Antoine Galland, from the telling of Hannā Diyāb · Complete work
The Wedding and the Secret of the Cave
The Wedding and the Secret of the Cave of 14. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal French
« 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:
Musean translation
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.
"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:
Plain English translation
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.
"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: