables de la femme de Cassim, et sur-tout de Morgiane, qui annonçoient que Cassim étoit mort.

Le jour suivant de grand matin, le jour ne faisoit que commencer à paroître, Morgiane qui savoit qu’il y avoit sur la place un bon homme de savetier fort vieux, qui ouvroit tous les jours sa boutique le premier, long-temps avant les autres, sort, et va le trouver. En l’abordant, et en lui donnant le bonjour, elle lui mit une pièce d’or dans la main.

Baba Moustafa, connu de tout le monde sous ce nom, Baba Moustafa, dis-je, qui étoit naturellement gai, et qui avoit toujours le mot pour rire, en regardant la pièce d’or, à cause qu’il n’étoit pas encore bien jour, et en voyant que c’était de l’or: « Bonne étrenne! Dit-il, de quoi s’agit-il? Me voilà prêt à bien faire. »

« Baba Moustafa, lui dit Morgiane, prenez ce qui vous est nécessaire pour coudre, et venez avec moi promptement; mais à condition que je vous banderai les yeux, quand nous serons dans un tel endroit. »

À ces paroles, Baba Moustafa fit le difficile.

« Oh, oh, reprit-il, vous voulez donc me faire faire quelque chose contre ma conscience, ou contre mon honneur? »

En lui mettant une autre pièce d’or dans la main: « Dieu garde, reprit Morgiane, que j’exige rien de vous, que vous ne puissiez faire en tout honneur. Venez seulement, et ne craignez rien. »

Baba Moustafa se laissa mener; et Morgiane, après lui avoir bandé les yeux avec un mouchoir à l’endroit qu’elle avoit marqué, le mena chez défunt son maître, et elle ne lui ôta le mouchoir que dans la chambre où elle avoit mis le corps, chaque quartier à sa place. Quand elle le lui eut ôté: « Baba Moustafa, dit-elle, c’est pour vous faire coudre les pièces que voilà, que je vous ai amené. Ne perdez pas de temps; et quand vous aurez fait, je vous donnerai une autre pièce d’or. »

Quand Baba Moustafa eut achevé, Morgiane lui rebanda les yeux dans la même chambre; et après lui avoir donné la troisième pièce d’or qu’elle lui avoit promise, et lui avoir recommandé le secret, elle le remena jusqu’à l’endroit où elle lui avoit bandé les yeux en l’amenant; et là, après lui avoir encore ôté le mouchoir, elle le laissa retourner chez lui; en le conduisant de vue jusqu’à ce qu’elle ne le vit plus, afin de lui ôter la curiosité de revenir sur ses pas pour l’observer elle-même.

Morgiane avoit fait chauffer de l’eau pour laver le corps de Cassim. Ainsi Ali Baba, qui arriva comme elle venoit de rentrer, le lava, le parfuma d’encens, et l’ensevelit avec les cérémonies accoutumées. Le menuisier apporta aussi la bière, qu’Ali Baba avoit pris le soin de commander.

Afin que le menuisier ne pût s’apercevoir de rien, Morgiane reçut la bière à la porte; et après l’avoir payé et renvoyé, elle aida à Ali Baba à mettre le corps dedans; et quand Ali Baba eut bien cloué les planches par-dessus, elle alla à la mosquée avertir que tout étoit prêt pour l’enterrement. Les gens de la mosquée destinés pour laver les corps morts, s’offrirent pour venir s’acquitter de leur fonction; mais elle leur dit que la chose étoit faite.

Morgiane de retour, ne faisoit que de rentrer, quand l’iman et d’autres ministres de la mosquée arrivèrent. Quatre voisins assemblés chargèrent la bière sur leurs épaules; et en suivant l’iman, qui récitoit des prières, ils la portèrent au cimetière. Morgiane en pleurs, comme esclave du défunt, suivit la tête nue, en poussant des cris pitoyables, en se frappant la poitrine de grands coups, et en s’arrachant les cheveux; et Ali Baba marchoit après, accompagné des voisins qui se détachoient tour-à-tour, de temps en temps, pour relayer et soulager les autres voisins qui portoient la bière, jusqu’à ce qu’on arrivât au cimetière.

Pour ce qui est de la femme de Cassim, elle resta dans sa maison, en se désolant et en poussant des cris lamentables avec les femmes du voisinage, qui, selon la coutume, y accoururent pendant la cérémonie de l’enterrement, et qui en joignant leurs lamentations aux siennes, remplirent tout le quartier de tristesse bien loin aux environs.

De la sorte, la mort funeste de Cassim fut cachée et dissimulée entre Ali Baba, sa femme, la veuve de Cassim et Morgiane, avec un ménagement si grand, que personne de la ville, loin d’en avoir connoissance, n’en eut pas le moindre soupçon.

Trois ou quatre jours après l’enterrement de Cassim, Ali Baba transporta le peu de meubles qu’il avoit, avec l’argent qu’il avoit enlevé du trésor des voleurs, qu’il ne porta que la nuit dans la maison de la veuve de son frère, pour s’y établir, ce qui fit connoître son nouveau mariage avec sa belle-sœur. Et comme ces sortes de mariages ne sont pas extraordinaires dans notre religion, personne n’en fut surpris.

Quant à la boutique de Cassim, Ali Baba avoit un fils, qui depuis quelque temps avoit achevé son apprentissage chez un autre gros marchand, qui avoit toujours rendu témoignage de sa bonne conduite, il la lui donna avec promesse, s’il continuoit de se gouverner sagement, qu’il ne seroit pas long-temps à le marier avantageusement selon son état.

### The Chalk Mark

Laissons Ali Baba jouir des commencemens de sa bonne fortune, et parlons des quarante voleurs. Ils revinrent à leur retraite de la forêt, dans le temps dont ils étoient convenus; mais ils furent dans un grand étonnement de ne pas trouver le corps de Cassim, et il augmenta quand ils se furent aperçus de la diminution de leurs sacs d’or.

« Nous sommes découverts et perdus, dit le capitaine, si nous n’y prenons garde. Et si nous ne cherchons promptement à y apporter le remède, insensiblement nous allons perdre tant de richesses, que nos ancêtres et nous avons amassées avec tant de peine et de fatigues. Tout ce que nous pouvons juger du dommage qu’on nous a fait, c’est que le voleur que nous avons surpris a eu le secret de faire ouvrir la porte, et que nous sommes arrivés heureusement à point nommé dans le temps qu’il en alloit sortir. Mais il n’étoit pas le seul, un autre doit l’avoir comme lui. Son corps emporté et notre trésor diminué, en sont des marques incontestables. Et comme il n’y a pas d’apparence que plus de deux personnes aient eu ce secret, après avoir fait périr l’un, il faut que nous fassions périr l’autre de même. Qu’en dites-vous, braves gens, n’êtes-vous pas de même avis que moi? »

La proposition du capitaine des voleurs fut trouvée si raisonnable par sa compagnie, qu’ils l’approuvèrent tous, et qu’ils tombèrent d’accord qu’il falloit abandonner toute autre entreprise, pour ne s’attacher uniquement qu’à celle-ci, et ne s’en départir qu’il n’y eussent réussi.

« Je n’en attendois pas moins de votre courage et de votre bravoure, reprit le capitaine; mais avant toute chose, il faut que quelqu’un de vous, hardi, adroit et entreprenant aille à la ville, sans armes, et en habit de voyageur et d’étranger, et qu’il emploie tout son savoir-faire pour découvrir si on n’y parle pas de la mort étrange de celui que nous avons massacré comme il le méritoit, qui il étoit, et en quelle maison il demeuroit? C’est ce qu’il nous est important que nous sachions d’abord, pour ne rien faire dont nous ayons lieu de nous repentir, en nous découvrant nous-mêmes dans un pays où nous sommes inconnus depuis si long-temps, et où nous avons un si grand intérêt de continuer de l’être. Mais afin d’animer celui de vous qui s’offrira pour se charger de cette commission, et l’empêcher de se tromper, en nous venant faire un rapport faux, au lieu d’un véritable qui seroit capable de causer notre ruine, je vous demande si vous ne jugez pas à propos qu’en ce cas-là il se soumette à la peine de mort. »

Sans attendre que les autres donnassent leurs suffrages: « Je m’y soumets, dit l’un des voleurs, et je fais gloire d’exposer ma vie, en me chargeant de la commission. Si je n’y réussis pas, vous vous souviendrez au moins que je n’aurai manqué ni de bonne volonté, ni de courage, pour le bien commun de la troupe. »

Ce voleur, après avoir reçu de grandes louanges du capitaine et de ses camarades, se déguisa de manière que personne ne pouvoit le prendre pour ce qu’il étoit. En se séparant de la troupe, il partit la nuit, et il prit si bien ses mesures, qu’il entra dans la ville dans le temps que le jour ne faisoit que commencer à paroître. Il avança jusqu’à la place, où il ne vit qu’une seule boutique ouverte, et c’étoit celle de Baba Moustafa.

Baba Moustafa étoit assis sur son siége, l’alêne à la main, prêt à travailler de son métier. Le voleur alla l’aborder, en lui souhaitant le bon jour; et comme il se fut aperçu de son grand âge: « Bon-homme, dit-il, vous commencez à travailler de grand matin; il n’est pas possible que vous y voyiez encore clair, âgé comme vous l’êtes; et quand il feroit plus clair, je doute que vous ayiez d’assez bons yeux pour coudre? »

« Qui que vous soyez, reprit Baba Moustafa, il faut que vous ne me connoissiez pas. Si vieux que vous me voyez, je ne laisse pas d’avoir les yeux excellens; et vous n’en douterez pas quand vous saurez qu’il n’y a pas long-temps que j’ai cousu un mort dans un lieu où il ne faisoit guère plus clair qu’il fait présentement. »

Le voleur eut une grande joie de s’être adressé en arrivant à un homme qui d’abord, comme il n’en douta pas, lui donnoit de lui-même nouvelle de ce qui l’avoit amené, sans le lui demander.

«Un mort, reprit-il avec étonnement! » Et pour le faire parler: « Pourquoi coudre un mort, ajouta-t-il? Vous voulez dire apparemment que vous avez cousu le linceul dans lequel il a été enseveli. »

« Non, non, reprit Baba Moustafa: je sais ce que je veux dire. Vous voudriez me faire parler, mais vous n’en saurez pas davantage. »

Le voleur n’avoit pas besoin d’un éclaircissement plus ample pour être persuadé qu’il avoit découvert ce qu’il étoit venu chercher. Il tira une pièce d’or; et en la mettant dans la main de Baba Moustafa, il lui dit:

« Je n’ai garde de vouloir entrer dans votre secret, quoique je puisse vous assurer que je ne le divulguerois pas, si vous me l’aviez confié. La seule chose dont je vous prie, c’est de me faire la grâce de m’enseigner, ou de venir me montrer la maison où vous avez cousu ce mort? »

« Quand j’aurois la volonté de vous accorder ce que vous me demandez, reprit Baba Moustafa, en tenant la pièce d’or prêt à la rendre, je vous assure que je ne pourrois pas le faire: vous devez m’en croire sur ma parole. En voici la raison: c’est qu’on m’a mené jusqu’à un certain endroit où l’on m’a bandé les yeux, et de là je me suis laissé conduire jusque dans la maison, d’où après avoir fait ce que je devois faire, on me ramena de la même manière jusqu’au même endroit. Vous voyez l’impossibilité qu’il y a que je puisse vous rendre service. »

« Au moins, repartit le voleur, vous devez vous souvenir à-peu-près du chemin qu’on vous a fait faire les yeux bandés. Venez, je vous prie, avec moi, je vous banderai les yeux en cet endroit-là, et nous marcherons ensemble par le même chemin et par les mêmes détours, que vous pourrez vous remettre dans la mémoire d’avoir marché; et comme toute peine mérite récompense, voici une autre pièce d’or. Venez, faites-moi le plaisir que je vous demande. » Et en disant ces paroles il lui mit une autre pièce dans la main.

Les deux pièces d’or tentèrent Baba Moustafa; il les regarda quelque temps de sa main sans dire mot, en se consultant pour savoir ce qu’il devoit faire. Il tira enfin sa bourse de son sein, et en les mettant dedans: « Je ne puis vous assurer, dit-il au voleur, que je me souvienne précisément du chemin qu’on me fit faire; mais puisque vous le voulez ainsi, allons, je ferai ce que je pourrai pour m’en souvenir. »

Baba Moustafa se leva à la grande satisfaction du voleur; et sans fermer sa boutique, où il n’y avoit rien de conséquence à perdre, il mena le voleur avec lui jusqu’à l’endroit où Morgiane lui avoit bandé les jeux. Quand ils furent arrivés: « C’est ici, dit Baba Moustafa, qu’on m’a bandé, et j’étois tourné comme vous me voyez. Le voleur qui avoit son mouchoir prêt, les lui banda, et il marcha à côté de lui, en partie en le conduisant, en partie en se laissant conduire par lui, jusqu’à ce qu’il s’arrêtât.

« Il me semble, dit Baba Moustafa, que je n’ai point passé plus loin. » Et il se trouva véritablement devant la maison de Cassim, où Ali Baba demeuroit alors. Avant de lui ôter le mouchoir de devant les yeux, le voleur fit promptement une marque à la porte avec de la craie qu’il tenoit prête; et quand il le lui eut ôté, il lui demanda s’il savoit à qui appartenoit la maison? Baba Moustafa lui répondit qu’il n’étoit pas du quartier, et ainsi qu’il ne pouvoit lui en rien dire.

Comme le voleur vit qu’il ne pouvoit apprendre rien davantage de Baba Moustafa, il le remercia de la peine qu’il lui avoit fait prendre; et après qu’il l’eut quitté et laissé retourner à sa boutique, il reprit le chemin de la forêt, persuadé qu’il seroit bien reçu.

Peu de temps après que le voleur et Baba Moustafa se furent séparés, Morgiane sortit de la maison d’Ali Baba pour quelqu’affaire; et en revenant, elle remarqua la marque que le voleur y avoit faite; elle s’arrêta pour y faire attention.

« Que signifie cette marque, dit-elle en elle-même, quelqu’un voudroit-il du mal à mon maître, ou l’a-t-on faite pour se divertir? À quelque intention qu’on l’ait pu faire, ajouta-t-elle, il est bon de se précautionner contre tout événement. »

Elle prend aussitôt de la craie; et comme les deux ou trois portes au-dessus et au-dessous étoient semblables, elle les marqua au même endroit, et elle rentra dans la maison sans parler de ce qu’elle venoit de faire, ni à son maître ni à sa maîtresse.

Le voleur cependant qui continuoit son chemin, arriva à la forêt, et rejoignit sa troupe de bonne heure. En arrivant, il fit rapport du succès de son voyage, en exagérant le bonheur qu’il avoit eu d’avoir trouvé d’abord un homme par lequel il avoit appris le fait dont il étoit venu s’informer, ce que personne que lui n’eût pu lui apprendre. Il fut écouté avec une grande satisfaction; et le capitaine, en prenant la parole, après l’avoir loué de sa diligence: « Camarades, dit-il en s’adressant à tous, nous n’avons pas de temps à perdre, partons bien armés, sans qu’il paroisse que nous le soyons; et quand nous serons entrés dans la ville séparément, les uns après les autres, pour ne pas donner de soupçon, que le rendez-vous soit dans la grande place, les uns d’un côté, les autres de l’autre, pendant que j’irai reconnoître la maison avec notre camarade, qui vient de nous apporter une si bonne nouvelle, afin que là-dessus je juge du parti qui nous conviendra le mieux. »

Le discours du capitaine des voleurs fut applaudi, et ils furent bientôt en état de partir. Ils défilèrent deux à deux, trois à trois; et en marchant à une distance raisonnable les uns des autres, ils entrèrent dans la ville sans donner aucun soupçon. Le capitaine et celui qui étoit venu le matin, y entrèrent les derniers. Celui-ci mena le capitaine dans la rue où il avoit marqué la maison d’Ali Baba; et quand il fut devant une des portes qui avoit été marquée par Morgiane, il la lui fit remarquer, en lui disant que c’étoit celle-là. Mais en continuant leur chemin sans s’arrêter, afin de ne pas se rendre suspects, comme le capitaine eut observé que la porte qui suivoit étoit marquée de la même marque et au même endroit, il le fit remarquer à son conducteur, et il lui demanda si c’étoit celle-ci ou la première? Le conducteur demeura confus, et il ne sut que répondre, encore moins quand il eut vu avec le capitaine que les quatre ou cinq portes qui suivoient, avoient aussi la même marque. Il assura au capitaine, avec serment, qu’il n’en avoit marqué qu’une.

« Je ne sais, ajouta-t-il, qui peut avoir marqué les autres avec tant de ressemblance; mais dans cette confusion, j’avoue que je ne peux distinguer laquelle est celle que j’ai marquée. »

### The Captain Finds the House

Le capitaine qui vit son dessein avorté, se rendit à la grande place, ou il fit dire à ses gens par le premier qu’il rencontra, qu’ils avoient perdu leur peine et fait un voyage inutile, et qu’ils n’avoient d’autre parti à prendre que de reprendre le chemin de leur retraite commune. Il en donna l’exemple, et ils le suivirent tous dans le même ordre qu’ils étoient venus.

Quand la troupe se fut rassemblée dans la forêt, le capitaine leur expliqua la raison pourquoi il les avoit fait revenir. Aussitôt le conducteur fut déclaré digne de mort tout d’une voix, et il s’y condamna lui-même, en reconnoissant qu’il auroit dû prendre mieux ses précautions, et il présenta le col avec fermeté à celui qui se présenta pour lui couper la tête.

Comme il s’agissoit, pour la conservation de la bande, de ne pas laisser sans vengeance le tort qui lui avoit été fait, un autre voleur, qui se promit de mieux réussir que celui qui venoit d’être châtié, se présenta, et demanda en grâce d’être préféré. Il est écouté. Il marche; il corrompt Baba Moustafa, comme le premier l’avoit corrompu, et Baba Moustafa lui fait connoître la maison d’Ali Baba les yeux bandés. Il la marque de rouge dans un endroit moins apparent, en comptant que c’étoit un moyen sûr pour la distinguer d’avec celles qui étoient marquées de blanc.

Mais peu de temps après, Morgiane sortit de la maison comme le jour précédent; et quand elle revint, la marque rouge n’échappa pas à ses yeux clairvoyans. Elle fit le même raisonnement qu’elle avoit fait, et elle ne manqua pas de faire la même marque de crayon rouge aux autres portes voisines et aux mêmes endroits.

Le voleur à son retour vers sa troupe dans la forêt, ne manqua pas de faire valoir la précaution qu’il avoit prise comme infaillible, disoit-il, pour ne pas confondre la maison d’Ali Baba avec les autres. Le capitaine et ses gens croient avec lui que la chose doit réussir. Ils se rendent à la ville dans le même ordre et avec les mêmes soins qu’auparavant, armés aussi de même, prêts à faire le coup qu’ils méditoient; et le capitaine et le voleur, en arrivant, vont à la rue d’Ali Baba; mais ils trouvent la même difficulté que la première fois. Le capitaine en est indigné, et le voleur dans une confusion aussi grande que celui qui l’avoit précédé avec la même commission.

Ainsi le capitaine fut contraint de se retirer encore ce jour-là avec ses gens, aussi peu satisfait que le jour d’auparavant. Le voleur, comme auteur de la méprise, subit pareillement le châtiment auquel il s’étoit soumis volontairement.

» Le capitaine qui vit sa troupe diminuée de deux braves sujets, craignit de la voir diminuer davantage s’il continuoit de s’en rapporter à d’autres pour être informé au vrai de la maison d’Ali Baba. Leur exemple lui fit connoître qu’ils n’étoient propres, tous, qu’à des coups de main et nullement à agir de tête dans les occasions. Il se chargea de la chose lui-même; il vint à la ville, et avec l’aide de Baba Moustafa, qui lui rendit le même service qu’aux deux députés de sa troupe, il ne s’amusa pas à faire aucune marque pour connoître la maison d’Ali Baba; mais il l’examina si bien, non-seulement en la considérant attentivement, mais même en passant et en repassant à diverses fois par-devant, qu’il n’étoit pas possible qu’il s’y méprît.

Le capitaine des voleurs, satisfait de son voyage, et instruit de ce qu’il avoit souhaité, retourna à la forêt; et quand il fut arrivé dans la grotte, où sa troupe l’attendoit: « Camarades, dit-il, rien enfin ne peut plus nous empêcher de prendre une pleine vengeance du dommage qui nous a été fait. Je connois avec certitude la maison du coupable sur qui elle doit tomber; et dans le chemin, j’ai songé aux moyens de la lui faire sentir si adroitement, que personne ne pourra avoir connoissance du lieu de notre retraite, non plus que de notre trésor; car c’est le but que nous devons avoir dans notre entreprise, autrement, au lieu de nous être utile, elle nous seroit funeste. Pour parvenir à ce but, continua le capitaine, voici ce que j’ai imaginé. Quand je vous l’aurai exposé, si quelqu’un sait un expédient meilleur, il pourra le communiquer. »

Alors il leur expliqua de quelle manière il prétendoit s’y comporter; et comme ils lui eurent tous donné leur approbation, il les chargea, en se partageant dans les bourgs et dans les villages d’alentour, et même dans les villes, d’acheter des mulets, jusqu’au nombre de dix-neuf, et trente-huit grands vases de cuir à transporter de l’huile, l’un plein, et les autres vuides.

### The Oil Merchant

En deux ou trois jours de temps, les voleurs eurent fait tout cet amas. Comme les vases vuides étoient un peu étroits par la bouche pour l’exécution de son dessein, le capitaine les fit un peu élargir; et après avoir fait entrer un de ses gens dans chacun avec les armes qu’il avoit jugées nécessaires, en laissant ouvert ce qu’il avoit fait découdre, afin de leur laisser la respiration libre, il les ferma de manière qu’ils paroissoient pleins d’huile; et pour les mieux déguiser, il les frotta par le dehors d’huile, qu’il prit du vase qui en étoit plein.

Les choses ainsi disposées, quand les mulets furent chargés des trente-sept voleurs, sans y comprendre le capitaine, chacun caché dans un des vases, et du vase qui étoit plein d’huile, leur capitaine, comme conducteur, prit le chemin de la ville, dans le temps qu’il avoit résolu, et y arriva à la brune, environ une heure après le coucher du soleil, comme il se l’étoit proposé. Il y entra, et il alla droit à la maison d’Ali Baba, dans le dessein de frapper à la porte, et de demander à y passer la nuit avec ses mulets, sous le bon plaisir du maître. Il n’eut pas la peine de frapper: il trouva Ali Baba à la porte qui prenoit le frais après le soupé. Il fit arrêter ses mulets; et en s’adressant à Ali Baba: « Seigneur, dit-il, j’amène l’huile que vous voyez, de bien loin, pour la vendre demain au marché; et à l’heure qu’il est, je ne sais où aller loger. Si cela ne vous incommode pas, faites-moi le plaisir de me recevoir chez vous pour y passer la nuit: je vous en aurai obligation. »

Quoiqu’Ali Baba eût vu dans la forêt celui qui lui parloit, et même entendu sa voix, comment eût-il pu le reconnoître pour le capitaine des quarante voleurs, sous le déguisement d’un marchand d’huile?

« Vous êtes le bien-venu, lui dit-il, entrez. » Et en disant ces paroles, il lui fit place pour le laisser entrer avec ses mulets, comme il le fit.

En même temps, Ali Baba appela un esclave qu’il avoit, et lui commanda, quand les mulets seroient déchargés, de les mettre non-seulement à couvert dans l’écurie, mais même de leur donner du foin et de l’orge. Il prit aussi la peine d’entrer dans la cuisine, et d’ordonner à Morgiane d’apprêter promptement à souper pour l’hôte qui venoit d’arriver, et de lui préparer un lit dans une chambre.

Ali Baba fit plus: pour faire à son hôte tout l’accueil possible, quand il vit que le capitaine des voleurs avoit déchargé ses mulets, que les mulets avoient été menés dans l’écurie, comme il l’avoit commandé, et qu’il cherchoit une place pour passer la nuit à l’air, il alla le prendre pour le faire entrer dans la salle où il recevoit son monde, en lui disant qu’il ne souffriroit pas qu’il couchât dans la cour. Le capitaine des voleurs s’en excusa fort, sous prétexte de ne vouloir pas être incommode, mais, dans le vrai, pour avoir lieu d’exécuter ce qu’il méditait avec plus de liberté; et il ne céda aux honnêtetés d’Ali Baba qu’après de fortes instances.

Ali Baba, non content de tenir compagnie à celui qui en vouloit à sa vie, jusqu’à ce que Morgiane lui eût servi le soupé, continua de l’entretenir de plusieurs choses qu’il crut pouvoir lui faire plaisir, et il ne le quitta que quand il eut achevé le repas dont il l’avoit régalé.

« Je vous laisse le maître, lui dit-il: vous n’avez qu’à demander toutes les choses dont vous pouvez avoir besoin, il n’y a rien chez moi qui ne soit à votre service. »

Le capitaine des voleurs se leva en même temps qu’Ali Baba, et l’accompagna jusqu’à la porte; et pendant qu’Ali Baba alla dans la cuisine pour parler à Morgiane, il entra dans la cour, sous prétexte d’aller à l’écurie voir si rien ne manquoit à ses mulets.

Ali Baba, après avoir recommandé de nouveau à Morgiane de prendre un grand soin de son hôte, et de ne le laisser manquer de rien: « Morgiane, ajouta-t-il, je t’avertis que demain je vais au bain avant le jour; prends soin que mon linge de bain soit prêt, et de le donner à Abdalla (c’étoit le nom de son esclave), et fais-moi un bon bouillon, pour le prendre à mon retour. »

Après lui avoir donné ces ordres, il se retira pour se coucher.

Le capitaine des voleurs, cependant, à la sortie de l’écurie, alla donner à ses gens l’ordre de ce qu’ils devoient faire. En commençant depuis le premier vase jusqu’au dernier, il dit à chacun:

« Quand je jetterai de petites pierres de la chambre où l’on me loge, ne manquez pas de vous faire ouverture, en fendant le vase depuis le haut jusqu’en bas, avec le couteau dont vous êtes muni, et d’en sortir: aussitôt je serai à vous. »

Le couteau dont il parloit étoit pointu et affilé pour cet usage.

Cela fait, il revint; et comme il se fut présenté à la porte de la cuisine, Morgiane prit de la lumière, et elle le conduisit à la chambre qu’elle lui avoit préparée, où elle le laissa après lui avoir demandé s’il avoit besoin de quelqu’autre chose. Pour ne pas donner de soupçon, il éteignit la lumière peu de temps après, et il se coucha tout habillé, prêt à se lever dès qu’il auroit fait son premier somme.

Morgiane n’oublia pas les ordres d’Ali Baba: elle prépara son linge de bain, elle en charge Abdalla qui n’étoit pas encore allé se coucher, elle met le pot au feu pour le bouillon, et pendant qu’elle écume le pot, la lampe s’éteint. Il n’y avoit plus d’huile dans la maison, et la chandelle y manquoit aussi. Que faire? Elle a besoin cependant de voir clair pour écumer son pot; elle en témoigne sa peine à Abdalla.

« Te voilà bien embarrassée, lui dit Abdalla! Va prendre de l’huile dans un des vases que voilà dans la cour. »

Morgiane remercia Abdalla de l’avis, et pendant qu’il va se coucher près de la chambre d’Ali Baba, pour le suivre au bain, elle prend la cruche à l’huile et elle va dans la cour. Comme elle se fut approchée du premier vase qu’elle rencontra, le voleur qui étoit caché dedans, demanda en parlant bas: « Est-il temps? »

### The Jars of Oil

Quoique le voleur eût parlé bas, Morgiane néanmoins fut frappée de la voix d’autant plus facilement, que le capitaine des voleurs, dès qu’il eut déchargé ses mulets, avoit ouvert, non-seulement ce vase, mais même tous les autres, pour donner de l’air à ses gens, qui d’ailleurs y étoient fort mal à leur aise, sans y être cependant privés de la facilité de respirer.

Toute autre esclave que Morgiane, aussi surprise qu’elle le fut, en trouvant un homme dans un vase, au lieu d’y trouver de l’huile qu’elle cherchoit, eût fait un vacarme capable de causer de grands malheurs. Mais Morgiane étoit au-dessus de ses semblables: elle comprit en un instant l’importance de garder ce secret, le danger pressant où se trouvoit Ali Baba et sa famille, et où elle se trouvoit elle-même, et la nécessité d’y apporter promptement le remède, sans faire d’éclat; et par sa capacité elle en pénétra d’abord les moyens. Elle rentra donc en elle-même dans le moment, et sans faire paroître aucune émotion, en prenant la place du capitaine des voleurs, elle répondit à la demande, et elle dit: « Pas encore, mais bientôt. » Elle s’approcha du vase qui suivoit, et la même demande lui fut faite, et ainsi de suite, jusqu’à ce qu’elle arriva au dernier qui étoit plein d’huile; et, à la même demande, elle donna la même réponse.

Morgiane connut par-là que son maître Ali Baba, qui avoit cru ne donner à loger chez lui qu’à un marchand d’huile, y avoit donné entrée à trente-huit voleurs, en y comprenant le faux marchand leur capitaine. Elle remplit en diligence sa cruche d’huile, qu’elle prit du dernier vase; elle revint dans sa cuisine, où après avoir mis de l’huile dans la lampe et l’avoir ralumée, elle prend une grande chaudière, elle retourne à la cour où elle l’emplit de l’huile du vase. Elle la rapporte, la met sur le feu, et met dessous force bois, parce que plutôt l’huile bouillira, plutôt elle aura exécuté ce qui doit contribuer au salut commun de la maison, qui ne demande pas de retardement. L’huile bout enfin, elle prend la chaudière, et elle va verser dans chaque vase assez d’huile toute bouillante, depuis le premier jusqu’au dernier, pour les étouffer et leur ôter la vie, comme elle la leur ôta.

Cette action digne du courage de Morgiane, exécutée sans bruit, comme elle l’avoit projeté, elle revient dans la cuisine avec la chaudière vuide, et ferme la porte. Elle éteint le grand feu qu’elle avoit allumé, et elle n’en laisse qu’autant qu’il en faut pour achever de faire cuire le pot du bouillon d’Ali Baba. Ensuite elle souffle la lampe, et elle demeure dans un grand silence, résolue à ne pas se coucher qu’elle n’eût observé ce qui arriveroit, par une fenêtre de la cuisine qui donnoit sur la cour, autant que l’obscurité de la nuit pouvoit le permettre.

Il n’y avoit pas encore un quart d’heure que Morgiane attendoit, quand le capitaine des voleurs s’éveilla. Il se lève, il regarde par la fenêtre qu’il ouvre; et comme il n’aperçoit aucune lumière et qu’il voit régner un grand repos et un profond silence dans la maison, il donne le signal en jetant de petites pierres, dont plusieurs tombèrent sur les vases, comme il n’en douta point par le son qui lui en vint aux oreilles. Il prête l’oreille, et n’entend ni n’aperçoit rien qui lui fasse connoître que ses gens se mettent en mouvement. Il en est inquiet: il jette de petites pierres une seconde et une troisième fois. Elles tombent sur les vases, et cependant pas un des voleurs ne donne le moindre signe de vie, et il n’en peut comprendre la raison. Il descend dans la cour tout alarmé, avec le moins de bruit qu’il lui est possible; il approche de même du premier vase, et quand il veut demander au voleur, qu’il croit vivant, s’il dort, il sent une odeur d’huile chaude et de brûlé, qui exhale du vase, par où il connoît que son entreprise contre Ali Baba, pour lui ôter la vie et pour piller sa maison, et pour emporter s’il pouvoit l’or qu’il avoit enlevé à sa communauté, étoit échouée. Il passe au vase qui suivoit, et à tous les autres l’un après l’autre, et il trouve que ses gens avoient péri par le même sort; et par la diminution de l’huile dans le vase qu’il avoit apporté plein, il connut la manière dont on s’y étoit pris pour le priver du secours qu’il en attendoit. Au désespoir d’avoir manqué son coup, il enfila la porte du jardin d’Ali Baba, qui donnoit dans la cour, et de jardin en jardin, en passant par-dessus les murs, il se sauva.

Quand Morgiane n’entendit plus de bruit et qu’elle ne vit pas revenir le capitaine des voleurs, après avoir attendu quelque temps, elle ne douta pas du parti qu’il avoit pris, plutôt que de chercher à se sauver par la porte de la maison, qui étoit fermée à double tour. Satisfaite et dans une grande joie d’avoir si bien réussi à mettre toute la maison en sûreté, elle se coucha enfin, et elle s’endormit.

### Morgiana Tells Her Master

Ali Baba cependant sortit avant le jour, et alla au bain suivi de son esclave, sans rien savoir de l’événement étonnant qui étoit arrivé chez lui pendant qu’il dormoit, au sujet duquel Morgiane n’avoit pas jugé à propos de l’éveiller, avec d’autant plus de raison, qu’elle n’avoit pas de temps à perdre dans le temps du danger, et qu’il étoit inutile de troubler son repos, après qu’elle l’eut détourné.

Lorsqu’il revint des bains, et qu’il rentra chez lui, le soleil étoit levé. Ali Baba fut si surpris de voir encore les vases d’huile dans leur place, et que le marchand ne se fût pas rendu au marché avec ses mulets, qu’il en demanda la raison à Morgiane qui lui étoit venue ouvrir, et qui avoit laissé toutes choses dans l’état où il les voyoit, pour lui en donner le spectacle, et lui expliquer plus sensiblement ce qu’elle avoit fait pour sa conservation.

« Mon bon maître, dit Morgiane en répondant à Ali Baba, Dieu vous conserve, vous et toute votre maison! Vous apprendrez mieux ce que vous desirez de savoir, quand vous aurez vu ce que j’ai à vous faire voir: prenez la peine de venir avec moi. »

Ali Baba suivit Morgiane. Quand elle eut fermé la porte, elle le mena au premier vase: « Regardez dans le vase, lui dit-elle, et voyez s’il y a de l’huile. »

Ali Baba regarda; et comme il eut vu un homme dans le vase, il se retira en arrière tout effrayé, avec un grand cri.

« Ne craignez rien, lui dit Morgiane, l’homme que vous voyez ne vous fera pas de mal; il en a fait, mais il n’est plus en état d’en faire, ni à vous, ni à personne: il n’a plus de vie. »

« Morgiane, s’écria Ali Baba, que veut dire ce que tu viens de me faire voir? Explique-le-moi. »

« Je vous l’expliquerai, dit Morgiane; mais modérez votre étonnement, et n’éveillez pas la curiosité des voisins d’avoir connoissance d’une chose qu’il est très-important que vous teniez cachée. Voyez auparavant tous les autres vases. »

Ali Baba regarda dans les autres vases l’un après l’autre, depuis le premier jusqu’au dernier ou il y avoit de l’huile, dont il remarqua que l’huile étoit notablement diminuée; et quand il eut fait, il demeura comme immobile, tantôt en jetant les yeux sur les vases, tantôt en regardant Morgiane, sans dire mot, tant la surprise où il étoit étoit grande! À la fin, comme si la parole lui fut revenue: « Et le marchand, demanda-t-il, qu’est-il devenu? »

«Le marchand, répondit Morgiane, est aussi peu marchand que je suis marchande. Je vous dirai qui il est, et ce qu’il est devenu. Mais vous apprendrez toute l’histoire plus commodément dans votre chambre; car il est temps, pour le bien de votre santé, que vous preniez un bouillon après être sorti du bain. »

Pendant qu’Ali Baba se rendit dans sa chambre, Morgiane alla à la cuisine prendre le bouillon; elle le lui apporta, et avant de le prendre, Ali Baba lui dit:

« Commence toujours à satisfaire l’impatience où je suis, et raconte-moi une histoire si étrange, avec toutes ses circonstances. »

Morgiane, pour obéir à Ali Baba, lui dit:

« Seigneur, hier au soir, quand vous vous fûtes retiré pour vous coucher, je préparai votre linge de bain, comme vous veniez de me le commander, et j’en chargeai Abdalla. Ensuite je mis le pot au feu pour le bouillon; et comme je l’écumois, la lampe, faute d’huile, s’éteignit tout-à-coup, et il n’y en avoit pas une goutte dans la cruche. Je cherchai quelques bouts de chandelle, et je n’en trouvai pas un. Abdalla, qui me vit embarrassée, me fit souvenir des vases pleins d’huile qui étoient dans la cour, comme il n’en doutoit pas non plus que moi, et comme vous l’avez cru vous-même. Je pris la cruche et je courus au vase le plus voisin. Mais comme je fus près du vase, il en sortit une voix qui me demanda: « Est-il temps? » Je ne m’effrayai pas; mais en comprenant sur le champ la malice du faux marchand, je répondis sans hésiter: « Pas encore, mais bientôt. » Je passai au vase qui suivoit; et une autre voix me fit la même demande, à laquelle je répondis de même. J’allai aux autres vases l’un après l’autre: à pareille demande, pareille réponse, et je ne trouvai de l’huile que dans le dernier vase, dont j’emplis la cruche. Quand j’eus considéré qu’il y avoit trente-sept voleurs au milieu de votre cour, qui n’attendoient que le signal ou que le commandement de leur chef, que vous avez pris pour un marchand, et à qui vous aviez fait un si grand accueil, au point de mettre toute la maison en combustion, je ne perdis pas de temps, je rapportai la cruche, j’allumai la lampe; et après avoir pris la chaudière la plus grande de la cuisine, j’allai l’emplir d’huile. Je la mis sur le feu, et quand elle fut bien bouillante, j’en allai verser dans chaque vase où étoient les voleurs, autant qu’il en fallut pour les empêcher tous d’exécuter le pernicieux dessein qui les avoit amenés. La chose ainsi terminée de la manière que je l’avois méditée, je revins dans la cuisine, j’éteignis la lampe; et avant que je me couchasse, je me mis à examiner tranquillement par la fenêtre quel parti prendroit le faux marchand d’huile. Au bout de quelque temps, j’entendis que pour signal il jeta de sa fenêtre de petites pierres qui tombèrent sur les vases. Il en jeta une seconde et une troisième fois; et comme il n’aperçut ou n’entendit aucun mouvement, il descendit; et je le vis aller de vase en vase jusqu’au dernier; après quoi l’obscurité de la nuit fit que je le perdis de vue. J’observai encore quelque temps; et comme je vis qu’il ne revenoit pas, je ne doutai pas qu’il ne se fût sauvé par le jardin, désespéré d’avoir si mal réussi. Ainsi, persuadée que la maison étoit en sûreté, je me couchai. »

En achevant, Morgiane ajouta:

« Voilà quelle est l’histoire que vous m’avez demandée, et je suis convaincue que c’est la suite d’une observation que j’avois faite depuis deux ou trois jours, dont je n’avois pas cru devoir vous entretenir, qui est qu’une fois en revenant de la ville de bon matin, j’aperçus que la porte de la rue étoit marquée de blanc, et le jour d’après de rouge, après la marque blanche, et que chaque fois, sans savoir à quel dessein cela pouvoit avoit été fait, j’avois marqué de même et au même endroit, deux ou trois portes de nos voisins, au-dessus et au-dessous. Si vous joignez cela avec ce qui vient d’arriver, vous trouverez que le tout a été machiné par les voleurs de la forêt, dont je ne sais pourquoi la troupe est diminuée de deux. Quoi qu’il en soit, la voilà réduite à trois au plus. Cela fait voir qu’ils avoient juré votre perte, et qu’il est bon que vous vous teniez sur vos gardes, tant qu’il sera certain qu’il en restera quelqu’un au monde. Quant à moi, je n’oublierai rien pour veiller à votre conservation comme j’y suis obligée. »

Quand Morgiane eut achevé, Ali Baba pénétré de la grande obligation qu’il lui avoit, lui dit:

« Je ne mourrai pas que je ne t’aye récompensée, comme tu le mérites. Je te dois la vie; et pour commencer à t’en donner une marque de reconnoissance, je te donne la liberté dès-à-présent, en attendant que j’y mette le comble de la manière que je me le propose. Je suis persuadé avec toi que les quarante voleurs m’ont dressé ces embûches. Dieu m’a délivré par ton moyen. J’espère qu’il continuera de me préserver de leur méchanceté, et qu’en achevant de la détourner de ma tête, il délivrera le monde de leur persécution et de leur engeance maudite. Ce que nous avons à faire, c’est d’enterrer incessamment les corps de cette peste du genre humain, avec un si grand secret, que personne ne puisse rien soupçonner de leur destinée; et c’est à quoi je vais travailler avec Abdalla. »

### Cogia Hussain

Le jardin d’Ali Baba étoit d’une grande longueur, terminé par de grands arbres. Sans différer, il alla sous ces arbres avec son esclave, creuser une fosse longue et large à proportion des corps qu’ils avoient à y enterrer. Le terrain étoit aisé à remuer, et ils ne mirent pas un long-temps à l’achever. Ils tirèrent les corps hors des vases, et ils mirent à part les armes dont les voleurs s’étoient munis. Ils transportèrent ces corps au bout du jardin, et ils les arrangèrent dans la fosse; et après les avoir couverts de la terre qu’ils en avoient tirée, ils dispersèrent ce qui en restoit aux environs, de manière que le terrain parut égal comme auparavant. Ali Baba fit cacher soigneusement les vases à l’huile et les armes; et quant aux mulets, dont il n’avoit pas besoin pour lors, il les envoya au marché à différentes fois, où il les fit vendre par son esclave.

Pendant qu’Ali Baba prenoit toutes ces mesures pour ôter à la connoissance du public par quel moyen il étoit devenu riche en peu de temps, le capitaine des quarante voleurs étoit retourné à la forêt avec une mortification inconcevable; et dans l’agitation, ou plutôt dans la confusion où il étoit d’un succès si malheureux et si contraire à ce qu’il s’étoit promis, il étoit rentré dans la grotte, sans avoir pu s’arrêter à aucune résolution dans le chemin sur ce qu’il devoit faire ou ne pas faire à Ali Baba.

La solitude où il se trouva dans cette sombre demeure, lui parut affreuse.

« Braves gens, s’écria-t-il, compagnons de mes veilles, de mes courses et de mes travaux, où êtes-vous? Que puis-je faire sans vous? Vous avois-je assemblés et choisis pour vous voir périr tous à la fois par une destinée si fatale et si indigne de votre courage? Je vous regretterois moins si vous étiez morts le sabre à la main en vaillans hommes. Quand aurai-je fait une autre troupe de gens de main comme vous? Et quand je le voudrois, pourrois-je l’entreprendre, et ne pas exposer tant d’or, tant d’argent, tant de richesses à la proie de celui qui s’est déjà enrichi d’une partie? Je ne puis et je ne dois y songer, qu’auparavant je ne lui aie ôté la vie. Ce que je n’ai pu faire avec un secours si puissant, je le ferai moi seul; et quand j’aurai pourvu de la sorte à ce que ce trésor ne soit plus exposé au pillage, je travaillerai à faire en sorte qu’il ne demeure ni sans successeurs ni sans maître après moi, qu’il se conserve et qu’il s’augmente dans toute la postérité. »

Cette résolution prise, il ne fut pas embarrassé à chercher les moyens de l’exécuter; et alors plein d’espérance, et l’esprit tranquille, il s’endormit, et passa la nuit assez paisiblement.

Le lendemain, le capitaine des voleurs éveillé de grand matin, comme il se l’étoit proposé, prit un habit fort propre, conformément au dessein qu’il avoit médité, et il vint à la ville, où il prit un logement dans un khan; et comme il s’attendoit que ce qui s’étoit passé chez Ali Baba, pouvoit avoir fait de l’éclat, il demanda au concierge, par manière d’entretien, s’il y avoit quelque chose de nouveau dans la ville, sur quoi le concierge parla de toute autre chose que de ce qu’il lui importoit de savoir. Il jugea de là que la raison pourquoi Ali Baba gardoit un si grand secret, venoit de ce qu’il ne vouloit pas que la connoissance qu’il avoit du trésor, et du moyen d’y entrer, fût divulguée, et de ce qu’il n’ignoroit pas que c’étoit pour ce sujet qu’on en vouloit à sa vie. Cela l’anima davantage à ne rien négliger pour se défaire de lui par la même voie du secret.

Le capitaine des voleurs se pourvut d’un cheval, dont il se servit pour transporter à son logement plusieurs sortes de riches étoffes et de toiles fines, en faisant plusieurs voyages à la forêt avec les précautions nécessaires pour cacher le lieu où il les alloit prendre. Pour débiter ces marchandises, quand il en eut amassé ce qu’il avoit jugé à propos, il chercha une boutique. Il en trouva une; et après l’avoir prise à louage du propriétaire, il la garnit, et il s’y établit. La boutique qui se trouva vis-à-vis de la sienne, étoit celle qui avoit appartenu à Cassim, et qui étoit occupée par le fils d’Ali Baba, il n’y avoit pas long-temps.

Le capitaine des voleurs qui avoit pris le nom de Cogia Houssain, comme nouveau venu, ne manqua pas de faire civilité aux marchands ses voisins, selon la coutume. Mais comme le fils d’Ali Baba étoit jeune, bien fait, qu’il ne manquoit pas d’esprit, et qu’il avoit occasion plus souvent de lui parler et de s’entretenir avec lui qu’avec les autres, il eut bientôt fait amitié avec lui. Il s’attacha même à le cultiver plus fortement et plus assidûment, quand trois ou quatre jours après son établissement, il eut reconnu Ali Baba qui vint voir son fils, qui s’arrêta à s’entretenir avec lui, comme il avoit coutume de le faire de temps en temps, et qu’il eut appris du fils, après qu’Ali Baba l’eut quitté, que c’étoit son père. Il augmenta ses empressemens auprès de lui, il le caressa, il lui fit de petits présens, il le régala même, et il lui donna plusieurs fois à manger.

Le fils d’Ali Baba ne voulut pas avoir tant d’obligation à Cogia Houssain sans lui rendre la pareille. Mais il étoit logé étroitement, et il n’avoit pas la même commodité que lui pour le régaler comme il le souhaitoit. Il parla de son dessein à Ali Baba son père, en lui faisant remarquer qu’il ne seroit pas séant qu’il demeurât plus long-temps sans reconnoître les honnêtetés de Cogia Houssain.

Ali Baba se chargea du régal avec plaisir.

« Mon fils, dit-il, il est demain vendredi; comme c’est un jour que les gros marchands, comme Cogia Houssain et comme vous, tiennent leurs boutiques fermées, faites avec lui une partie de promenade pour l’après-dînée, et en revenant faites en sorte que vous le fassiez passer par chez moi et que vous le fassiez entrer. Il sera mieux que la chose se fasse de la sorte, que si vous l’invitiez dans les formes. Je vais ordonner à Morgiane de faire le soupé, et de le tenir prêt. »

Le vendredi, le fils d’Ali Baba et Cogia Houssain se trouvèrent l’après-dîné au rendez-vous qu’ils s’étoient donné, et ils firent leur promenade. En revenant, comme le fils d’Ali Baba avoit affecté de faire passer Cogia Houssain par la rue où demeuroit son père, quand ils furent arrivés devant la porte de la maison, il l’arrêta, et en frappant: « C’est, lui dit-il, la maison de mon père, lequel sur le récit que je lui ai fait de l’amitié dont vous m’honorez, m’a chargé de lui procurer l’honneur de votre connoissance. Je vous prie d’ajouter ce plaisir à tous les autres dont je vous suis redevable. »

Quoique Cogia Houssain fût arrivé au but qu’il s’étoit proposé, qui étoit d’avoir entrée chez Ali Baba, et de lui ôter la vie, sans hasarder la sienne, en ne faisant pas d’éclat, il ne laissa pas néanmoins de s’excuser, et de faire semblant de prendre congé du fils; mais comme l’esclave d’Ali Baba venoit d’ouvrir, le fils le prit obligeamment par la main, et en entrant le premier, il le tira et le força en quelque manière d’entrer, comme malgré lui.

Ali Baba reçut Cogia Houssain avec un visage ouvert, et avec le bon accueil qu’il pouvoit souhaiter. Il le remercia des bontés qu’il avoit pour son fils. « L’obligation qu’il vous en a, et que je vous en ai moi-même, ajouta-t-il, est d’autant plus grande, que c’est un jeune homme qui n’a pas encore l’usage du monde, et que vous ne dédaignez pas de contribuer à le former. »

Cogia Houssain rendit compliment pour compliment à Ali Baba, en lui assurant que si son fils n’avoit pas encore acquis l’expérience de certains vieillards, il avoit un bon sens qui lui tenoit lieu de l’expérience d’une infinité d’autres.

Après un entretien de peu de durée sur d’autres sujets indifférens, Cogia Houssain voulut prendre congé. Ali Baba l’arrêta.

« Seigneur, dit-il, où voulez-vous aller? Je vous prie de me faire l’honneur de souper avec moi. Le repas que je veux vous donner est beaucoup au-dessous de ce que vous méritez; mais, tel qu’il est, j’espère que vous l’agréerez d’aussi bon cœur que j’ai intention de vous le donner. »

« Seigneur Ali Baba, reprit Cogia Houssain, je suis très-persuadé de votre bon cœur; et si je vous demande en grâce de ne pas trouver mauvais que je me retire sans accepter l’offre obligeante que vous me faites, je vous supplie de croire que je ne le fais ni par mépris, ni par incivilité, mais parce que j’en ai une raison que vous approuveriez si elle vous étoit connue. »

« Et quelle peut être cette raison, Seigneur, reprit Ali Baba? Peut-on vous la demander? »

« Je puis la dire, répliqua Cogia Houssain: c’est que je ne mange ni viande, ni ragoût où il y ait du sel; jugez vous-même de la contenance que je ferois à votre table. »

« Si vous n’avez que cette raison, insista Ali Baba, elle ne doit pas me priver de l’honneur de vous posséder à souper, à moins que vous ne le vouliez autrement. Premièrement, il n’y a pas de sel dans le pain que l’on mange chez moi; et quant à la viande et aux ragoûts, je vous promets qu’il n’y en aura pas dans ce qui sera servi devant vous, je vais y donner ordre. Ainsi faites-moi la grâce de demeurer, je reviens à vous dans un moment. »

Ali Baba alla à la cuisine, et il ordonna à Morgiane de ne pas mettre du sel sur la viande qu’elle avoit à servir, et de préparer promptement deux ou trois ragoûts, entre ceux qu’il lui avoit commandés, où il n’y eût pas de sel.

Morgiane qui étoit prête à servir, ne put s’empêcher de témoigner son mécontentement sur ce nouvel ordre, et de s’en expliquer à Ali Baba.

« Qui est donc, dit-elle, cet homme si difficile qui ne mange pas de sel? Votre soupé ne sera plus bon à manger si je le sers plus tard. »

« Ne te fâche pas, Morgiane, reprit Ali Baba, c’est un honnête homme. Fais ce que je te dis. »

Morgiane obéit, mais à contre-cœur. Elle eut la curiosité de connoître cet homme qui ne mangeoit pas de sel. Quand elle eut achevé, et qu’Abdalla eut préparé la table, elle l’aida à porter les plats. En regardant Cogia Houssain, elle le reconnut d’abord pour le capitaine des voleurs, malgré son déguisement; et en l’examinant avec attention, elle aperçut qu’il avoit un poignard caché sous son habit.

« Je ne m’étonne plus, dit-elle en elle-même, que le scélérat ne veuille pas manger de sel avec mon maître: c’est son plus fier ennemi, il veut l’assassiner; mais je l’en empêcherai. »

### Morgiana's Dance

Quand Morgiane eut achevé de servir, ou de faire servir par Abdalla, elle prit le temps pendant que l’on soupoit, et fit les préparatifs nécessaires pour l’exécution d’un coup des plus hardis; et elle venoit d’achever lors qu’Abdalla vint l’avertir qu’il étoit temps de servir le fruit. Elle porta le fruit; et dès qu’Abdalla eut levé ce qui étoit sur la table, elle le servit. Ensuite elle posa près d’Ali Baba une petite table sur laquelle elle mit le vin avec trois tasses; et en sortant elle emmena Abdalla avec elle, comme pour aller souper ensemble, et donner à Ali Baba, selon la coutume, la liberté de s’entretenir et de se réjouir agréablement avec son hôte, et de le faire bien boire.

Alors, le faux Cogia Houssain, ou plutôt le capitaine des quarante voleurs, crut que l’occasion favorable pour ôter la vie à Ali Baba étoit venue.

« Je vais, dit-il en lui-même, faire enivrer le père et le fils; et le fils, à qui je veux bien donner la vie, ne m’empêchera pas d’enfoncer le poignard dans le cœur du père, et je me sauverai par le jardin, comme je l’ai déjà fait, pendant que la cuisinière et l’esclave n’auront pas encore achevé de souper ou seront endormis dans la cuisine. »

Au lieu de souper, Morgiane qui avoit pénétré dans l’intention du faux Cogia Houssain, ne lui donna pas le temps de venir à l’exécution de sa méchanceté. Elle s’habilla d’un habit de danseuse fort propre, prit une coiffure convenable, et se ceignit d’une ceinture d’argent doré, où elle attacha un poignard, dont la gaine et le manche étoient de même métal; et avec cela elle appliqua un fort beau masque sur son visage. Quand elle se fut déguisée de la sorte, elle dit à Abdalla:

« Abdalla, prends ton tambour de basque, et allons donner à l’hôte de notre maître, et ami de son fils, le divertissemment que nous lui donnons quelquefois. »

Abdalla prend le tambour de basque; il commence à en jouer en marchant devant Morgiane, et il entre dans la salle. Morgiane en entrant après lui, fait une profonde révérence d’un air délibéré et à se faire regarder, comme en demandant la permission de faire voir ce qu’elle savoit faire.

Comme Abdalla vit qu’Ali Baba vouloit parler, il cessa de toucher le tambour de basque.

« Entre, Morgiane, entre, dit Ali Baba: Cogia Houssain jugera de quoi tu es capable, et il nous dira ce qu’il en pensera. Au moins, Seigneur, dit-il à Cogia Houssain en se tournant de son côté, ne croyez pas que je me mette en dépense pour vous donner ce divertissement. Je le trouve chez moi, et vous voyez que ce sont mon esclave, et ma cuisinière et dépensière en même temps, qui me le donnent. J’espère que vous ne le trouverez pas désagréable. »

Cogia Houssain ne s’attendoit pas qu’Ali Baba dût ajouter ce divertissement au soupé qu’il lui donnoit. Cela lui fit craindre de ne pouvoir pas profiter de l’occasion qu’il croyoit avoir trouvée. Au cas que cela arrivât, il se consola par l’espérance de la retrouver en continuant de ménager l’amitié du père et du fils. Ainsi, quoiqu’il eût mieux aimé qu’Ali Baba eût bien voulu ne le lui pas donner, il fit semblant néanmoins de lui en avoir obligation, et il eut la complaisance de lui témoigner que ce qui lui faisoit plaisir ne pourroit pas manquer de lui en faire aussi.

Quand Abdalla vit qu’Ali Baba et Cogia Houssain avoient cessé de parler, il recommença à toucher son tambour de basque et l’accompagna de sa voix sur un air à danser; et Morgiane qui ne le cédoit à aucune danseuse de profession, dansa d’une manière à se faire admirer, même de toute autre compagnie que celle à laquelle elle donnoit ce spectacle, dont il n’y avoit peut-être que le faux Cogia Houssain qui y donnât peu d’attention.

Après avoir dansé plusieurs danses avec le même agrément et de la même force, elle tira enfin le poignard; et en le tenant à la main elle en dansa une dans laquelle elle se surpassa par les figures différentes, par les mouvemens légers, par les sauts surprenans, et par les efforts merveilleux dont elle les accompagna, tantôt en présentant le poignard en avant, comme pour frapper, tantôt en faisant semblant de s’en frapper elle-même dans le sein.

Comme hors d’haleine enfin, elle arracha le tambour de basque des mains d’Abdalla, de la main gauche, et en tenant le poignard de la droite, elle alla présenter le tambour de basque par le creux à Ali Baba, à l’imitation des danseurs et danseuses de profession, qui en usent ainsi pour solliciter la libéralité de leurs spectateurs.

Ali Baba jeta une pièce d’or dans le tambour de basque de Morgiane. Morgiane s’adressa ensuite au fils d’Ali Baba, qui suivit l’exemple de son père. Cogia Houssain qui vit qu’elle alloit venir aussi à lui, avoit déjà tiré la bourse de son sein pour lui faire son présent, et il y mettoit la main, dans le moment que Morgiane, avec un courage digne de la fermeté et de la résolution qu’elle avoit montrées jusqu’alors, lui enfonça le poignard au milieu du cœur, si avant qu’elle ne le retira qu’après lui avoir ôté la vie.

Ali Baba et son fils épouvantés de cette action, poussèrent un grand cri: « Ah, malheureuse, s’écria Ali Baba, qu’as-tu fait? Est-ce pour nous perdre, moi et ma famille? »

« Ce n’est pas vous perdre, répondit Morgiane: je l’ai fait pour votre conservation. »

Alors en ouvrant la robe de Cogia Houssain, et en montrant à Ali Baba le poignard dont il étoit armé: « Voyez, dit-elle, à quel fier ennemi vous aviez affaire, et regardez-le bien au visage: vous y reconnoîtrez le faux marchand d’huile, et le capitaine des quarante voleurs! Ne considérez-vous pas aussi qu’il n’a pas voulu manger de sel avec vous? En voulez-vous davantage pour vous persuader de son dessein pernicieux? Avant que je l’eusse vu, le soupçon m’en étoit venu, du moment que vous m’avez fait connoître que vous aviez un tel convive. Je l’ai vu, et vous voyez que mon soupçon n’étoit pas mal fondé. »

Ali Baba qui connut la nouvelle obligation qu’il avoit à Morgiane de lui avoir conservé la vie une seconde fois, l’embrassa.

### The Wedding and the Secret of the Cave

« Morgiane, dit-il, je t’ai donné la liberté, et alors je t’ai promis que ma reconnoissance n’en demeureroit pas là, et que bientôt j’y mettrois le comble. Ce temps est venu, et je te fais ma belle-fille. »

Et en s’adressant à son fils: « Mon fils, ajouta Ali Baba, je vous crois assez bon fils, pour ne pas trouver étrange que je vous donne Morgiane pour femme sans vous consulter. Vous ne lui avez pas moins d’obligation que moi. Vous voyez que Cogia Houssain n’avoit recherché votre amitié que dans le dessein de mieux réussir à m’arracher la vie par sa trahison; et s’il y eût réussi, vous ne devez pas douter qu’il ne vous eût sacrifié aussi à sa vengeance. Considérez de plus qu’en épousant Morgiane, vous épousez le soutien de ma famille, tant que je vivrai, et l’appui de la vôtre jusqu’à la fin de vos jours. »

Le fils, bien loin de témoigner aucun mécontentement, marqua qu’il consentoit à ce mariage, non-seulement par ce qu’il ne vouloit pas désobéir à son père, mais même parce qu’il y étoit porté par sa propre inclination.

On songea ensuite dans la maison d’Ali Baba à enterrer le corps du capitaine, auprès de ceux des quarante voleurs; et cela se fit si secrètement, qu’on n’en eut connoissance qu’après de longues années, lorsque personne ne se trouvoit plus intéressé dans la publication de cette histoire mémorable.

Peu de jours après, Ali Baba célébra les noces de son fils et de Morgiane avec grande solennité, et par un festin somptueux, accompagné de danses, de spectacles et des divertissemens accoutumés; et il eut la satisfaction de voir que ses amis et ses voisins, qu’il avoit invités, sans avoir connoissance des vrais motifs du mariage, mais qui d’ailleurs n’ignoroient pas les belles et bonnes qualités de Morgiane, le louèrent hautement de sa générosité et de son bon cœur.

Après le mariage, Ali Baba qui s’étoit abstenu de retourner à la grotte depuis qu’il en avoit tiré et rapporté le corps de son frère Cassim sur un de ses trois ânes, avec l’or dont il les avoit chargés, par la crainte d’y trouver les voleurs ou d’y être surpris, s’en abstint encore après la mort des trente-huit voleurs, en y comprenant leur capitaine, parce qu’il supposa que les deux autres, dont le destin ne lui étoit pas connu, étoient encore vivans.

Mais au bout d’un an, comme il eut vu qu’il ne s’étoit fait aucune entreprise pour l’inquiéter, la curiosité le prit d’y faire un voyage, en prenant les précautions nécessaires pour sa sûreté. Il monta à cheval; et quand il fut arrivé près de la grotte, il prit un bon augure de ce qu’il n’aperçut aucun vestige ni d’hommes ni de chevaux. Il mit pied à terre, il attacha son cheval, et en se présentant devant la porte, il prononça ces paroles: Sésame, ouvre-toi, qu’il n’avoit pas oubliées. La porte s’ouvrit; il entra, et l’état où il trouva toutes choses dans la grotte, lui fit juger que personne n’y étoit entré depuis environ le temps que le faux Cogia Houssain étoit venu lever boutique dans la ville, et ainsi, que la troupe des quarante voleurs étoit entièrement dissipée et exterminée depuis ce temps-là. Il ne douta plus qu’il ne fût le seul au monde qui eût le secret de faire ouvrir la grotte, et que le trésor qu’elle enfermoit étoit à sa disposition. Il s’étoit muni d’une valise; il la remplit d’autant d’or que son cheval en put porter, et il revint à la ville.

Depuis ce temps-là, Ali Baba, son fils qu’il mena à la grotte, et à qui il enseigna le secret pour y entrer, et après eux leur postérité à laquelle ils firent passer le même secret, en profitant de leur fortune avec modération, vécurent dans une grande splendeur, et honorés des premières dignités de la ville.

Après avoir achevé de raconter cette histoire au sultan Schahriar, Scheherazade qui vit qu’il n’étoit pas encore jour, commença de lui faire le récit de celle que nous allons voir:

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from Antoine Galland’s French text of “Histoire d’Ali Baba, et de quarante voleurs exterminés par une esclave” (Les Mille et une nuits, Le Normant edition of 1806, volume VI), paragraph for paragraph, and checked against the French before publication.

### The Two Brothers and the Forty Riders

Sultana Scheherazade, woken by the watchfulness of her sister Dinarzade, told the sultan of the Indies, her husband, the story he was waiting for:

Mighty sultan, she said, in a city of Persia, on the borders of Your Majesty's lands, there lived two brothers, one named Cassim and the other Ali Baba. Their father had left them little, and they had divided it equally, so it seemed their fortunes ought to be equal. Chance, however, arranged things otherwise.

Cassim married a woman who, soon after the wedding, inherited a well-stocked shop, a warehouse full of good merchandise, and property in land. All at once he was comfortable, and he became one of the richest merchants in the city.

Ali Baba, on the other hand, had married a woman as poor as himself. He lived very meanly, and the only trade he had to earn a living and keep himself and his children was to go and cut wood in a nearby forest and bring it to the city to sell, loaded on three donkeys that were everything he owned.

One day Ali Baba was in the forest and had nearly cut enough wood to load his donkeys when he saw a great cloud of dust rising into the air and moving toward the place where he stood. He looked hard, and made out a large band of horsemen coming on at a good pace.

No one spoke of robbers in that country, yet Ali Baba had the thought that these riders might be robbers. Without stopping to think what would become of his donkeys, he thought only of saving himself. He climbed a large tree whose branches, a little way up, spread out in a ring, so close together that only a very small space parted them. He settled himself in the middle, all the more confident because he could see without being seen. The tree grew at the foot of a rock that stood alone on every side, much taller than the tree and so steep that no one could climb to the top from any direction.

The horsemen, tall and powerful, all well mounted and well armed, rode up to the rock and dismounted. Ali Baba counted forty of them, and from their looks and their gear he had no doubt that they were robbers. He was not mistaken. They were indeed robbers who did no harm in the neighborhood but went far afield to plunder, and this was their meeting place. What he saw them do next confirmed him in that opinion.

Each rider unbridled his horse, tied it up, and hung around its neck a bag full of barley that he had carried on its hindquarters. Then each of them took up his saddlebag, and most of the bags seemed so heavy to Ali Baba that he judged them full of gold and silver coin.

The most imposing of them, carrying his saddlebag like the rest, and whom Ali Baba took to be the captain of the robbers, came up to the rock, very close to the large tree where Ali Baba had taken refuge. He made his way through some bushes and then spoke these words so distinctly that Ali Baba heard them: "Open, Sesame!" As soon as the robber captain had spoken them, a door opened. He had all his men pass in ahead of him, and when they had all gone in, he went in too, and the door closed.

The robbers stayed a long time inside the rock. Ali Baba feared that if he left his post to escape, one of them, or all of them together, might come out, so he was forced to stay in the tree and wait patiently. He was tempted, all the same, to climb down, seize two of the horses, ride one and lead the other by the bridle, and make for the city driving his three donkeys before him. But not knowing how it would turn out, he chose the safer course.

At last the door opened again and the forty robbers came out. The captain, who had gone in last, came out first, and when he had watched them file past him, Ali Baba heard him close the door by saying these words: "Close, Sesame!" Each man went back to his horse, bridled it again, fastened his saddlebag, and remounted. When the captain saw at last that they were all ready to leave, he put himself at their head and rode off with them the way they had come.

### Open Sesame

Ali Baba did not come down from the tree at once. "They may have forgotten something that will make them come back," he said to himself, "and I would be caught if that happened." He followed them with his eyes until he lost sight of them, and for greater safety he did not come down until long afterward. Since he had kept in mind the words by which the robber captain had opened and closed the door, he was curious to see whether they would have the same effect if he spoke them. He went through the bushes and saw the door they concealed. He stood before it and said, "Open, Sesame!" and in that instant the door swung wide open.

Ali Baba had expected a place of gloom and darkness, but he was astonished to find a bright, vast, spacious hall, hollowed out by human hands into a lofty vault that took its light from the top of the rock through an opening cut in the same way. He saw great stores of food, bales of rich merchandise piled high, silks and brocades, costly carpets, and above all gold and silver coin in heaps, and in sacks or great leather purses stacked one on another. Seeing all this, it seemed to him that this cave had served as a hideout for robbers, one band succeeding another, not for many years but for centuries.

Ali Baba did not hesitate over what to do. He went into the cave, and as soon as he was inside, the door closed behind him. That did not trouble him; he knew the secret for opening it. He left the silver alone and went for the gold coin, above all the gold that was in sacks. In several trips he carried off as much as he could manage, enough to load his three donkeys. He gathered his donkeys, which had scattered, and when he had brought them up to the rock, he loaded the sacks onto them and hid them by arranging wood on top so that no one could see them. When he had finished, he stood before the door, and no sooner had he said the words "Close, Sesame!" than it closed. For it had shut by itself each time he went in and had stayed open each time he came out.

This done, Ali Baba took the road back to the city. When he reached home he drove his donkeys into a small courtyard and shut the gate with great care. He threw off the little wood that covered the sacks, carried the sacks into the house, and set them down in a row before his wife, who was sitting on a sofa.

His wife felt the sacks, and when she found that they were full of money, she suspected her husband of having stolen them. So when he had finished bringing them all in, she could not help saying to him:

"Ali Baba, can you have sunk so low as to…"

Ali Baba cut her short.

"Hush, wife," he said, "don't be alarmed. I am no thief, unless it is thieving to take from thieves. You will stop thinking so badly of me once I have told you of my good fortune."

He emptied the sacks, and they made a great heap of gold that dazzled his wife. When he had done, he told her his adventure from beginning to end, and as he finished he urged her above all else to keep it secret.

His wife, recovered and cured of her fright, rejoiced with her husband at the luck that had come to them, and she wanted to count all the gold before her, piece by piece.

"Wife," Ali Baba said to her, "you are not being sensible. What do you mean to do? When would you ever finish counting? I am going to dig a pit and bury it; we have no time to lose."

"It is good," his wife replied, "that we should know at least roughly how much there is. I will go and borrow a small measure from the neighbors, and I will measure it while you dig the pit."

"Wife," Ali Baba answered, "what you want to do is good for nothing; you would leave it alone if you would take my advice. Still, do as you please, but remember to keep the secret."

### The Borrowed Measure

To have her way, Ali Baba's wife went out to the house of Cassim, her brother-in-law, who lived not far off. Cassim was not at home, so she turned instead to his wife and asked her to lend her a measure for a few moments. The sister-in-law asked whether she wanted a large one or a small one, and Ali Baba's wife asked for a small one.

"Gladly," said the sister-in-law. "Wait a moment and I will bring it to you."

The sister-in-law went to look for the measure and found it. But since she knew how poor Ali Baba was, she was curious to learn what kind of grain his wife meant to measure, and she hit on the idea of deftly smearing a little tallow on the bottom of the measure, and so she did. She came back and, handing it to Ali Baba's wife, apologized for keeping her waiting, saying she had had trouble finding it.

Ali Baba's wife went home. She set the measure on the heap of gold, filled it, and emptied it a little farther along the sofa until she had finished, and she was pleased with the good number of measures she found, which she reported to her husband, who had just finished digging the pit.

While Ali Baba buried the gold, his wife, to show her sister-in-law how prompt and careful she was, took the measure back to her, but without noticing that a gold piece had stuck to the bottom.

"Sister," she said as she returned it, "you see I have not kept your measure long. I am much obliged to you for it; here it is."

Ali Baba's wife had no sooner turned her back than Cassim's wife looked at the underside of the measure, and she was astonished beyond words to see a gold piece stuck to it. Envy seized her heart that very moment.

"What!" she said. "Ali Baba has gold by the measure! And where did the wretch get this gold?"

Her husband Cassim was not at home, as we have said; he was at his shop, and would not return until evening. All the time she had to wait for him seemed an age to her, so great was her impatience to tell him a piece of news that would surprise him no less than it had surprised her.

When Cassim came home, his wife said to him, "Cassim, you think you are rich, but you are wrong. Ali Baba is infinitely richer than you. He does not count his gold as you do; he measures it."

Cassim asked her to explain this riddle, and she made it clear to him by telling him what trick she had used to make the discovery, and she showed him the coin she had found stuck to the bottom of the measure, a coin so old that the name of the prince stamped on it was unknown to her.

### Cassim in the Cave

Far from being glad of the good fortune that might have lifted his brother out of poverty, Cassim was seized by a deadly jealousy. He spent most of the night without sleep. The next day he went to his brother's house before the sun was up. He did not greet him as a brother; he had forgotten that word ever since he married the rich widow.

"Ali Baba," he said as he came up to him, "you are very close about your affairs. You play the poor man, the wretch, the beggar, and you measure gold!"

"Brother," Ali Baba replied, "I don't know what you mean. Explain yourself."

"Don't play the innocent," Cassim retorted. And showing him the gold piece his wife had put in his hands, he added, "How many pieces do you have like this one, which my wife found stuck to the bottom of the measure your wife came to borrow from her yesterday?"

At these words Ali Baba knew that Cassim and Cassim's wife, thanks to his own wife's stubbornness, already knew what he had such strong reason to keep hidden. But the mistake was made, and it could not be undone. Without showing his brother the least sign of surprise or distress, he admitted the whole thing and told him by what chance he had discovered the robbers' hideout, and where it was, and he offered, if Cassim would keep the secret, to share the treasure with him.

"That is exactly what I intend," Cassim replied haughtily. "But," he added, "I also want to know exactly where this treasure is, the landmarks, the signs, and how I could get in myself if I had a mind to. Otherwise I will go and denounce you to the law. If you refuse, not only will you have nothing more to hope for, you will even lose what you have taken, while I will get my share for having denounced you."

Ali Baba, more from his own good nature than from fear of the insolent threats of a cruel brother, told him everything he wished to know, even the words he must use both to enter the cave and to leave it.

Cassim asked Ali Baba nothing more. He left him, resolved to get there ahead of him, and full of hope of seizing the treasure for himself alone. He set out the next day very early, before daybreak, with ten mules carrying large chests that he meant to fill, planning to bring a greater number on a second journey according to the loads he found in the cave. He took the road Ali Baba had shown him. He came near the rock and recognized the landmarks and the tree in which Ali Baba had hidden. He looked for the door and found it, and to open it he spoke the words: "Open, Sesame!" The door opened, he went in, and at once it closed again. Examining the cave, he was filled with wonder to see far greater riches than he had understood from Ali Baba's account, and his wonder grew as he looked at each thing in turn. Greedy and in love with wealth as he was, he would have spent the whole day feasting his eyes on so much gold if he had not remembered that he had come to carry it off and load his ten mules with it. He took up a number of sacks, as many as he could carry, and coming to the door to open it, his mind filled with every thought but the one that mattered most, he found that he had forgotten the word he needed. Instead of Sesame he said, "Open, Barley!" and he was astonished to see that the door, far from opening, stayed shut. He named several other grains, every one but the right one, and the door did not open.

Cassim had not expected this. In the great danger in which he found himself, terror took hold of him, and the harder he tried to remember the word Sesame, the more his memory tangled, until soon the word was as lost to him as if he had never heard it. He threw to the ground the sacks he was carrying and paced the cave with long strides, now this way, now that, and all the riches around him no longer moved him at all. Let us leave Cassim lamenting his fate; he deserves no pity.

The robbers came back to their cave around noon. When they were a short distance away and saw Cassim's mules around the rock loaded with chests, they were alarmed at this strange sight and rode up at full gallop. They put to flight the ten mules, which Cassim had neglected to tie up and which were grazing freely, so that they scattered this way and that through the forest, so far that the robbers soon lost sight of them.

The robbers did not trouble to chase the mules; it mattered more to them to find the man they belonged to. While some of them circled the rock looking for him, the captain and the rest dismounted and went straight to the door, sabers in hand. He spoke the words, and the door opened.

Cassim, in the middle of the cave, heard the noise of the horses and had no doubt that the robbers had come, nor that his death was near. Resolved at least to make one effort to escape their hands and save himself, he had held himself ready to rush out as soon as the door opened. The moment he saw it open, after hearing spoken the word Sesame that had slipped his memory, he sprang out so violently that he knocked the captain to the ground. But he did not escape the other robbers, who also had their sabers drawn and killed him on the spot.

The robbers' first concern after this execution was to go into the cave. Near the door they found the sacks Cassim had begun to move so he could carry them off and load them on his mules, and they put them back in their places without noticing the ones Ali Baba had carried off before. Holding council and debating together about what had happened, they understood well enough how Cassim had managed to get out of the cave, but how he could have got in, they could not imagine. It occurred to them that he might have come down through the top of the cave, but the opening through which daylight came in was so high, and the top of the rock so impossible to reach from outside, besides which nothing showed that he had done so, that they agreed it was beyond them. That he had come in by the door they could not believe, unless he had the secret for opening it; but they held it for certain that they alone had it. In this they were wrong, not knowing that they had been spied on by Ali Baba, who knew it.

However the thing had happened, since what mattered was that their common wealth be safe, they agreed to cut Cassim's body into four quarters and place them inside the cave near the door, two on one side and two on the other, to terrify anyone bold enough to attempt the same thing, and not to come back to the cave for some time, until the stench of the corpse had cleared. This resolved, they carried it out, and when nothing more held them there, they left their hideout securely closed, mounted their horses again, and went off to scour the country along the roads the caravans used, to attack them and carry on their usual robberies.

### Ali Baba Brings His Brother Home

Meanwhile Cassim's wife grew very uneasy when she saw that night had fallen and her husband had not come back. She went to Ali Baba's house in great alarm and said, "Brother-in-law, I believe you know that your brother Cassim has gone to the forest, and why. He has not come back yet, and the night is far gone. I am afraid some misfortune has happened to him."

Ali Baba had suspected his brother would make this journey after the way he had spoken, and that was why he had kept away from the forest that day, so as to give him no cause for suspicion. Without any reproach that might offend her, or her husband had he been alive, he told her she should not be alarmed yet, and that Cassim had very likely thought it wise not to come back into the city until late in the night.

Cassim's wife believed this all the more readily because she knew how important it was for her husband to act in secret. She went home and waited patiently until midnight. But after that her fears redoubled, and her grief was all the sharper because she could neither let it burst out nor ease it by crying aloud, since she saw clearly that its cause had to be kept from the neighbors. Then, though her fault could not be mended, she repented of the foolish curiosity that a shameful envy had given her to pry into the affairs of her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. She spent the night weeping, and at daybreak she ran to their house and told them why she had come, more by her tears than by her words.

Ali Baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to beg him to take the trouble of finding out what had become of Cassim. He left at once with his three donkeys, after urging her to temper her grief, and went to the forest. As he neared the rock, having seen neither his brother nor the ten mules along the way, he was startled by blood spilled near the door, and he took it for a bad omen. He stood before the door and spoke the words; it opened, and he was struck by the grim sight of his brother's body cut into four quarters. He did not hesitate over what he must do to pay his brother the last rites, forgetting how little brotherly love Cassim had shown him. In the cave he found the means to make two bundles of the four quarters, and he loaded them on one of his donkeys, with wood to hide them. He loaded the two other donkeys with sacks full of gold, with wood on top as before, losing no time. As soon as he had finished and had commanded the door to close, he took the road back to the city, but he was careful to wait at the edge of the forest long enough that he would not enter the city until after dark. When he arrived, he brought only the two gold-laden donkeys into his own house. He left his wife to unload them, told her in a few words what had happened to Cassim, and led the other donkey to his sister-in-law's house.

Ali Baba knocked at the door, and it was opened by Morgiana. This Morgiana was a slave, clever, shrewd, and rich in schemes for bringing the hardest things to a good end, and Ali Baba knew her to be so. When he had come into the courtyard, he unloaded the wood and the two bundles from the donkey, and taking Morgiana aside he said, "Morgiana, the first thing I ask of you is absolute secrecy. You will see how necessary it is, for your mistress as much as for me. Here in these two bundles is your master's body. We must have him buried as if he had died a natural death. Let me speak to your mistress, and listen closely to what I tell her."

Morgiana told her mistress, and Ali Baba, who was following her, came in.

"Well, brother-in-law," his sister-in-law asked Ali Baba in great impatience, "what news do you bring of my husband? I see nothing in your face that should comfort me."

"Sister," Ali Baba answered, "I can tell you nothing until you first promise to listen to me from beginning to end without opening your mouth. After what has happened, keeping a close secret matters to you no less than to me, for your own good and your own peace."

"Ah," cried the sister-in-law without raising her voice, "this preamble tells me that my husband is no more. But I see too why you ask for secrecy. I must force myself to bear it. Speak; I am listening."

Ali Baba told his sister-in-law all that had come of his journey, up to his arrival with Cassim's body.

"Sister," he added, "this is a cause of grief for you, all the greater because you expected it so little. Though the harm is past remedy, if anything can console you, I offer to join the little wealth God has sent me to yours by marrying you, and I assure you that my wife will not be jealous and that you will live well together. If the proposal pleases you, we must see to it that my brother appears to have died a natural death. That is a task, it seems to me, you may leave to Morgiana, and for my part I will help in every way I can."

What better course could Cassim's widow take than the one Ali Baba proposed? With the wealth left to her by the death of her first husband, she was finding another who was richer than she, and who, through the treasure he had discovered, might become richer still. She did not refuse the match; on the contrary, she regarded it as a reasonable ground for consolation. Wiping away the tears she had begun to shed in floods, and holding back the piercing cries customary among women who have lost their husbands, she showed Ali Baba plainly enough that she accepted his offer.

Ali Baba left Cassim's widow in this frame of mind, and after urging Morgiana to play her part well, he went home with his donkey.

### Morgiana and the Cobbler

Morgiana did not forget her part. She went out at the same time as Ali Baba and made her way to an apothecary in the neighborhood. She knocked at the shop, they opened, and she asked for a kind of lozenge that was very good for the most dangerous illnesses. The apothecary gave her some for the money she held out and asked who was ill in her master's house.

"Ah," she said with a deep sigh, "it is Cassim himself, my good master! No one can make out his illness. He neither speaks nor can eat."

With these words she carried off the lozenges, which in truth Cassim was no longer in any state to use.

The next day the same Morgiana came to the same apothecary and, with tears in her eyes, asked for an essence that was usually given to the sick only at the very last extremity, when there was no more hope for their lives unless this essence revived them.

"Alas," she said in great sorrow as she took it from the apothecary's hands, "I am much afraid this remedy will do no more good than the lozenges! Ah, what a good master I am losing!"

Besides this, since people had seen Ali Baba and his wife going back and forth to Cassim's house all day long with sad faces, no one was surprised toward evening to hear the mournful cries of Cassim's wife, and above all of Morgiana, announcing that Cassim was dead.

Very early the following day, when daylight was only beginning to appear, Morgiana, who knew there was a good old cobbler, very aged, in the square, who opened his shop first every day, long before the others, went out to find him. As she came up to him and wished him good day, she put a gold piece in his hand.

Baba Mustafa, as everyone knew him, Baba Mustafa, I say, who was cheerful by nature and always had a joke ready, looked at the gold piece, for it was not yet full daylight, and seeing that it was gold, said, "A lucky first sale! What is it you want? Here I am, ready to serve you well."

"Baba Mustafa," Morgiana said to him, "take what you need for sewing and come with me quickly, but on condition that I blindfold you when we reach a certain place."

At these words Baba Mustafa raised difficulties.

"Oho," he said, "so you want to make me do something against my conscience, or against my honor?"

Putting another gold piece in his hand, Morgiana replied, "God forbid that I ask anything of you that you cannot do in all honor. Only come, and fear nothing."

Baba Mustafa let himself be led. At the place she had chosen, Morgiana blindfolded him with a handkerchief and led him to her late master's house, and she did not take the handkerchief off until they were in the room where she had laid out the body, each quarter in its place. When she had taken it off, she said, "Baba Mustafa, I brought you here to have you sew these pieces together. Lose no time, and when you have finished, I will give you another gold piece."

When Baba Mustafa had finished, Morgiana blindfolded him again in the same room. She gave him the third gold piece she had promised him and urged him to keep the secret, then led him back to the place where she had blindfolded him on the way there. There she took the handkerchief off again and let him go home, watching him until he was out of sight, to take away any curiosity he might have to retrace his steps and spy on her in turn.

Morgiana had heated water to wash Cassim's body. So Ali Baba, who arrived just as she came back in, washed the body, perfumed it with incense, and wrapped it in its shroud with the customary rites. The carpenter also brought the coffin, which Ali Baba had taken care to order.

So that the carpenter could notice nothing, Morgiana received the coffin at the door. After paying him and sending him away, she helped Ali Baba put the body inside, and when Ali Baba had nailed the boards down firmly over it, she went to the mosque to announce that all was ready for the burial. The men of the mosque whose office was to wash the dead offered to come and perform their duty, but she told them it was already done.

Morgiana had only just come home when the imam and other ministers of the mosque arrived. Four neighbors gathered, lifted the coffin onto their shoulders, and, following the imam, who recited prayers, carried it to the cemetery. Morgiana, weeping as the slave of the dead man, followed with her head bare, uttering pitiful cries, beating her breast hard, and tearing her hair. Ali Baba walked behind, accompanied by neighbors who stepped out by turns, now and then, to relieve the other neighbors carrying the coffin, until they reached the cemetery.

As for Cassim's wife, she stayed in her house, grieving and crying out mournfully with the women of the neighborhood, who, as custom required, came running there during the burial, and who, joining their laments to hers, filled the whole quarter with sorrow far and wide.

In this way Cassim's dreadful death was hidden and kept quiet among Ali Baba, his wife, Cassim's widow, and Morgiana, with such great care that no one in the city, far from knowing of it, had the slightest suspicion.

Three or four days after Cassim's burial, Ali Baba moved the little furniture he had, together with the money he had taken from the robbers' treasure, which he carried only by night, into the house of his brother's widow, to settle there. This made known his new marriage with his sister-in-law, and since such marriages are nothing unusual in our religion, no one was surprised.

As for Cassim's shop, Ali Baba had a son who had some time before finished his apprenticeship with another great merchant, who had always given good report of his conduct. Ali Baba gave him the shop, with the promise that if he went on conducting himself wisely, it would not be long before he found him an advantageous marriage suited to his station.

### The Chalk Mark

Let us leave Ali Baba to enjoy the first fruits of his good fortune, and speak of the forty robbers. They came back to their hideout in the forest at the time they had agreed on, but they were greatly astonished not to find Cassim's body, and their astonishment grew when they noticed how their sacks of gold had dwindled.

"We are discovered and lost," said the captain, "if we are not careful. If we do not quickly look for a remedy, little by little we shall lose all the riches that our forefathers and we ourselves have gathered with so much trouble and toil. All we can judge of the damage done to us is that the thief we caught had the secret of opening the door, and that by good luck we arrived at the very moment he was about to come out. But he was not the only one; someone else must have it as well. His body carried off and our treasure diminished are proof beyond dispute. And since it is not likely that more than two people had the secret, having killed the one, we must kill the other in the same way. What do you say, brave men? Are you not of the same mind as I am?"

The robber captain's proposal seemed so reasonable to his band that they all approved it, and they agreed that they must drop every other undertaking, devote themselves to this one alone, and not give it up until they had succeeded.

"I expected no less of your courage and daring," the captain went on. "But before anything else, one of you, bold, clever, and enterprising, must go into the city unarmed, dressed as a traveler and a stranger, and use all his skill to find out whether people there are talking about the strange death of the man we slaughtered as he deserved, who he was, and in what house he lived. That is what we must learn first, so that we do nothing we might have cause to regret by revealing ourselves in a country where we have been unknown for so long, and where it is so much in our interest to remain so. But to spur on whichever of you offers to take this errand, and to keep him from deceiving us by bringing back a false report instead of a true one, which could bring about our ruin, I ask whether you do not think it right that in that case he should submit to the penalty of death."

Without waiting for the others to give their votes, one of the robbers said, "I submit to it, and I count it an honor to risk my life by taking on the errand. If I do not succeed, you will at least remember that I lacked neither good will nor courage for the common good of the band."

This robber, after receiving great praise from the captain and his comrades, disguised himself so that no one could take him for what he was. Leaving the band, he set out by night and timed his journey so well that he entered the city just as daylight was beginning to appear. He went on as far as the square, where he saw only one shop open, and that was Baba Mustafa's.

Baba Mustafa was sitting on his stool, awl in hand, ready to ply his trade. The robber went up to him and wished him good day, and noticing how old he was, said, "Good man, you start work very early. At your age you cannot possibly see clearly yet, and even if it were lighter, I doubt your eyes are good enough for sewing."

"Whoever you are," Baba Mustafa replied, "you must not know me. Old as I look, my eyes are excellent all the same, and you won't doubt it when you hear that not long ago I sewed up a dead man in a place hardly lighter than it is now."

The robber was overjoyed that on arriving he had come upon a man who, as he had no doubt, was giving him news of the very thing that had brought him there, of his own accord, without being asked.

"A dead man!" he replied in surprise. And to make him talk, he added, "Why sew up a dead man? I suppose you mean you sewed the shroud he was buried in."

"No, no," Baba Mustafa replied. "I know what I mean. You would like to make me talk, but you will learn nothing more."

The robber needed no further explanation to be convinced that he had found what he had come to look for. He drew out a gold piece and, putting it into Baba Mustafa's hand, said to him:

"I have no wish to pry into your secret, though I can assure you I would not reveal it if you entrusted it to me. The only thing I ask is that you do me the kindness of telling me, or coming to show me, the house where you sewed up this dead man."

"Even if I wanted to grant what you ask," Baba Mustafa replied, holding the gold piece ready to give it back, "I assure you I could not do it; you must take my word for it. Here is the reason. I was led to a certain place where I was blindfolded, and from there I let myself be guided into the house, and after I had done what I had to do, I was brought back the same way to the same place. You see it is impossible for me to be of service to you."

"At least," the robber answered, "you must remember roughly the way you were made to walk with your eyes bound. Come with me, I beg you. I will blindfold you at that spot, and we will walk together by the same road and the same turnings that you can recall having walked. And since every trouble deserves a reward, here is another gold piece. Come, do me the favor I ask." And as he said these words he put another piece in his hand.

The two gold pieces tempted Baba Mustafa. He looked at them in his hand for some time without saying a word, weighing what he ought to do. At last he drew his purse from his breast and, putting them into it, said to the robber, "I cannot promise that I remember exactly the way I was taken, but since you wish it, let us go. I will do what I can to remember it."

To the robber's great satisfaction, Baba Mustafa got up, and without closing his shop, where there was nothing of value to lose, he led the robber with him to the place where Morgiana had blindfolded him. When they had arrived, Baba Mustafa said, "This is where I was blindfolded, and I was turned the way you see me now." The robber, who had his handkerchief ready, bound his eyes and walked beside him, partly leading him and partly letting himself be led, until he stopped.

"I don't think I went any farther," said Baba Mustafa. And in fact he was standing before Cassim's house, where Ali Baba now lived. Before taking the handkerchief from his eyes, the robber quickly made a mark on the door with chalk he held ready, and when he had taken it off, he asked him whether he knew whose house it was. Baba Mustafa answered that he did not live in that quarter and so could tell him nothing about it.

Since the robber saw that he could learn nothing more from Baba Mustafa, he thanked him for the trouble he had put him to, and after he had left him and let him go back to his shop, he took the road to the forest, sure that he would be well received.

Shortly after the robber and Baba Mustafa had parted, Morgiana left Ali Baba's house on some errand, and on her way back she noticed the mark the robber had made. She stopped to look at it closely.

"What does this mark mean?" she said to herself. "Does someone wish my master harm, or was it made for fun? Whatever the purpose," she added, "it is wise to guard against anything that may happen."

At once she took some chalk, and since the two or three doors above and below were alike, she marked them in the same place, and she went back into the house without saying a word about what she had just done, either to her master or to her mistress.

Meanwhile the robber, going on his way, reached the forest and rejoined his band in good time. On arriving, he reported the success of his journey, making much of his luck in finding at the very first a man from whom he had learned the fact he had come to find out, which no one but that man could have told him. He was heard with great satisfaction, and the captain, taking the floor after praising him for his diligence, addressed them all: "Comrades, we have no time to lose. Let us set out well armed, without appearing to be. When we have entered the city separately, one after another, so as to arouse no suspicion, let our meeting place be the great square, some on one side and some on the other, while I go and look at the house with our comrade who has just brought us such good news, so that I can judge from that what course will suit us best."

The robber captain's speech was applauded, and they were soon ready to leave. They filed off by twos and threes, and walking at a reasonable distance from one another, they entered the city without arousing any suspicion. The captain and the man who had come that morning entered last. This man led the captain into the street where he had marked Ali Baba's house, and when he was in front of one of the doors Morgiana had marked, he pointed it out, telling him that was the one. But as they went on without stopping, so as not to draw suspicion, the captain noticed that the next door bore the same mark in the same place. He pointed this out to his guide and asked him whether it was this one or the first. The guide was dumbfounded and did not know what to answer, still less when he saw, with the captain, that the four or five doors after it also bore the same mark. He swore to the captain that he had marked only one.

"I don't know," he added, "who can have marked the others so exactly alike, but in this confusion, I confess I cannot tell which one I marked."

### The Captain Finds the House

Seeing his plan miscarry, the captain went to the great square, where he had the first of his men he met pass word to the rest that they had wasted their effort and made a useless journey, and that they had no choice but to take the road back to their common hideout. He set the example, and they all followed him in the same order in which they had come.

When the band had gathered again in the forest, the captain explained to them why he had made them come back. At once the guide was declared worthy of death by a single voice, and he condemned himself, admitting that he should have taken better precautions, and he steadily offered his neck to the man who stepped forward to cut off his head.

Since the survival of the band required that the wrong done to it not go unavenged, another robber, who promised himself he would do better than the one just punished, came forward and begged as a favor to be chosen. He was heard. He set off. He bribed Baba Mustafa as the first had bribed him, and Baba Mustafa, blindfolded, led him to Ali Baba's house. He marked it in red in a less conspicuous place, reckoning that this was a sure way to tell it apart from the houses marked in white.

But shortly afterward Morgiana came out of the house as on the day before, and when she came back, the red mark did not escape her sharp eyes. She reasoned as she had before, and she did not fail to make the same mark in red chalk on the other doors nearby, in the same places.

The robber, on his return to his band in the forest, did not fail to make much of the precaution he had taken, infallible, he said, for not confusing Ali Baba's house with the others. The captain and his men believed with him that the thing was bound to succeed. They made their way to the city in the same order and with the same care as before, armed in the same way, ready to strike the blow they were planning. On arriving, the captain and the robber went to Ali Baba's street, but they met the same difficulty as the first time. The captain was furious, and the robber as bewildered as the one who had gone before him on the same errand.

So the captain was forced to withdraw again that day with his men, as little satisfied as the day before. The robber, as the author of the mistake, likewise suffered the punishment to which he had willingly submitted.

The captain, seeing his band reduced by two brave men, feared he would see it reduced further if he went on relying on others to learn the truth about Ali Baba's house. Their example showed him that they were all fit only for strokes of force and not at all for using their heads when the occasion called for it. He took the matter on himself. He came to the city, and with the help of Baba Mustafa, who did him the same service he had done the two envoys of his band, he did not bother to make any mark to know Ali Baba's house by. Instead he studied it so well, not only looking at it closely but passing back and forth before it several times, that he could not possibly mistake it.

The robber captain, satisfied with his journey and having learned what he wished, went back to the forest, and when he had reached the cave, where his band was waiting for him, he said, "Comrades, nothing at last can prevent us any longer from taking full revenge for the damage done to us. I know for certain the house of the guilty man on whom it must fall, and on the way I have thought of the means of making him feel it so skillfully that no one will be able to learn of the place of our hideout, nor of our treasure. For that is the aim we must have in our undertaking; otherwise, instead of serving us, it would be fatal to us. To reach that aim," the captain went on, "here is what I have devised. When I have laid it out for you, if anyone knows a better plan, he may put it forward."

Then he explained to them how he meant to go about it, and when they had all given their approval, he charged them to divide up among the market towns and villages round about, and even the cities, and buy mules, nineteen in all, and thirty-eight large leather jars for carrying oil, one full and the others empty.

### The Oil Merchant

In two or three days the robbers had gathered all of it. Since the empty jars were a little narrow at the mouth for carrying out his plan, the captain had them widened a little. He had one of his men get into each one, with the weapons he had judged necessary, leaving open the seam he had had unpicked so that they could breathe freely, and he closed them in such a way that they looked full of oil. To disguise them better, he rubbed the outside with oil taken from the jar that was full.

Everything thus arranged, when the mules had been loaded with the thirty-seven robbers, not counting the captain, each hidden in one of the jars, and with the jar that was full of oil, their captain, as their driver, took the road to the city at the time he had fixed, and arrived there at dusk, about an hour after sunset, as he had intended. He entered and went straight to Ali Baba's house, meaning to knock at the door and ask to spend the night there with his mules, if the master pleased. He did not have to knock: he found Ali Baba at the door, taking the cool air after supper. He halted his mules, and addressing Ali Baba he said, "Sir, I have brought the oil you see from very far away to sell it tomorrow at the market, and at this hour I do not know where to find lodging. If it is no trouble to you, do me the kindness of taking me into your house to spend the night. I will be much obliged to you."

Although Ali Baba had seen the man speaking to him in the forest, and had even heard his voice, how could he have recognized him as the captain of the forty robbers under the disguise of an oil merchant?

"You are welcome," he said to him. "Come in." And as he spoke these words he made way to let him in with his mules, which he did.

At the same time Ali Baba called a slave he had and told him, once the mules were unloaded, not only to stable them under cover but also to give them hay and barley. He also took the trouble to go into the kitchen and order Morgiana to get supper ready quickly for the guest who had just arrived, and to make up a bed for him in a room.

Ali Baba did more. To give his guest every welcome possible, when he saw that the robber captain had unloaded his mules, that the mules had been led into the stable as he had ordered, and that the captain was looking for a place to spend the night in the open air, he went and took him into the hall where he received his company, telling him he would not allow him to sleep in the courtyard. The robber captain made many excuses, on the pretext of not wishing to be a burden, but in truth so as to have more freedom to carry out what he was plotting, and he gave in to Ali Baba's courtesy only after strong urging.

Ali Baba, not content with keeping company with the man who wanted his life until Morgiana had served supper, went on talking with him of various things he thought might please him, and did not leave him until he had finished the meal he had treated him to.

"I leave you master here," he said to him. "You have only to ask for anything you may need; there is nothing in my house that is not at your service."

The robber captain rose at the same time as Ali Baba and went with him to the door, and while Ali Baba went into the kitchen to speak to Morgiana, he went into the courtyard on the pretext of going to the stable to see that his mules lacked nothing.

Ali Baba, after urging Morgiana once more to take great care of his guest and let him want for nothing, added, "Morgiana, I tell you now that tomorrow I am going to the baths before daybreak. See that my bathing linen is ready, and give it to Abdalla," this was the name of his slave, "and make me a good broth to drink when I come back."

After giving her these orders, he withdrew to go to bed.

Meanwhile the robber captain, coming out of the stable, went to give his men their orders for what they were to do. Beginning with the first jar and going on to the last, he said to each one:

"When I throw little stones from the room where they lodge me, be sure to cut yourselves an opening by slitting the jar from top to bottom with the knife you have been given, and come out. I will be with you at once."

The knife he spoke of was pointed and sharpened for the purpose.

That done, he came back, and when he presented himself at the kitchen door, Morgiana took a light and led him to the room she had prepared for him, where she left him after asking whether he needed anything else. So as to arouse no suspicion, he put out the light shortly afterward and lay down fully dressed, ready to get up as soon as he had had his first sleep.

Morgiana did not forget Ali Baba's orders. She got his bathing linen ready and gave it to Abdalla, who had not yet gone to bed. She put the pot on the fire for the broth, and while she was skimming the pot, the lamp went out. There was no more oil in the house, and there were no candles either. What to do? She needed light to skim her pot. She told Abdalla her trouble.

"What a fuss you're in!" Abdalla said to her. "Go and take some oil from one of those jars out in the courtyard."

Morgiana thanked Abdalla for the advice, and while he went to sleep near Ali Baba's room so as to follow him to the baths, she took the oil jug and went into the courtyard. As she came up to the first jar she reached, the robber hidden inside asked in a low voice, "Is it time?"

### The Jars of Oil

Although the robber had spoken low, Morgiana caught the voice all the more easily because the robber captain, as soon as he had unloaded his mules, had opened not only this jar but all the others as well, to give air to his men, who were very uncomfortable in there anyway, though not deprived of the means to breathe.

Any slave other than Morgiana, as startled as she was to find a man in a jar instead of the oil she was looking for, would have raised an uproar that could have caused great misfortunes. But Morgiana was above her kind. She understood in an instant how important it was to keep this secret, the pressing danger in which Ali Baba and his family stood, and she herself as well, and the need to find a remedy quickly without making any stir; and with her gift for such things she saw at once how to do it. So she collected herself that very moment, and without showing any emotion, taking the robber captain's place, she answered the question and said, "Not yet, but soon." She went up to the next jar, and the same question was put to her, and so on down the line until she came to the last, which was full of oil; and to the same question she gave the same answer.

By this Morgiana learned that her master Ali Baba, who thought he had given lodging to an oil merchant and no more, had let thirty-eight robbers into his house, counting the false merchant, their captain. She quickly filled her jug with oil, which she took from the last jar, and went back to her kitchen. There, after putting oil in the lamp and lighting it again, she took a large cauldron and went back to the courtyard, where she filled it with oil from the jar. She carried it back, set it on the fire, and heaped plenty of wood beneath it, for the sooner the oil boiled, the sooner she would have done what must be done for the common safety of the house, which allowed no delay. At last the oil boiled. She took the cauldron and went and poured into each jar, from the first to the last, enough boiling oil to stifle them and take their lives, and so she took them.

This deed, worthy of Morgiana's courage, carried out without a sound as she had planned, she came back into the kitchen with the empty cauldron and shut the door. She put out the great fire she had lit, leaving only as much as was needed to finish cooking the pot of broth for Ali Baba. Then she blew out the lamp and stayed perfectly silent, determined not to go to bed until she had watched what would happen, through a kitchen window that looked onto the courtyard, as far as the darkness of the night allowed.

Morgiana had not been waiting a quarter of an hour when the robber captain woke. He got up, opened the window, and looked out. Seeing no light and finding the whole house deep in stillness and silence, he gave the signal by throwing little stones, several of which fell on the jars, as he had no doubt from the sound that reached his ears. He listened and heard nothing, and saw nothing, to tell him that his men were stirring. This troubled him. He threw little stones a second time and a third. They fell on the jars, and yet not one of the robbers gave the slightest sign of life, and he could not understand why. Thoroughly alarmed, he went down into the courtyard as quietly as he could. He crept up to the first jar in the same way, and as he was about to ask the robber, whom he believed alive, whether he was asleep, he smelled hot oil and burning rising from the jar. By this he knew that his plot against Ali Baba, to take his life and plunder his house and carry off, if he could, the gold he had taken from the band, had failed. He went on to the next jar, and to all the others one after another, and found that his men had all perished the same way; and from the oil gone from the jar he had brought in full, he understood how he had been robbed of the help he was counting on. In despair at having missed his stroke, he slipped through the door into Ali Baba's garden, which opened off the courtyard, and escaped from garden to garden over the walls.

When Morgiana heard no more noise and did not see the robber captain come back, she waited some time and then had no doubt about the way he had taken, rather than trying to escape by the door of the house, which was double-locked. Content, and full of joy at having succeeded so well in making the whole household safe, she went to bed at last and fell asleep.

### Morgiana Tells Her Master

Ali Baba, meanwhile, went out before daybreak and went to the baths followed by his slave, knowing nothing of the astonishing event that had taken place in his house while he slept. Morgiana had not thought it right to wake him, all the more reasonably because she had had no time to lose while the danger lasted, and it was useless to disturb his rest once she had turned it aside.

When he came back from the baths and entered his house, the sun was up. Ali Baba was so surprised to see the oil jars still in their places, and that the merchant had not gone to market with his mules, that he asked the reason of Morgiana, who had come to open the door for him. She had left everything as he now saw it, to set the sight before him and explain more vividly what she had done to save him.

"My good master," Morgiana said in answer to Ali Baba, "God keep you and all your house! You will better understand what you wish to know when you have seen what I have to show you. Please come with me."

Ali Baba followed Morgiana. When she had shut the door, she led him to the first jar. "Look into the jar," she said to him, "and see whether there is oil in it."

Ali Baba looked, and when he saw a man in the jar, he drew back in terror with a great cry.

"Don't be afraid," Morgiana said to him. "The man you see will do you no harm. He has done harm, but he is in no state to do any more, to you or to anyone. He is no longer alive."

"Morgiana," cried Ali Baba, "what does this mean that you have just shown me? Explain it to me."

"I will explain it," said Morgiana, "but check your astonishment, and do not rouse the neighbors' curiosity to learn of a thing it is very important for you to keep hidden. First, look at all the other jars."

Ali Baba looked into the other jars one after another, from the first to the last, where there was oil, and he noticed that its oil had gone down considerably. When he had done, he stood as if frozen, now casting his eyes on the jars, now looking at Morgiana, without a word, so great was his surprise. At last, as though speech had returned to him, he asked, "And the merchant, what has become of him?"

"The merchant," Morgiana answered, "is no more a merchant than I am. I will tell you who he is and what has become of him. But you will hear the whole story more comfortably in your room, for it is time, for the good of your health, that you took some broth after coming out of the bath."

While Ali Baba went to his room, Morgiana went to the kitchen for the broth. She brought it to him, and before taking it, Ali Baba said to her:

"Begin at once to satisfy my impatience, and tell me so strange a story with all its details."

To obey Ali Baba, Morgiana said to him:

"Master, last night, when you had gone to bed, I got your bathing linen ready as you had just told me to, and gave it to Abdalla. Then I put the pot on the fire for the broth, and as I was skimming it, the lamp went out all at once for lack of oil, and there was not a drop in the jug. I looked for some candle ends and could not find a single one. Abdalla, seeing me at a loss, reminded me of the jars full of oil in the courtyard, for he had no more doubt of it than I had, and as you believed yourself. I took the jug and ran to the nearest jar. But as I came near the jar, a voice came out of it and asked me, 'Is it time?' I was not frightened, but understanding at once the false merchant's wickedness, I answered without hesitating, 'Not yet, but soon.' I went on to the next jar, and another voice asked me the same thing, and I answered the same way. I went to the other jars one after another: the same question, the same answer. I found oil only in the last jar, and with it I filled the jug. When I had considered that there were thirty-seven robbers in the middle of your courtyard, waiting only for the signal or the command of their chief, whom you took for a merchant and had welcomed so warmly, to set the whole house ablaze, I lost no time. I brought back the jug and lit the lamp, and taking the largest cauldron in the kitchen, I went and filled it with oil. I set it on the fire, and when it was boiling hard, I went and poured into each jar where the robbers were as much as was needed to keep them all from carrying out the deadly plan that had brought them. When the thing was finished as I had planned it, I came back into the kitchen and put out the lamp, and before going to bed I set myself to watch quietly from the window what the false oil merchant would do. After some time I heard him throw little stones from his window as a signal, and they fell on the jars. He threw them a second time and a third, and seeing and hearing no movement, he came down, and I saw him go from jar to jar as far as the last, after which I lost sight of him in the darkness of the night. I watched a while longer, and when I saw that he did not come back, I had no doubt he had escaped through the garden, in despair at having failed so badly. So, satisfied that the house was safe, I went to bed."

As she finished, Morgiana added:

"That is the story you asked me for, and I am convinced it follows from something I had noticed two or three days ago, which I did not think I needed to trouble you with. Once, coming back from the city early in the morning, I saw that our street door was marked in white, and the next day in red, next to the white mark, and each time, without knowing for what purpose it could have been done, I marked two or three of our neighbors' doors, above and below, the same way and in the same place. If you put that together with what has just happened, you will find the whole thing was plotted by the robbers of the forest, whose band, I don't know why, is two men short. Be that as it may, it is now reduced to three at most. This shows that they had sworn to destroy you, and that you would do well to stay on your guard as long as it is certain that any of them is left in the world. As for me, I will spare nothing to watch over your safety, as I am bound to do."

When Morgiana had finished, Ali Baba, deeply moved by how much he owed her, said to her:

"I will not die before I have rewarded you as you deserve. I owe you my life, and to begin to show you my gratitude, I give you your freedom from this moment, until I crown it in the way I intend. I am convinced, as you are, that the forty robbers laid this trap for me. God has delivered me through you. I hope He will go on protecting me from their malice, and that in turning it wholly away from my head, He will deliver the world from their persecution and their accursed breed. What we must do now is bury the bodies of this plague of mankind without delay, and in such secrecy that no one can suspect anything of their fate. That is what I am going to see to with Abdalla."

### Cogia Hussain

Ali Baba's garden was very long and ended in a row of tall trees. Without delay he went beneath those trees with his slave to dig a pit, long and wide in proportion to the bodies they had to bury there. The ground was easy to work, and it did not take them long to finish. They drew the bodies out of the jars and set aside the weapons the robbers had armed themselves with. They carried the bodies to the end of the garden and laid them in the pit, and after covering them with the earth they had dug out, they scattered what was left over round about, so that the ground looked as level as before. Ali Baba had the oil jars and the weapons carefully hidden, and as for the mules, which he had no need of for the present, he sent them to market at different times and had his slave sell them there.

While Ali Baba was taking all these measures to keep the public from learning how he had grown rich in so short a time, the captain of the forty robbers had gone back to the forest in unimaginable humiliation. In the turmoil, or rather the confusion, into which so disastrous an outcome, so contrary to what he had promised himself, had thrown him, he had gone back into the cave without being able to settle on any resolution along the way about what he should or should not do to Ali Baba.

The solitude he found in that gloomy dwelling seemed dreadful to him.

"Brave men," he cried, "companions of my night watches, my raids, and my labors, where are you? What can I do without you? Did I gather and choose you only to see you all perish at once by a fate so deadly and so unworthy of your courage? I would mourn you less if you had died like valiant men, saber in hand. When shall I ever raise another band of fighting men like you? And even if I wished to, could I undertake it without exposing so much gold, so much silver, so much wealth, as prey to the man who has already enriched himself with a part of it? I cannot and must not think of it until I have first taken his life. What I could not do with such powerful help, I will do alone. And when I have made sure in this way that this treasure is no longer open to plunder, I will work to see that it is not left without heirs or without a master after me, but that it is preserved and increased for all posterity."

Having made this resolution, he was at no loss for the means of carrying it out. Then, full of hope and with his mind at rest, he fell asleep and passed the night quite peacefully.

The next day the robber captain, waking very early as he had intended, put on very fine clothes in keeping with the plan he had devised and came to the city, where he took lodging in a khan. Since he expected that what had happened at Ali Baba's house might have caused a stir, he asked the doorkeeper, as if making conversation, whether there was any news in the city, whereupon the doorkeeper spoke of everything but what he needed to know. From this he judged that the reason Ali Baba kept so close a secret was that he did not want his knowledge of the treasure, and of the way to get into it, to be spread abroad, and that he knew very well that this was why someone wanted his life. That spurred the captain all the more to spare no effort to be rid of him by the same secret means.

The robber captain provided himself with a horse, which he used to carry many kinds of rich fabrics and fine linens to his lodging, making several journeys to the forest with the precautions needed to hide the place he fetched them from. To sell this merchandise, once he had gathered as much as he thought fit, he looked for a shop. He found one, rented it from the owner, stocked it, and set himself up there. The shop directly opposite his own was the one that had belonged to Cassim, which Ali Baba's son had occupied for only a short while.

The robber captain, who had taken the name Cogia Hussain, did not fail, as a newcomer, to pay his respects to his neighbors among the merchants, according to custom. But since Ali Baba's son was young and handsome, did not lack wit, and had more occasion than the others to speak and converse with him, he soon made friends with him. He set himself to cultivate him still more closely and assiduously when, three or four days after he had set up shop, he recognized Ali Baba, who came to see his son and stopped to talk with him, as he was in the habit of doing from time to time, and when he learned from the son, after Ali Baba had left him, that this was his father. He redoubled his attentions to him. He made much of him, gave him small presents, even entertained him, and several times had him to dine.

Ali Baba's son did not want to be so much in Cogia Hussain's debt without returning the favor. But his lodging was cramped, and he did not have the same means as Cogia Hussain to entertain him as he wished. He spoke of his intention to his father, Ali Baba, pointing out to him that it would not be fitting for him to go on any longer without repaying Cogia Hussain's kindnesses.

Ali Baba gladly took the entertainment upon himself.

"My son," he said, "tomorrow is Friday. Since that is a day when the great merchants, like Cogia Hussain and like you, keep their shops closed, arrange an outing with him for the afternoon, and on the way back, see to it that you bring him by my house and have him come in. It will be better done that way than if you invited him formally. I will tell Morgiana to make supper and have it ready."

On Friday afternoon Ali Baba's son and Cogia Hussain met at the place they had agreed on and went on their outing. On the way back, since Ali Baba's son had taken care to bring Cogia Hussain along the street where his father lived, when they came to the door of the house he stopped him and, knocking, said to him, "This is my father's house. When I told him of the friendship you honor me with, he charged me to obtain for him the honor of your acquaintance. I beg you to add this pleasure to all the others for which I am in your debt."

Although Cogia Hussain had reached the goal he had set himself, which was to gain entry to Ali Baba's house and take his life without risking his own or causing a stir, he nonetheless made his excuses and pretended to take leave of the son. But since Ali Baba's slave had just opened the door, the son took him kindly by the hand, and going in first, drew him in and in a manner obliged him to enter, as if against his will.

Ali Baba received Cogia Hussain with an open face and with every welcome he could wish. He thanked him for his kindness to his son. "The debt he owes you for it, and that I owe you myself," he added, "is all the greater because he is a young man who does not yet know the ways of the world, and you do not disdain to help shape him."

Cogia Hussain returned compliment for compliment, assuring Ali Baba that if his son had not yet gained the experience of certain old men, he had a good sense that served him in place of the experience of countless others.

After a brief conversation on other, idle subjects, Cogia Hussain made to take his leave. Ali Baba stopped him.

"Sir," he said, "where do you want to go? I beg you to do me the honor of taking supper with me. The meal I wish to give you is far below what you deserve, but such as it is, I hope you will accept it as warmly as I mean to offer it."

"Master Ali Baba," Cogia Hussain replied, "I am fully convinced of your kindness. And if I ask as a favor that you not take it amiss if I withdraw without accepting your gracious offer, I beg you to believe that I do so neither from disdain nor from discourtesy, but because I have a reason for it that you would approve if you knew it."

"And what can this reason be, sir?" Ali Baba returned. "May one ask it of you?"

"I can tell it," Cogia Hussain replied. "It is that I eat no meat, and no stew, that has salt in it. Judge for yourself what a figure I would cut at your table."

"If that is your only reason," Ali Baba insisted, "it must not deprive me of the honor of having you to supper, unless you wish it otherwise. In the first place, there is no salt in the bread eaten in my house. And as for the meat and the stews, I promise you there will be none in what is served before you. I will go and give the order. So do me the kindness of staying; I will be back with you in a moment."

Ali Baba went to the kitchen and ordered Morgiana not to put salt on the meat she was to serve, and to prepare quickly two or three stews without salt, among those he had ordered from her.

Morgiana, who was ready to serve, could not help showing her displeasure at this new order and speaking her mind to Ali Baba.

"Who is this fussy man who eats no salt?" she said. "Your supper will be ruined if I serve it later."

"Don't be cross, Morgiana," Ali Baba replied. "He is an honest man. Do as I tell you."

Morgiana obeyed, but grudgingly. She was curious to see this man who ate no salt. When she had finished, and Abdalla had set the table, she helped him carry in the dishes. Looking at Cogia Hussain, she knew him at once for the robber captain, despite his disguise, and studying him closely, she saw that he had a dagger hidden under his robe.

"I am no longer surprised," she said to herself, "that the villain will not eat salt with my master. He is his bitterest enemy; he means to murder him. But I will stop him."

### Morgiana's Dance

When Morgiana had finished serving, or having Abdalla serve, she used the time while they were at supper to make the preparations needed for carrying out one of the boldest of strokes. She had just finished when Abdalla came to tell her it was time to serve the fruit. She brought in the fruit, and as soon as Abdalla had cleared the table, she served it. Then she set a small table beside Ali Baba, placed the wine on it with three cups, and going out she took Abdalla with her, as if the two of them were going to have their supper together, and to leave Ali Baba free, as was the custom, to talk and make pleasant merry with his guest and see that he drank well.

Then the false Cogia Hussain, or rather the captain of the forty robbers, believed that the right moment to take Ali Baba's life had come.

"I will get the father and the son drunk," he said to himself. "The son, whose life I am quite willing to spare, will not stop me from plunging my dagger into the father's heart, and I will escape through the garden as I did before, while the cook and the slave have not yet finished their supper or have fallen asleep in the kitchen."

Instead of eating her supper, Morgiana, who had seen through the false Cogia Hussain's intention, gave him no time to carry out his wickedness. She dressed in a very fine dancer's costume, put on a headdress to match, and girded herself with a belt of gilded silver, to which she fastened a dagger whose sheath and hilt were of the same metal; and with all this she put a very beautiful mask over her face. When she had disguised herself in this way, she said to Abdalla:

"Abdalla, take your tambourine, and let us go and give our master's guest, his son's friend, the entertainment we sometimes give him."

Abdalla took the tambourine. He began to play it as he walked ahead of Morgiana, and he went into the hall. Morgiana, coming in after him, made a deep curtsy, deliberately, in a way that drew every eye, as if asking leave to show what she could do.

When Abdalla saw that Ali Baba wished to speak, he stopped playing the tambourine.

"Come in, Morgiana, come in," said Ali Baba. "Cogia Hussain will judge what you can do, and he will tell us what he thinks of it. Now, sir," he said to Cogia Hussain, turning toward him, "don't think I am going to any expense to give you this entertainment. I find it at home, and you see it is my slave, and my cook and housekeeper as well, who provide it. I hope you will not find it unpleasant."

Cogia Hussain had not expected Ali Baba to add this entertainment to the supper he was giving him. It made him fear he might not be able to seize the opportunity he thought he had found. If that happened, he consoled himself with the hope of finding it again by continuing to cultivate the friendship of father and son. So although he would rather Ali Baba had chosen not to give it, he pretended nonetheless to be obliged to him for it, and he was obliging enough to assure him that whatever gave him pleasure could not fail to please him too.

When Abdalla saw that Ali Baba and Cogia Hussain had stopped talking, he began to play his tambourine again and sang along to a dance tune. And Morgiana, who yielded nothing to any professional dancer, danced in a way that would have won admiration from any company at all, not only the one she was performing for, in which perhaps only the false Cogia Hussain paid it little attention.

After dancing several dances with the same grace and the same vigor, she at last drew the dagger, and holding it in her hand, she danced one in which she outdid herself in the variety of her figures, the lightness of her movements, the astonishing leaps, and the marvelous feats that went with them, now thrusting the dagger forward as if to strike, now pretending to strike it into her own breast.

At last, as if out of breath, she snatched the tambourine from Abdalla's hands with her left hand, and holding the dagger in her right, she went and held out the tambourine, hollow side up, to Ali Baba, in imitation of professional dancers, men and women, who do so to invite the generosity of their audience.

Ali Baba tossed a gold piece into Morgiana's tambourine. Morgiana then turned to Ali Baba's son, who followed his father's example. Cogia Hussain, seeing that she was coming to him too, had already drawn his purse from his breast to make her his present, and was putting his hand into it, at the very moment when Morgiana, with a courage worthy of the firmness and resolve she had shown until then, plunged the dagger into the middle of his heart, so deep that she did not draw it out until she had taken his life.

Ali Baba and his son, horrified at this deed, gave a great cry. "Ah, wretched girl," cried Ali Baba, "what have you done? Is it to ruin me and my family?"

"It is not to ruin you," Morgiana answered. "I did it to save you."

Then, opening Cogia Hussain's robe and showing Ali Baba the dagger he was armed with, she said, "See what a bitter enemy you were dealing with, and look him well in the face. You will recognize the false oil merchant and the captain of the forty robbers! And do you not also see that he would not eat salt with you? Do you need more to convince you of his deadly design? Before I had seen him, the suspicion came to me from the moment you told me you had such a guest. I saw him, and you see that my suspicion was not ill founded."

Ali Baba, knowing the new debt he owed Morgiana for saving his life a second time, embraced her.

### The Wedding and the Secret of the Cave

"Morgiana," he said, "I gave you your freedom, and I promised you then that my gratitude would not stop there and that I would soon crown it. That time has come: I make you my daughter-in-law."

And turning to his son, Ali Baba added, "My son, I believe you are a good enough son not to find it strange that I give you Morgiana as your wife without consulting you. You owe her no less than I do. You see that Cogia Hussain sought your friendship only so as to succeed the better in tearing my life from me by his treachery, and had he succeeded, you must not doubt that he would have sacrificed you to his vengeance as well. Consider, besides, that in marrying Morgiana you marry the mainstay of my family as long as I live, and the support of yours to the end of your days."

The son, far from showing any displeasure, made it plain that he consented to this marriage, not only because he did not wish to disobey his father, but also because his own inclination led him to it.

Next, in Ali Baba's house, they saw to burying the captain's body beside those of the forty robbers, and this was done so secretly that it was known only after many long years, when no one was any longer concerned in the telling of this memorable story.

A few days later Ali Baba celebrated the wedding of his son and Morgiana with great ceremony and a sumptuous feast, with dances, shows, and the customary entertainments. And he had the satisfaction of seeing that his friends and neighbors, whom he had invited, and who did not know the true reasons for the marriage but were well aware of Morgiana's fine and good qualities, loudly praised his generosity and his kind heart.

After the marriage, Ali Baba, who had kept away from the cave ever since he had taken his brother Cassim's body from it and brought it home on one of his three donkeys, together with the gold he had loaded on them, for fear of finding the robbers there or being caught by them, still kept away from it after the death of the thirty-eight robbers, counting their captain, because he supposed that the two others, whose fate he did not know, were still alive.

But at the end of a year, when he saw that no attempt had been made to trouble him, curiosity took him to make a journey there, taking the precautions needed for his safety. He mounted his horse, and when he came near the cave, he took it as a good omen that he saw no trace either of men or of horses. He dismounted, tied up his horse, and standing before the door, he spoke these words, which he had not forgotten: "Open, Sesame!" The door opened. He went in, and the state in which he found everything in the cave led him to judge that no one had entered it since about the time the false Cogia Hussain had come to set up shop in the city, and so that the band of forty robbers had been entirely scattered and wiped out since then. He no longer doubted that he was the only one in the world who had the secret of opening the cave, and that the treasure it held was his to use. He had brought a saddlebag with him; he filled it with as much gold as his horse could carry, and he went back to the city.

From that time on, Ali Baba, his son, whom he took to the cave and taught the secret of getting in, and after them their descendants, to whom they passed on the same secret, enjoying their fortune with moderation, lived in great splendor, honored with the highest offices of the city.

When she had finished telling this story to Sultan Shahriar, Scheherazade, seeing that it was not yet day, began to tell him the one we are about to read:

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same French text of Galland’s 1806 Le Normant edition, paragraph for paragraph.

### The Two Brothers and the Forty Riders

Scheherazade's sister Dinarzade kept watch and woke her. Scheherazade then began the story the sultan of the Indies, her husband, was expecting:

Great sultan, she said, there was once a city in Persia, near the edge of your lands. Two brothers lived there. One was called Cassim, the other Ali Baba. Their father left them very little money, and they split it evenly between them. You would think they would stay equally well off. Luck decided differently.

Cassim married a woman who, not long after, inherited a shop full of goods, a storehouse packed with good stock, and some land. Suddenly Cassim was well off. He became one of the richest merchants in town.

Ali Baba married a woman who was as poor as he was. They lived in a very poor house. To support himself and his children, all he could do was cut wood in a forest nearby and carry it into town to sell. He loaded it on three donkeys, and those donkeys were all he owned.

One day Ali Baba was in the forest. He had almost cut enough wood to load up his donkeys when he noticed a big cloud of dust going up into the sky. It was coming his way. He looked closely and saw that it was a large group of men on horseback, riding fast.

Nobody talked about robbers in that area. Still, it crossed Ali Baba's mind that these riders could be robbers. He didn't worry about what would happen to his donkeys. He only wanted to save himself. He climbed a big tree. A short way up, its branches spread out in a circle and grew so close together that there was hardly any gap between them. He sat down in the middle. He felt safe there, because he could see out but no one could see him. The tree stood at the bottom of a rock that stood by itself. The rock was much taller than the tree, and its sides were so steep that there was no way to climb up it anywhere.

The riders were big, strong men with fine horses and plenty of weapons. They came to the rock and got down from their horses. Ali Baba counted forty. From how they looked and what they carried, he was sure they were robbers. He was right. They were robbers who never hurt anyone near home. They went a long way off to steal, and they used this place to meet. What he saw next made him even surer.

Each man took the bridle off his horse and tied it up. He hung a bag of barley around the horse's neck. He had carried the bag on the back of the horse. Then each of them picked up his saddlebag. Most of the bags looked so heavy to Ali Baba that he decided they must be full of gold and silver coins.

One man stood out from the others. He was carrying a saddlebag like everyone else, and Ali Baba guessed he was the leader. He walked up to the rock, very near the tree where Ali Baba was hiding. He pushed through some bushes and said, loud and clear, "Open, Sesame!" Ali Baba heard every word. The moment the leader said it, a door opened. He let all his men go in first. When they were all inside, he went in too, and the door shut.

The robbers were inside the rock for a long time. Ali Baba was afraid that if he climbed down to run away, one of them, or all of them, would come out. So he had no choice but to stay in the tree and wait. He was tempted to climb down, grab two horses, ride one and lead the other, and head for town with his three donkeys in front of him. But he couldn't be sure how that would end, so he played it safe.

In the end the door opened again and the forty robbers came out. The leader had gone in last, and now he came out first. He watched them all walk out past him. Then Ali Baba heard him shut the door by saying, "Close, Sesame!" Each man went back to his horse, put the bridle back on, tied his saddlebag on again, and got back on. When the leader saw that everyone was ready, he rode to the front and led them away the same way they had come.

### Open Sesame

Ali Baba didn't climb down right away. He thought, "They might have forgotten something and have to come back. If that happens, they'll catch me." He watched them until they were out of sight. To be extra safe, he waited a long while before he came down. He still remembered the words the leader had used to open and shut the door. He wanted to see if they would work for him too. He went through the bushes and found the door they hid. He stood in front of it and said, "Open, Sesame!" Right away the door opened all the way.

Ali Baba thought he would find a dark, gloomy hole. Instead, to his surprise, he found a big, bright, roomy space. People had dug it out of the rock and given it a high, curved roof. Light came in from a hole cut through the top of the rock. He saw large supplies of food and piles of bundles of expensive goods. There was silk and brocade cloth, and valuable carpets. Most of all, there were gold and silver coins, lying in heaps, and in sacks and big leather purses stacked on top of each other. Looking at all of it, he thought robbers must have been using this cave as a hiding place for centuries, not just for years, one gang after another.

Ali Baba didn't have to think twice. He went into the cave. As soon as he was inside, the door shut. That didn't worry him, because he knew the secret to open it. He didn't bother with the silver. He went for the gold coins, especially the ones in sacks. He made several trips and carried out as much as he could, enough for his three donkeys to carry. He rounded up his donkeys, which had wandered off, and brought them close to the rock. He loaded the sacks onto them and piled wood over the top so nobody could see the sacks. When he was finished, he stood in front of the door and said, "Close, Sesame!" As soon as he said it, the door shut. It had shut by itself every time he went in, and it had stayed open every time he came out.

Then Ali Baba went back to town. When he got home, he led his donkeys into a small yard and locked the gate carefully. He took off the bit of wood that was hiding the sacks. He carried the sacks into the house and laid them out in front of his wife, who was sitting on a couch.

His wife felt the sacks and realized they were full of money. She thought her husband had stolen them. When he finished bringing them all in, she couldn't stop herself from saying:

"Ali Baba, have you really fallen so far that you…"

Ali Baba stopped her.

"Quiet, wife," he said. "Don't panic. I'm not a thief. Unless taking things from thieves makes you a thief. Once I tell you about my good luck, you'll stop thinking badly of me."

He emptied the sacks. They made a big pile of gold, and his wife couldn't take her eyes off it. When he was done, he told her the whole story from start to finish. At the end, he told her that, more than anything, she must keep it a secret.

Once his wife got over her fright, she was as happy as he was about their good luck. She wanted to count all the gold in front of her, one coin at a time.

"Wife," Ali Baba said, "that's not a smart idea. What are you trying to do? When would you ever finish counting it? I'm going to dig a hole and bury it. We don't have time to waste."

"It's a good idea," his wife said, "for us to know at least about how much there is. I'll go borrow a small measuring bowl from someone nearby. I'll measure it while you dig the hole."

"Wife," Ali Baba answered, "what you want to do is useless. If you listened to me, you wouldn't do it. But do what you like. Just remember to keep it secret."

### The Borrowed Measure

Ali Baba's wife wanted to get her way, so she went out. She went to the house of Cassim, her brother-in-law, who lived close by. Cassim wasn't home, so she asked his wife instead if she could borrow a measuring bowl for a few minutes. Cassim's wife asked if she needed a big one or a small one. Ali Baba's wife said a small one.

"Of course," said Cassim's wife. "Wait here a minute and I'll get it for you."

Cassim's wife went and found the bowl. But she knew how poor Ali Baba was, and she wondered what kind of grain his wife could want to measure. So she had a clever idea. She quietly rubbed some animal fat on the bottom of the bowl. Then she came back and handed it over. She said she was sorry for the wait, because it had taken her a while to find it.

Ali Baba's wife went home. She put the bowl into the pile of gold and filled it. Then she emptied it out on the couch a bit further along. She kept doing this until she was done. She was happy with how many bowlfuls there were, and she told her husband. He had just finished digging the hole.

While Ali Baba buried the gold, his wife took the bowl back to her sister-in-law. She wanted to show how careful and quick she was about returning it. But she didn't notice that a gold coin had stuck to the bottom.

"Here you are," she said, giving it back. "You see, I didn't keep your bowl for long. Thank you very much. Here it is."

As soon as Ali Baba's wife turned away, Cassim's wife looked at the bottom of the bowl. She was more shocked than words can say to find a gold coin stuck to it. At that moment she was filled with envy.

"What?" she said. "Ali Baba has so much gold he measures it by the bowl! Where did that poor nobody get this gold?"

As we said, her husband Cassim wasn't home. He was at his shop and wouldn't be back until evening. She was so eager to tell him the news that the wait felt like a hundred years. She knew he would be just as surprised as she was.

When Cassim got home, his wife said, "Cassim, you think you're rich. You're wrong. Ali Baba is far, far richer than you. You count your gold. He measures his."

Cassim asked her what she meant. She explained. She told him about the trick she had used to find out, and she showed him the coin she had found stuck under the bowl. The coin was so old that she didn't know the name of the king printed on it.

### Cassim in the Cave

Cassim should have been happy that his brother had a chance to escape being poor. Instead he became horribly jealous. He hardly slept that night. The next morning, before sunrise, he went to Ali Baba's house. He didn't treat him like a brother. He had stopped using that word when he married the rich widow.

"Ali Baba," he said as he walked up, "you keep your business very quiet. You act poor and miserable, like a beggar. And all the while you're measuring gold!"

"Brother," Ali Baba said, "I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," Cassim snapped. He held up the gold coin his wife had given him. "How many coins like this do you have?" he went on. "My wife found this one stuck under the measuring bowl your wife borrowed from her yesterday."

When he heard this, Ali Baba realized that Cassim and his wife already knew what he badly wanted to keep hidden. It was his own wife's stubbornness that had let it out. But what was done was done. It couldn't be fixed. He didn't let his brother see that he was surprised or upset. He admitted everything. He told him how he had come across the robbers' hiding place by chance, and where it was. He offered to share the treasure with Cassim if Cassim would keep it secret.

"That's exactly what I expect," Cassim said proudly. "But," he added, "I also want to know exactly where the treasure is. I want the landmarks and the signs, and how I can get in myself if I feel like it. If you don't tell me, I'll report you to the authorities. If you refuse, you won't get any more of it. You'll even lose what you've already taken. And I'll get a share as a reward for turning you in."

Ali Baba told him everything he wanted to know. He did it more because he was a kind man than because he was scared of his brother's rude, cruel threats. He even told him the words he would need to get into the cave and to get out again.

Cassim didn't ask Ali Baba anything else. He left, planning to get there first. He hoped to take the whole treasure for himself. Very early the next morning, before dawn, he set out with ten mules carrying big chests. He planned to fill them. Later he would bring more mules on a second trip, depending on how much there was in the cave. He took the road Ali Baba had described. He reached the rock and recognized the landmarks and the tree where Ali Baba had hidden. He looked for the door and found it. To open it he said, "Open, Sesame!" The door opened. He went in, and it shut right behind him. As he looked around the cave, he was amazed. There was much more treasure than he had imagined from Ali Baba's story. The more he looked at each thing, the more amazed he was. He was a greedy man who loved money. He would have spent the whole day staring at all that gold, but he remembered he had come to take it away and load it onto his ten mules. He picked up as many sacks as he could carry. He went to the door to open it. But his head was full of everything except the one thing that mattered, and he found he had forgotten the word. Instead of "Sesame," he said, "Open, Barley!" He was shocked when the door didn't open. It stayed shut. He tried the names of several other grains, every one but the right one, and the door still didn't open.

Cassim hadn't expected this. He saw what danger he was in and was terrified. The harder he tried to remember the word "Sesame," the more mixed up he got. Soon it was as if he had never heard the word at all. He dropped the sacks he was holding. He walked back and forth across the cave with long steps, first one way, then the other. All the treasure around him meant nothing to him anymore. Let's leave Cassim there, crying over what was happening to him. He doesn't deserve anyone's pity.

The robbers came back to their cave around midday. When they got close, they saw Cassim's mules standing around the rock with chests on their backs. This worried them, since it had never happened before. They galloped up. Cassim hadn't bothered to tie up his ten mules, and they were grazing loose. The robbers scared them off, and the mules ran in all directions into the forest. They ran so far that the robbers soon couldn't see them.

The robbers didn't bother to chase the mules. It was more important to find the man who owned them. Some of them rode around the rock looking for him. The leader and the others got off their horses and went straight to the door, swords drawn. The leader said the words, and the door opened.

From inside the cave, Cassim heard the horses and knew the robbers had come. He also knew he was about to die. He decided he would at least try to get away. He had gotten ready to rush out as soon as the door opened. He heard the word "Sesame," the word he had forgotten. As soon as he saw the door open, he charged out so hard that he knocked the leader down. But he didn't get past the other robbers. They also had their swords out, and they killed him right there.

After they had killed him, the first thing the robbers did was go into the cave. Near the door they found the sacks Cassim had started to move so he could load them on his mules. They put the sacks back where they belonged. They didn't notice the ones Ali Baba had taken earlier. They sat down together to talk about what had happened. They understood how Cassim had gotten out of the cave. What they couldn't figure out was how he had gotten in. They thought he might have climbed down through the top of the cave. But the hole that let the light in was very high, and nobody could get to the top of the rock from outside. Besides, there was no sign that he had come in that way. So they agreed they had no idea. They couldn't believe he had come in through the door unless he knew the secret for opening it. And they were sure they were the only ones who knew it. They were wrong. They didn't know that Ali Baba had spied on them and knew the secret.

However it had happened, what mattered was keeping their shared treasure safe. They agreed to cut Cassim's body into four pieces. They would put the pieces just inside the door of the cave, two on one side and two on the other. That would frighten anyone else who dared to try the same thing. They also agreed not to come back to the cave for a while, until the smell of the body was gone. Once they had decided, they did it. When there was nothing else to keep them there, they left their hiding place locked tight. They got back on their horses and rode off to roam the roads that the caravans used, to attack them and rob them as usual.

### Ali Baba Brings His Brother Home

It got dark, and Cassim still hadn't come home. His wife became very worried. She hurried to Ali Baba's house in a panic. "Brother-in-law," she said, "I think you know that your brother Cassim went to the forest, and why he went. He isn't back yet, and it's late at night. I'm afraid something bad has happened to him."

After what Cassim had said to him, Ali Baba had guessed his brother would make the trip. That was why he had stayed away from the forest that day. He didn't want Cassim to think he was up to something. He didn't blame her for anything, so as not to upset her. He wouldn't have blamed Cassim either, if Cassim had been alive. He told her not to worry yet. Cassim had probably decided it was better to come back into town late at night.

Cassim's wife believed him. It was easy to believe, since she knew how important it was for her husband to do this in secret. She went home and waited patiently until midnight. After that she became twice as frightened. Her pain was even worse because she couldn't let it out. She couldn't cry out loud, because she knew the neighbors must not find out why. Her mistake could not be undone, but she was sorry now for being so nosy. It was a shameful kind of envy that had made her poke into her brother-in-law's and sister-in-law's business. She cried all night. At the first light of day she ran to their house. She let them know why she had come, more with her tears than with her words.

Ali Baba didn't wait for his sister-in-law to ask him to go and find out what had happened to Cassim. He told her to try to stay calm. Then he left right away with his three donkeys and went to the forest. On the way he saw no sign of his brother or of the ten mules. When he got near the rock, he saw blood spilled near the door. That frightened him and seemed like a bad sign. He stood in front of the door and said the words. It opened. There in front of him was his brother's body, cut into four pieces. It was a terrible sight. Cassim had never been very brotherly to him, but Ali Baba put that out of his mind. He knew right away what he had to do to give his brother a proper burial. He found things in the cave to wrap the four pieces into two bundles. He loaded them onto one of his donkeys and hid them under some wood. He wasted no time. He loaded the other two donkeys with sacks full of gold and put wood on top, the same as the first time. As soon as he was done, he told the door to close and headed back to town. But he was careful. He stopped at the edge of the forest and waited there long enough so he wouldn't get to town until after dark. When he got there, he took only the two donkeys carrying gold into his own house. He left it to his wife to unload them and told her in a few words what had happened to Cassim. Then he led the third donkey to his sister-in-law's house.

Ali Baba knocked, and Morgiana opened the door. Morgiana was a slave in the house. She was smart and quick, and she was full of ideas for making even the hardest plans work. Ali Baba knew this about her. When he was inside the yard, he took the wood and the two bundles off the donkey. He took Morgiana to one side. "Morgiana," he said, "the first thing I need from you is to keep a secret, no matter what. You'll see how important it is, both for your mistress and for me. Your master's body is in these two bundles. We have to get him buried as if he died a normal death. Take me to your mistress, and listen carefully to what I tell her."

Morgiana told her mistress, and Ali Baba came in behind her.

"Well, brother-in-law?" his sister-in-law asked. She couldn't wait. "What news do you have about my husband? I don't see anything in your face that makes me feel any better."

"Sister-in-law," Ali Baba answered, "I can't tell you anything until you promise to listen to the whole story, start to finish, without saying a word. After what has happened, it's just as important for you as it is for me to keep this a close secret. It's for your own good and your own peace of mind."

"Oh," she cried, keeping her voice down, "the way you're starting tells me my husband is dead. But I also understand why you need me to keep it secret. I'll have to force myself. Go on. I'm listening."

Ali Baba told her everything that had happened on his trip, up to the moment he arrived with Cassim's body.

"Sister-in-law," he went on, "this is terrible for you, and all the more because you didn't see it coming. Nothing can fix what has happened. But if anything can comfort you, here is my offer. God has given me a little wealth. I'll put it together with yours by marrying you. I promise you my wife won't be jealous, and the two of you will get along well. If you agree, we have to make it look as if my brother died a natural death. I think you can leave that to Morgiana. And I'll do everything I can to help."

What better choice did Cassim's widow have than the one Ali Baba was offering? She still had the money her first husband had left her. Now she was getting a second husband who was richer than she was. And with the treasure he had found, he might become even richer. She didn't turn the offer down. In fact, she saw it as a sensible reason to take comfort. She had started to cry very hard, but she wiped away her tears. She held back the loud, piercing cries that women usually make when they lose their husbands. That showed Ali Baba clearly enough that she accepted.

Ali Baba left Cassim's widow feeling this way. He told Morgiana to be sure to play her part well. Then he went home with his donkey.

### Morgiana and the Cobbler

Morgiana knew what to do. She left the house when Ali Baba did and went to a pharmacist who had a shop nearby. She knocked, and he opened. She asked for a kind of pill that was very good for the most serious illnesses. The pharmacist gave her some in return for the money she handed him. He asked who was sick in her master's house.

"Oh," she said with a big sigh, "it's Cassim himself, my good master! Nobody understands what's wrong with him. He can't talk, and he can't eat."

With that, she took the pills. Of course, Cassim was in no condition to take them anymore.

The next day Morgiana went back to the same pharmacist. With tears in her eyes, she asked for a medicine that people were only given when they were close to death. If this medicine didn't bring them back, there was no hope left.

"Oh no," she said sadly as he handed it to her. "I'm really afraid this medicine won't work any better than the pills did. Oh, what a good master I'm losing!"

Meanwhile, people had seen Ali Baba and his wife going in and out of Cassim's house all day with sad faces. So in the evening, nobody was surprised to hear Cassim's wife, and Morgiana most of all, crying out and wailing. It was the sign that Cassim had died.

Very early the next morning, just as the sun was starting to come up, Morgiana went out. She knew that on the town square there was a kind old shoemaker, a very old man, who always opened his shop first every day, long before anyone else. She went to find him. When she came up to him, she said good morning and put a gold coin in his hand.

Everyone called him Baba Mustafa. He was a cheerful man who always had a joke to tell. It wasn't fully light yet, so he looked closely at the coin. When he saw that it was gold, he said, "What a great way to start the day! What can I do for you? I'm ready to do a good job."

"Baba Mustafa," Morgiana said, "bring what you need for sewing and come with me, fast. But you have to agree to let me cover your eyes when we get to a certain spot."

When he heard that, Baba Mustafa acted as if he didn't want to.

"Oh, now," he said, "so you want me to do something that's against my conscience, or that would hurt my good name?"

Morgiana put a second gold coin in his hand. "God forbid," she said, "that I'd ask you to do anything that isn't completely honorable. Just come with me, and don't be afraid."

Baba Mustafa let her lead him. When they got to the spot she had chosen, Morgiana tied a handkerchief over his eyes. She led him to her dead master's house. She didn't take the handkerchief off until they were in the room where she had laid out the body, each piece in the right place. Once she took it off, she said, "Baba Mustafa, I brought you here to sew these pieces together. Don't waste any time. When you're done, I'll give you another gold coin."

When Baba Mustafa had finished, Morgiana covered his eyes again, right there in the same room. She gave him the third gold coin she had promised him and told him to keep it secret. Then she walked him back to the spot where she had first covered his eyes. She took the handkerchief off again and let him go home. She watched him until he was out of sight. That way he wouldn't be tempted to turn around and follow her to find out where she went.

Morgiana had heated up water to wash Cassim's body. Ali Baba arrived just after she got back. He washed the body, perfumed it with incense, and wrapped it for burial with the usual ceremonies. The carpenter also brought the coffin that Ali Baba had made sure to order.

Morgiana took the coffin from the carpenter at the door, so that he couldn't notice anything. She paid him and sent him off. Then she helped Ali Baba put the body in the coffin. When Ali Baba had nailed the boards on top tightly, she went to the mosque to tell them everything was ready for the burial. The men at the mosque whose job was to wash the dead offered to come and do it. But she told them it had already been done.

Morgiana had barely gotten home when the imam and other officials from the mosque arrived. Four neighbors came together and lifted the coffin onto their shoulders. They followed the imam, who was saying prayers, and carried the coffin to the cemetery. Morgiana walked behind them, crying, as the dead man's slave. She had her head uncovered. She wailed pitifully, beat her chest hard, and pulled at her hair. Ali Baba walked after her with the neighbors. Every so often some of them would step in and take a turn carrying the coffin so the others could rest. They kept this up all the way to the cemetery.

Cassim's wife stayed at home. She mourned and wailed along with the women from the neighborhood. As was the custom, they had come running to her house during the burial. Their cries joined hers, and the whole area, far and wide, was filled with sadness.

This is how Ali Baba, his wife, Cassim's widow, and Morgiana kept Cassim's terrible death hidden. They were so careful that nobody in town knew about it. In fact, nobody even had the smallest suspicion.

Three or four days after the burial, Ali Baba moved into his brother's widow's house to live there. He brought what little furniture he had. He also brought the money he had taken from the robbers' treasure, but he only moved that at night. This let people know that he had married his sister-in-law. In our religion that kind of marriage is not unusual, so nobody was surprised.

Now, about Cassim's shop. Ali Baba had a son who had recently finished training with another important merchant. That merchant had always said the young man behaved well. Ali Baba gave him the shop. He promised his son that if he kept behaving sensibly, it wouldn't be long before Ali Baba found him a good marriage that suited his position.

### The Chalk Mark

We'll leave Ali Baba to start enjoying his good luck. Now let's talk about the forty robbers. They came back to their hideout in the forest at the time they had agreed. They were very surprised when they didn't find Cassim's body. They were even more surprised when they saw there were fewer sacks of gold than before.

"If we're not careful," the leader said, "we've been found out, and we're finished. If we don't fix this fast, we'll slowly lose everything. Our ancestors and we worked hard and suffered to collect all this treasure. Here's what we can tell about the harm that's been done to us. The thief we caught knew the secret of how to open the door. We were lucky to show up just as he was about to leave. But he wasn't the only one. Someone else must know it too. The body is gone, and some of our treasure is gone. That proves it. It isn't likely that more than two people knew the secret. We've killed one of them. Now we have to kill the other one the same way. What do you say, men? Don't you agree with me?"

The men thought the leader's plan made a lot of sense. They all agreed with it. They decided they would give up every other job and focus only on this one. They wouldn't stop until they had pulled it off.

"I expected nothing less from brave men like you," the leader said. "But first, one of you has to go into town. It has to be someone bold, smart, and willing to take risks. He'll go without weapons, dressed like a traveler from somewhere else. He has to use every trick he knows to find out if people are talking about the strange death of the man we killed. He got what he deserved. We need to know who he was and which house he lived in. We have to find that out first, so we don't do anything we'll be sorry for. We don't want to give ourselves away. Nobody around here has known about us for a very long time, and it's very important that it stays that way. But whoever volunteers for this job needs a reason to do it well. He must not make a mistake and bring us back false information instead of the truth. That could destroy us. So I'm asking you: don't you think that if he gets it wrong, he should be put to death?"

One of the robbers spoke up before the others could vote. "I accept that," he said. "I'm proud to risk my life by taking on the job. If I fail, at least you'll remember that I wanted to help the group and I wasn't short on courage."

The leader and the others praised him highly. Then he put on a disguise so good that nobody could have guessed who he really was. He left the group and set out at night. He timed it just right, so he got into town as the sun was coming up. He walked to the town square. Only one shop was open there, and it was Baba Mustafa's.

Baba Mustafa was sitting on his stool with his awl in his hand, ready to start work. The robber went up to him and said good morning. He could see that Baba Mustafa was very old. "Sir," he said, "you start work very early. At your age you can't possibly see well yet. And even if it were lighter, I doubt your eyes are good enough to sew."

"Whoever you are," Baba Mustafa answered, "you must not know me. I may look old, but my eyes are still excellent. You'll believe me when I tell you that not long ago I sewed up a dead man in a place that was hardly any lighter than it is right now."

The robber was thrilled. He had only just arrived, and already he had found a man who was telling him, without even being asked, exactly what he had come to find out. He was sure of it.

"A dead man?" he said, acting surprised. He wanted to keep him talking. "Why would anyone sew up a dead man? I guess you mean you sewed the cloth he was buried in."

"No, no," Baba Mustafa said. "I know what I'm saying. You want to get me talking, but you won't find out anything else."

The robber didn't need any more explanation. He was sure he had found what he had come for. He took out a gold coin, put it in Baba Mustafa's hand, and said:

"I'm not trying to find out your secret. Though I promise that if you told me, I wouldn't tell anyone. All I'm asking is for you to do me a favor. Tell me where the house is where you sewed up the dead man, or come and show me."

Baba Mustafa held the gold coin out, ready to give it back. "Even if I wanted to do what you're asking," he said, "I promise you I couldn't. You'll have to trust me. Here's why. Someone took me to a certain spot and covered my eyes. From there I let them lead me to the house. After I did what I was there to do, they brought me back the same way to the same spot. So you see, there's no way I can help you."

"You must at least remember more or less which way they walked you with your eyes covered," the robber said. "Please come with me. I'll cover your eyes at that spot. We'll walk the same way together, with the same turns, as far as you can remember them. Everyone deserves to be paid for their trouble, so here's another gold coin. Come on, do me this favor." As he said this, he put another coin in Baba Mustafa's hand.

The two gold coins were too tempting for Baba Mustafa. He looked at them in his hand for a while without saying anything. He was trying to decide what to do. Finally he pulled his purse out from inside his shirt and put the coins in it. "I can't promise I remember exactly which way they took me," he told the robber. "But since that's what you want, let's go. I'll do my best to remember."

The robber was very pleased when Baba Mustafa stood up. Baba Mustafa didn't lock his shop, since there was nothing valuable in it to lose. He led the robber to the spot where Morgiana had covered his eyes. When they got there, Baba Mustafa said, "This is where they covered my eyes. I was facing the way I am now." The robber had his handkerchief ready. He tied it over Baba Mustafa's eyes. He walked next to him, sometimes leading him and sometimes letting Baba Mustafa lead, until Baba Mustafa stopped.

"I don't think I went any further than this," Baba Mustafa said. And sure enough, he was standing in front of Cassim's house, where Ali Baba was now living. Before taking the handkerchief off Baba Mustafa's eyes, the robber quickly drew a mark on the door with a piece of chalk he had ready. Then he took off the handkerchief and asked Baba Mustafa if he knew who owned the house. Baba Mustafa said he didn't live in that part of town, so he couldn't tell him.

The robber could see he wasn't going to get anything else out of Baba Mustafa. He thanked him for his trouble. He left him and let him go back to his shop. Then he headed back to the forest. He was sure the others would be pleased with him.

A little while after the robber and Baba Mustafa went their separate ways, Morgiana left Ali Baba's house to do an errand. On her way back, she noticed the mark the robber had made on the door. She stopped to take a good look at it.

"What does this mark mean?" she thought. "Does someone want to hurt my master? Or did someone just do it as a joke? Whatever the reason," she thought, "it's smart to be ready for anything."

Right away she got some chalk. The two or three doors on either side looked just the same. So she marked them all in the same place. Then she went back into the house. She didn't say anything about what she had done, not to her master and not to her mistress.

Meanwhile the robber kept going and got back to the forest. He met up with the others early. As soon as he arrived, he told them how well his trip had gone. He made a big deal out of how lucky he had been. Right away he had found a man who told him exactly what he had come to learn. Nobody but that man could have told him. The others were very happy with what they heard. The leader praised him for doing such a fast, careful job. Then he spoke to the whole group. "Men," he said, "we don't have any time to lose. Let's go, with plenty of weapons, but hidden so nobody can tell. We'll go into town separately, one after another, so nobody gets suspicious. We'll meet in the big square. Some of you wait on one side and some on the other. Meanwhile I'll go look at the house with our friend here, who just brought us such good news. Then I'll decide what our best move is."

The men cheered the leader's plan. They were soon ready to go. They left in groups of two and three. They kept a fair distance between groups, and they got into town without anyone getting suspicious. The leader and the man who had come that morning went in last. The man took the leader to the street where he had marked Ali Baba's house. When they got to one of the doors Morgiana had marked, he pointed to it and said that was the one. They kept walking without stopping, so as not to look suspicious. But the leader noticed that the next door had the same mark in the same place. He pointed it out to his guide and asked him which one it was, this one or the first one. The guide was confused and didn't know what to say. He was even more confused when he and the leader saw that the next four or five doors also had the same mark. He swore to the leader that he had marked only one door.

"I don't know who could have marked the others so they look exactly the same," he said. "But with all this confusion, I have to admit I can't tell which one I marked."

### The Captain Finds the House

The leader saw that his plan had failed. He went to the big square. He told the first of his men he ran into to pass the word to the others. The message was that they had wasted their effort and made the trip for nothing. There was nothing to do but go back to their hideout. He left first, and they all followed him out in the same order they had come.

When the whole group was back together in the forest, the leader told them why he had made them come back. Right away they all agreed that the guide deserved to die. The guide agreed too. He admitted he should have been more careful. He bravely held out his neck to the man who stepped up to cut off his head.

To keep the gang going, they couldn't let the harm done to them go without revenge. Another robber stepped forward. He was sure he could do better than the one who had just been punished. He begged to be picked for the job. They agreed. He went into town. He paid off Baba Mustafa just like the first man had. With his eyes covered, Baba Mustafa showed him Ali Baba's house. The robber marked it in red, in a spot where it was harder to see. He thought this would be a sure way to tell it apart from the houses marked in white.

But a little later, Morgiana came out of the house, just like the day before. When she came back, her sharp eyes spotted the red mark. She thought it through the same way she had before. She made sure to put the same red chalk mark on the other doors nearby, in the same places.

When the robber got back to the others in the forest, he made a big deal of the extra step he had taken. He said it was a foolproof way to make sure nobody mixed up Ali Baba's house with the others. The leader and his men believed him. They were sure it would work this time. They went into town the same way as before, in the same order and just as carefully. They had the same weapons and were ready to carry out their plan. When they got there, the leader and the robber went to Ali Baba's street. But they ran into the same problem as the first time. The leader was furious. The robber was just as confused as the one who had gone before him on the same job.

So once again that day, the leader had to pull out with his men. He was just as unhappy as the day before. The robber had caused the mistake, so he got the same punishment he had agreed to take.

The leader saw that his gang had lost two brave men. He was afraid he would lose even more if he kept counting on others to find out the truth about Ali Baba's house. Watching those two made him realize that his men were only good for fighting and raids. None of them could think things through when it counted. He decided to do it himself. He went into town. Baba Mustafa helped him the same way he had helped the two men the gang sent before. This time the leader didn't bother marking anything. Instead he studied the house very closely. He looked at it carefully and walked back and forth past it several times. There was no way he could get it wrong.

The leader was happy with his trip. He had found out what he wanted. He went back to the forest. When he reached the cave, where his men were waiting, he said, "Men, now nothing can stop us from getting full revenge for the harm that's been done to us. I know for sure which house belongs to the guilty man who has to pay. On the way back, I thought of a clever way to make him pay. Nobody will be able to find out where we hide or where our treasure is. That's what we have to aim for. Otherwise this plan won't help us, it'll destroy us. So here's how we'll do it," the leader went on. "Once I've explained it, if anyone knows a better way, he can say so."

Then he told them how he planned to go about it. They all said yes. He sent them out in different directions, to the towns and villages around the area and even to the cities. They were to buy nineteen mules and thirty-eight big leather jars for carrying oil. One jar was to be full of oil. The rest were to be empty.

### The Oil Merchant

It took the robbers two or three days to get everything together. The empty jars had openings that were a bit too narrow for the leader's plan, so he had them made a little wider. He put one of his men inside each jar, with the weapons he thought they would need. He left open the part he had had cut apart, so they could breathe easily. He closed the jars up so they looked like they were full of oil. To make them look even more real, he took oil from the full jar and rubbed it on the outside of the others.

Once everything was ready, the mules were loaded with the thirty-seven robbers, each one hidden in a jar. That didn't count the leader. The mules also carried the jar that was full of oil. The leader acted as the driver. He set off for town at the time he had planned. He got there when it was getting dark, about an hour after the sun went down, just as he had meant to. He went into town and headed straight for Ali Baba's house. He planned to knock on the door and ask if he and his mules could stay the night, if the owner would allow it. He didn't need to knock. Ali Baba was standing in the doorway, enjoying the cool evening air after dinner. The leader stopped his mules. He said to Ali Baba, "Sir, I've brought this oil from a long way away. I'm going to sell it at the market tomorrow. It's late now, and I don't know where to stay. If it's not too much trouble, would you be kind enough to let me spend the night at your house? I'd be very grateful."

Ali Baba had seen this man in the forest and had even heard his voice. But the man was dressed as an oil seller. How could Ali Baba have recognized him as the leader of the forty robbers?

"You're very welcome," he told him. "Come in." As he said this, he stepped aside to let him in with his mules, and the man came in.

At the same time, Ali Baba called one of his slaves. He told him to unload the mules and then put them in the stable, out of the weather, and to give them hay and barley too. Ali Baba also went into the kitchen himself. He told Morgiana to make dinner quickly for the guest who had just arrived and to make up a bed for him in one of the rooms.

Ali Baba went even further to make his guest feel welcome. He saw that the robber leader had unloaded his mules and that the mules had been taken to the stable as he had ordered. He saw the man looking for a place to sleep outside. So Ali Baba went and brought him into the room where he entertained visitors. He told him he wouldn't let him sleep in the yard. The robber leader said no many times. He claimed he didn't want to be a bother. The real reason was that he wanted to be freer to carry out his plan. He only gave in to Ali Baba's kindness after Ali Baba insisted and insisted.

Ali Baba stayed with the man who wanted to kill him until Morgiana brought in dinner. And that wasn't all. He kept chatting with him about different things he thought the man would enjoy. He didn't leave him until he had finished the meal Ali Baba had served him.

"Make yourself at home," he told him. "If you need anything, just ask. Everything in my house is yours to use."

The robber leader stood up when Ali Baba did and walked with him to the door. Ali Baba went into the kitchen to talk to Morgiana. Meanwhile the leader went into the yard. He said he was going to the stable to check that his mules had everything they needed.

Ali Baba told Morgiana again to take very good care of his guest and to make sure he had everything he needed. Then he added, "Morgiana, I want you to know that tomorrow I'm going to the baths before sunrise. Make sure my bath towels are ready, and give them to Abdalla." That was his slave's name. "And make me a good soup to have when I get back."

After he gave her these instructions, he went off to bed.

Meanwhile, the robber leader came out of the stable and went to tell his men what to do. He started with the first jar and went all the way to the last. He said to each man:

"When I throw some small stones out of the room where they've put me, cut yourself a way out. Slit the jar from top to bottom with the knife you've got, and get out. I'll be right there with you."

The knife he meant was pointed and sharpened just for this.

When he was done, he came back. He went to the kitchen door. Morgiana picked up a lamp and took him to the room she had gotten ready for him. She asked if he needed anything else and then left him. So nobody would get suspicious, he put out the light a little later. He lay down with all his clothes on, ready to get up as soon as he had had a first short sleep.

Morgiana remembered what Ali Baba had told her. She got his bath towels ready and gave them to Abdalla, who hadn't gone to bed yet. She put the pot on the fire to make the soup. While she was skimming the top of the pot, the lamp went out. There was no oil left in the house, and no candles either. What could she do? She had to be able to see to skim the pot. She told Abdalla about her problem.

"Look at you, all worried!" Abdalla said. "Go get some oil out of one of those jars in the yard."

Morgiana thanked Abdalla for the idea. He went to sleep near Ali Baba's room, so he could go with him to the baths. She took the oil jug and went out into the yard. She went up to the first jar she came to. The robber hiding inside it whispered, "Is it time?"

### The Jars of Oil

The robber had whispered, but Morgiana still noticed his voice right away. That was easy, because as soon as the robber leader had unloaded his mules, he had opened this jar and all the others to let his men get some air. They were very uncomfortable in there, but they could still breathe.

Any other slave would have been just as shocked as Morgiana to find a man in a jar instead of the oil she wanted. Anyone else would have screamed and made a scene, and that could have led to disaster. But Morgiana was better than most people. In a moment she understood several things. It was important to keep this quiet. Ali Baba and his family were in serious danger, and so was she. And she had to fix things fast without making a fuss. Because she was so capable, she figured out how to do it right away. So she calmed herself at once. Without showing any feeling at all, she pretended to be the robber leader. She answered the question: "Not yet, but soon." She went to the next jar. The man inside asked her the same thing. It went on like that until she got to the last jar, the one that was full of oil. Each time she heard the same question, she gave the same answer.

That's how Morgiana found out what was going on. Her master Ali Baba thought he had let an oil seller stay at his house. In fact he had let in thirty-eight robbers, if you count their leader, the fake oil seller. She quickly filled her jug with oil from the last jar. She went back to the kitchen. She put oil in the lamp and lit it again. Then she took a big pot, went back out to the yard, and filled it with oil from the jar. She carried it back and put it on the fire. She put a lot of wood under it, because the sooner the oil boiled, the sooner she could do what had to be done to save the whole household. There was no time to waste. Finally the oil boiled. She picked up the pot and went from jar to jar, from the first to the last. Into each one she poured enough boiling oil to smother the man inside and kill him. And that is what she did.

It took great courage, and she did it without making a sound, just as she had planned. Then she went back into the kitchen with the empty pot and shut the door. She put out the big fire she had built. She left only enough to finish cooking Ali Baba's soup. Then she blew out the lamp and stayed completely quiet. She had decided not to go to bed until she saw what would happen next. She watched through a kitchen window that looked out on the yard, as well as she could in the dark.

Morgiana hadn't been waiting fifteen minutes when the robber leader woke up. He got up, opened his window, and looked out. There were no lights, and the whole house was calm and very quiet. So he gave the signal. He threw some small stones, and several of them hit the jars. He could tell by the sound. He listened, but he didn't hear anything, or see anything, that told him his men were moving. That worried him. He threw more small stones, a second time and a third time. They hit the jars, but none of the robbers showed any sign of life. He couldn't understand why. He was very alarmed now. He went down into the yard, making as little noise as he could. He crept up to the first jar the same way. He was about to ask the robber inside, whom he thought was alive, if he had fallen asleep. Then he smelled hot oil and something burned coming out of the jar. That told him his plan had failed. He had wanted to kill Ali Baba, rob his house, and, if he could, take back the gold Ali Baba had taken from the gang. He went to the next jar, and then to all the others, one after another. He found that all his men had died the same way. He saw that the oil in the jar he had brought in full had gone down, and he understood how someone had cut him off from the help he was counting on. He was desperate at having failed. He slipped out through the door that led from the yard into Ali Baba's garden. From there he climbed over walls from one garden to the next and got away.

Morgiana waited a while. She didn't hear any more noise, and the robber leader didn't come back. She was sure he had gone out through the garden. He wouldn't have tried the front door of the house, because it was locked twice over. She was very happy and relieved that she had managed to make the whole house safe. Finally she went to bed and fell asleep.

### Morgiana Tells Her Master

Meanwhile, before sunrise, Ali Baba went out to the baths with his slave. He had no idea about the amazing thing that had happened in his house while he was asleep. Morgiana hadn't thought it was a good idea to wake him. She had good reasons. While the danger was going on, she had no time to lose. And once she had stopped it, there was no point in disturbing his sleep.

By the time he came back from the baths and got home, the sun was up. Ali Baba was very surprised to see the oil jars still in the same place. The oil seller hadn't gone to the market with his mules. Morgiana had come to open the door for him, so he asked her why. She had left everything the way he found it on purpose. She wanted him to see it for himself so she could explain more clearly what she had done to save him.

"My good master," Morgiana answered, "may God protect you and everyone in your house! You'll understand what you want to know much better once you've seen what I have to show you. Please come with me."

Ali Baba followed Morgiana. She shut the door and took him to the first jar. "Look inside the jar," she said, "and see if there's any oil in it."

Ali Baba looked. When he saw a man in the jar, he jumped back, terrified, and let out a loud cry.

"Don't be scared," Morgiana told him. "The man you see won't hurt you. He's done harm before, but he can't do any more, to you or to anybody. He's dead."

"Morgiana," Ali Baba cried, "what is this you've just shown me? Explain it to me."

"I'll explain," Morgiana said. "But try not to look so shocked. You don't want the neighbors getting curious and finding out about something that it's very important to keep hidden. First, go look at all the other jars."

Ali Baba looked into the other jars, one after another, from the first to the last, the one that held oil. He noticed that there was a lot less oil in it. When he was done, he just stood there, as if he couldn't move. He looked at the jars, then at Morgiana, then back again, without saying a word. He was that surprised. Finally, as if he had found his voice again, he asked, "And the oil seller? What happened to him?"

"The oil seller," Morgiana answered, "is no more an oil seller than I am. I'll tell you who he is and what happened to him. But it'll be easier to hear the whole story in your room. After a bath, it's time for you to have some soup. It's good for your health."

Ali Baba went to his room, and Morgiana went to the kitchen to get the soup. She brought it to him. Before he ate it, Ali Baba said:

"Start right now. I can't wait. Tell me this strange story, with every detail."

Morgiana did as he asked. She said:

"Sir, last night, after you went to bed, I got your bath towels ready, like you told me, and gave them to Abdalla. Then I put the pot on the fire for your soup. While I was skimming it, the lamp suddenly went out because it had run out of oil. There wasn't a drop left in the oil jug. I looked for some candle stubs and couldn't find a single one. Abdalla saw that I didn't know what to do. He reminded me about the jars full of oil in the yard. He was sure they had oil in them, the same as I was and the same as you were. I took the jug and hurried to the closest jar. When I got near it, a voice came out of it and asked me, 'Is it time?' I didn't panic. Right away I understood the fake oil seller's evil trick. I answered without stopping to think, 'Not yet, but soon.' I went to the next jar. Another voice asked me the same thing, and I gave the same answer. I went to the other jars, one after another. Every time I got the same question, and every time I gave the same answer. The only jar with oil in it was the last one, and I filled the jug from it. I realized that there were thirty-seven robbers in the middle of your yard. They were only waiting for the signal or the order from their leader. You thought he was an oil seller, and you had been so welcoming to him. They were going to turn the whole house upside down. I didn't waste any time. I took the jug back and lit the lamp. I took the biggest pot in the kitchen and went and filled it with oil. I put it on the fire. When it was boiling hard, I went and poured it into every jar that had a robber in it. I poured in as much as it took to stop all of them from carrying out the evil plan that had brought them here. Once it was done the way I had planned, I came back into the kitchen and put out the lamp. Before I went to bed, I watched quietly from the window to see what the fake oil seller would do. After a while I heard him throw small stones from his window as a signal. They landed on the jars. He threw some a second time and a third time. When he didn't see or hear anything move, he came down. I saw him go from jar to jar, all the way to the last one. Then it was too dark and I couldn't see him anymore. I kept watching for a little longer. When I saw he wasn't coming back, I was sure he had gotten away through the garden. He must have been desperate at how badly it had gone for him. So I was sure the house was safe, and I went to bed."

When she finished, Morgiana added:

"That's the story you asked for. I'm sure it has to do with something I noticed two or three days ago. I didn't think I needed to bother you about it. One morning I was coming back early from town, and I saw that the door to our house had a white mark on it. The next day it had a red mark next to the white one. Both times I didn't know why anyone would do that, so I made the same mark in the same place on two or three of our neighbors' doors on either side. If you put that together with what just happened, you'll see that the robbers from the forest planned the whole thing. There are two fewer of them than before. I don't know why. Anyway, now there are three of them left at the very most. It shows they had sworn to kill you. You should stay on guard as long as you know for sure that any of them are still alive. As for me, I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. It's my duty."

When Morgiana finished, Ali Baba felt how much he owed her. He said:

"I won't die before I've rewarded you the way you deserve. I owe you my life. To start showing you how grateful I am, I'm setting you free, starting right now. Later I'll add to it in the way I have in mind. I agree with you. The forty robbers set this trap for me. God saved me through you. I hope he'll keep protecting me from their evil. I hope he'll turn it away from me completely and free the world from these cursed people and the harm they do. What we have to do now is bury the bodies of these monsters right away. We have to do it so secretly that nobody can guess what happened to them. I'm going to take care of that with Abdalla."

### Cogia Hussain

Ali Baba's garden was very long. At the far end there was a row of tall trees. Ali Baba didn't wait. He went under those trees with his slave and dug a pit big enough for all the bodies they had to bury. The soil was easy to dig, so it didn't take long. They pulled the bodies out of the jars and put aside the robbers' weapons. They carried the bodies to the end of the garden and laid them in the pit. They covered them with the dirt they had dug out and spread the leftover dirt around so the ground looked flat, the same as before. Ali Baba had the oil jars and the weapons carefully hidden. He didn't need the mules right then. So he sent them to market a few at a time and had his slave sell them.

While Ali Baba was doing all this to make sure nobody found out how he had gotten rich so fast, the robber leader had gone back to the forest. He felt more humiliated than anyone can imagine. Things had gone so badly, the exact opposite of what he had expected. He was upset and confused. He went back into the cave, and the whole way there he couldn't decide what he should or shouldn't do about Ali Baba.

Being all alone in that dark place felt terrible to him.

"My brave men," he cried out, "you stayed up nights with me, rode out with me, and worked with me. Where are you? What can I do without you? Did I bring you together and pick you just to watch you all die at once, in such a terrible way? You were too brave for a death like that. I wouldn't miss you as much if you had died fighting like heroes, swords in your hands. When will I ever find another gang of fighters like you? And even if I wanted to, how could I do it? I'd be leaving all this gold and silver and treasure open to the man who has already made himself rich with some of it. I can't think about that, and I shouldn't, until I've killed him. I couldn't do it with all of you helping me, so I'll do it by myself. Once I've made sure nobody can rob this treasure anymore, I'll make sure that after I'm gone it will still have someone to own it and inherit it. I'll make sure it's kept safe and keeps growing for all the generations to come."

Once he had made up his mind, it wasn't hard for him to figure out how to do it. He felt hopeful and calm. He fell asleep and had a fairly peaceful night.

He woke up very early the next day, as he had planned. He put on some very nice clothes that fit the plan he had made. He went into town and got a room at an inn. He thought what had happened at Ali Baba's house might have caused a lot of talk. So he asked the man who ran the inn, as if he were just chatting, whether there was any news in town. The man talked about everything except what the leader needed to know. This told him why Ali Baba was keeping it all so secret. Ali Baba didn't want anyone to find out that he knew about the treasure and how to get into it. He also knew perfectly well that this was why someone was trying to kill him. That made the leader even more determined to do whatever it took to get rid of him, and just as secretly.

The robber leader got himself a horse. He used it to carry all kinds of expensive fabrics and fine cloth to his room. He made several trips to the forest for them, and he was careful to hide where he was getting them. Once he had collected as much as he thought he needed, he looked for a shop so he could sell it. He found one and rented it from the owner. He filled it with his goods and started working there. The shop right across from his had belonged to Cassim. Ali Baba's son had only been running it for a short time.

The robber leader now called himself Cogia Hussain. Since he was new, he made sure to be polite to the merchants in the nearby shops, as was the custom. Ali Baba's son was young and good-looking, and he was smart. He also had more chances than the others to talk and chat with Cogia Hussain. So Cogia Hussain soon became his friend. Three or four days after opening his shop, Cogia Hussain recognized Ali Baba when he came by to see his son. Ali Baba stopped to talk with him, the way he did every so often. After Ali Baba left, Cogia Hussain found out from the son that this was his father. After that, he worked even harder and more often at the friendship. He went out of his way for him. He was very warm to him, gave him small gifts, treated him, and invited him over for meals several times.

Ali Baba's son didn't want to owe Cogia Hussain so much without paying him back. But he lived in a small place, and he couldn't host him the way he wanted to, the way Cogia Hussain could. He told his father, Ali Baba, what he wanted to do. He said it wouldn't be right to go any longer without returning Cogia Hussain's kindness.

Ali Baba was happy to take care of the dinner.

"Son," he said, "tomorrow is Friday. That's a day when important merchants like you and Cogia Hussain close their shops. Invite him to go for a walk with you in the afternoon. On the way back, make sure you bring him past my house and get him to come inside. That will work better than a formal invitation. I'll tell Morgiana to make dinner and have it ready."

On Friday afternoon Ali Baba's son and Cogia Hussain met where they had planned, and they went for their walk. On the way back, Ali Baba's son made a point of taking Cogia Hussain down the street where his father lived. When they got to the door of the house, he stopped him and knocked. "This is my father's house," he said. "I told him how kind you've been to me, and he asked me to introduce you to him. It would be an honor for him. Please do me this favor too, on top of all the others I already owe you."

This was exactly what Cogia Hussain had been hoping for. He wanted to get into Ali Baba's house and kill him without risking his own life or causing any commotion. But he still made excuses and pretended to say goodbye to the son. Just then, Ali Baba's slave opened the door. The son took Cogia Hussain by the hand in a friendly way and went in first. He pulled him along and more or less made him come in, as if he didn't want to.

Ali Baba greeted Cogia Hussain with a warm smile and gave him the best welcome anyone could want. He thanked him for being so good to his son. "My son owes you a lot for it, and so do I," he added. "And it means even more because he's a young man who doesn't know much about the world yet. You don't think it's beneath you to help teach him."

Cogia Hussain returned the compliment. He told Ali Baba that his son might not have the experience some old men have, but he had good sense, and that was worth more than the experience of a great many other people.

They talked for a short while about other things that didn't matter. Then Cogia Hussain tried to leave. Ali Baba stopped him.

"Sir," he said, "where are you going? Please do me the honor of having dinner with me. The meal I want to serve you isn't nearly as good as you deserve. But I hope you'll accept it as gladly as I'm offering it."

"Ali Baba, sir," Cogia Hussain said, "I'm sure you mean it kindly. I'm asking you not to be offended if I leave without accepting your kind offer. Please believe me, it isn't because I look down on you or want to be rude. It's because I have a reason. If you knew what it was, you'd agree with me."

"And what could that reason be, sir?" Ali Baba asked. "May I ask?"

"I can tell you," Cogia Hussain said. "I don't eat any meat or any stew that has salt in it. You can imagine how awkward I'd be at your table."

"If that's your only reason," Ali Baba insisted, "it shouldn't keep me from the honor of having you for dinner, unless you'd really rather not. First of all, the bread we eat in my house has no salt in it. As for the meat and the stews, I promise there won't be any salt in anything that's served to you. I'll go and tell them. So please, stay. I'll be right back."

Ali Baba went to the kitchen. He told Morgiana not to put salt on the meat she was going to serve. He also told her to quickly make two or three stews with no salt, out of the ones he had asked her to cook.

Morgiana was ready to serve. She couldn't help showing how annoyed she was about this new order, and she told Ali Baba so.

"Who is this picky man who doesn't eat salt?" she said. "If I serve your dinner late, it won't be any good anymore."

"Don't be angry, Morgiana," Ali Baba said. "He's a good man. Do what I tell you."

Morgiana did it, but she didn't like it. She wanted to see this man who didn't eat salt. When she was finished and Abdalla had set the table, she helped him carry in the dishes. As soon as she looked at Cogia Hussain, she recognized him. Even in his disguise, he was the robber leader. She looked at him more closely and saw that he had a dagger hidden under his robe.

"Now I understand why that criminal doesn't want to eat salt with my master," she thought. "He's my master's worst enemy. He wants to murder him. But I'll stop him."

### Morgiana's Dance

When Morgiana had finished serving, or having Abdalla serve, she used the time while they were eating to get ready for something extremely daring. She had just finished getting ready when Abdalla came to tell her it was time to bring the fruit. She took the fruit in. As soon as Abdalla had cleared the table, she served it. Then she put a small table next to Ali Baba, with wine and three cups on it. When she left, she took Abdalla with her, as if they were going to eat dinner together. As was the custom, this left Ali Baba free to talk and have a good time with his guest, and to make sure he had plenty to drink.

Then the fake Cogia Hussain, who was really the leader of the forty robbers, thought the right moment to kill Ali Baba had come.

"I'll get the father and the son drunk," he thought. "I don't mind letting the son live. He won't be able to stop me from stabbing the father in the heart with my dagger. Then I'll escape through the garden like I did before. The cook and the slave won't have finished their dinner yet, or they'll have fallen asleep in the kitchen."

But Morgiana didn't eat dinner. She had figured out what the fake Cogia Hussain meant to do, and she didn't give him time to carry out his evil plan. She put on a very pretty dancer's outfit and a headdress to go with it. She tied on a belt made of silver covered in gold. She hung a dagger on it. The dagger's sheath and handle were made of the same metal. She also put a very beautiful mask over her face. Once she was dressed up like this, she said to Abdalla:

"Abdalla, get your tambourine. Let's go put on the show we sometimes do for guests. We'll do it for our master's guest, who is also his son's friend."

Abdalla picked up the tambourine. He started playing it as he walked in front of Morgiana, and he went into the room. Morgiana came in after him and gave a deep bow. She did it confidently, so everyone would look at her, as if she were asking permission to show them what she could do.

Abdalla saw that Ali Baba wanted to say something, so he stopped playing the tambourine.

"Come in, Morgiana, come in," Ali Baba said. "Cogia Hussain will see what you can do, and he'll tell us what he thinks." Then he turned to Cogia Hussain. "Sir," he said, "please don't think I've spent a lot of money to put on this show for you. It's all from my own house. As you can see, it's my slave and my cook, who also runs my household, who are doing it. I hope you'll enjoy it."

Cogia Hussain hadn't expected Ali Baba to add a show to the dinner. It made him worry that he might not be able to use the chance he thought he had found. If that happened, he told himself he could still find another chance, as long as he stayed friends with the father and son. So even though he would have preferred that Ali Baba hadn't done it, he acted as if he were grateful. He was polite enough to tell Ali Baba that anything that pleased Ali Baba was sure to please him too.

When Abdalla saw that Ali Baba and Cogia Hussain had stopped talking, he started playing the tambourine again. He sang along with a dance song. Morgiana was as good as any professional dancer. She danced so well that any audience at all would have admired it, not just the people she was dancing for. Probably the only one who didn't pay much attention was the fake Cogia Hussain.

She danced several dances, each one just as graceful and full of energy. Then at last she pulled out the dagger. Holding it in her hand, she did a dance that was better than all the rest. She did many different steps and moved lightly. She made amazing jumps and did wonderful, difficult moves. Sometimes she pushed the dagger forward as if she were going to stab someone. Sometimes she pretended to stab herself in the chest.

Finally, acting as if she were out of breath, she grabbed the tambourine out of Abdalla's hands with her left hand. She held the dagger in her right. She went and held the tambourine out to Ali Baba, open side up, the way professional dancers do when they ask their audience for money.

Ali Baba threw a gold coin into Morgiana's tambourine. Next Morgiana went to Ali Baba's son, and he did the same as his father. Cogia Hussain saw that she was going to come to him too. He had already pulled his purse out from inside his robe to give her something. Just as he put his hand into it, Morgiana stabbed him right in the heart. It took great courage, as much as all the determination and nerve she had shown so far. She pushed the dagger in so deep that she didn't pull it out until he was dead.

Ali Baba and his son were horrified at what she had done, and they cried out. "What a terrible thing!" Ali Baba shouted. "What have you done? Do you want to destroy me and my family?"

"I haven't destroyed you," Morgiana answered. "I did it to save you."

Then she opened Cogia Hussain's robe and showed Ali Baba the dagger the man had been carrying. "Look," she said. "Look what a dangerous enemy you were dealing with. Take a good look at his face. You'll see he's the fake oil seller, the leader of the forty robbers! And didn't you notice he wouldn't eat salt with you? What more do you need to be sure he meant to do something terrible? I suspected it even before I saw him, as soon as you told me you had a guest like that. Then I saw him, and you can see I was right to be suspicious."

Ali Baba realized he now owed Morgiana even more. She had saved his life a second time. He hugged her.

### The Wedding and the Secret of the Cave

"Morgiana," he said, "I set you free. When I did, I promised you that I wouldn't stop there. I said I would soon do something even greater to thank you. Now the time has come. I'm making you my son's wife."

Then Ali Baba spoke to his son. "Son," he said, "I think you're a good enough son that you won't mind me giving you Morgiana as your wife without asking you first. You owe her just as much as I do. You can see now that Cogia Hussain only made friends with you so he'd have a better chance to betray me and kill me. And if he had managed it, you can be sure he would have killed you too, to get his revenge. Think about this too. By marrying Morgiana, you're marrying the person who will hold my family together as long as I live. And she'll be the one your own family can count on for the rest of your life."

The son wasn't unhappy about it at all. He made it clear that he agreed to the marriage. He didn't want to disobey his father, but that wasn't the only reason. He also wanted to marry her.

Next, the people in Ali Baba's house buried the leader's body next to the bodies of the forty robbers. They did it so secretly that nobody found out about it until many years later. By then it no longer mattered to anyone if this remarkable story was told.

A few days later, Ali Baba held the wedding of his son and Morgiana. It was a grand celebration with a huge feast. There was dancing, there were shows, and there was all the usual entertainment. Ali Baba had invited his friends and neighbors. They didn't know the real reasons for the marriage, but they knew very well what a fine, good person Morgiana was. Ali Baba was pleased to hear them all praise him loudly for being so generous and kind.

Ali Baba had stayed away from the cave ever since he had taken his brother Cassim's body out of it and brought it home on one of his three donkeys, along with the gold he had loaded onto them. He had stayed away because he was afraid he would find the robbers there or that they would catch him. After the wedding, he still stayed away, even though thirty-eight of the robbers were dead, counting the leader. That was because he thought the other two were still alive. He didn't know what had happened to them.

But after a year, he saw that nobody had tried to cause him any trouble. He got curious and decided to go there, being careful to stay safe. He rode there on his horse. When he got near the cave, he didn't see any sign of people or horses. He took that as a good sign. He got off his horse and tied it up. He stood in front of the door and said the words. He hadn't forgotten them: "Open, Sesame!" The door opened. He went in. From the way everything looked inside, he could tell nobody had been in the cave since about the time the fake Cogia Hussain had come to open his shop in town. So the gang of forty robbers must have been completely broken up and wiped out since then. Now he was sure he was the only person in the world who knew the secret for opening the cave, and that the treasure inside was his to use. He had brought a saddlebag with him. He filled it with as much gold as his horse could carry, and he went back to town.

From then on, Ali Baba lived in great wealth and comfort. So did his son, whom he took to the cave and taught the secret of how to get in. And so did their children and grandchildren after them, who were taught the same secret. They didn't overdo it with their money. They were respected and held the most important positions in the city.

When Scheherazade finished telling this story to Sultan Shahriar, she saw that it wasn't morning yet. So she started telling him the next story, the one that comes after this: