Alibaba and the forty thieves. Chapter one: The treasure cave.
Once upon a time in Persia, there lived two brothers. One was named Kasim and the other Alibaba. Kasim married a rich woman, but Alibaba was poor.
One day, Alibaba was cutting wood in the forest. He saw a group of men coming toward him. They must be robbers! He said to himself, he climbed a tree to hide. When the horsemen came up, Alibaba counted them.
There were forty men in all. They got off their horses before a black rock. The captain said the words: Open sesame! A door in the rock magically opened. The men all went inside and the door closed behind them.
Alibaba stayed in the tree. After a while, the door opened again. The robbers all came out. Then the captain said: Close sesame! And the door closed again. Then all the men rode away.
I must see what's behind that door. Thought Alibaba?
As soon as the men were out of sight. Alibaba climbed down. Opened sesame! He said in front of the rock. The door opened. And Alibaba entered into a large cave. It was full of all kinds of treasure.
Wow! There are rich silks, carpets, gold, silver and bags of money! Cried Alibaba. He loaded his three mules with as many bags as possible. When he was finished, Alibaba said: Close sesame! And the door closed.
He then went straight home. At home Alibaba told his wife about their good luck. She was really happy. Let's measure the gold! She said, but she didn't have a measuring stick. She ran to Kasim's wife to borrow one.
Kasim's wife was very curious, so she put a little glue on the back of the measuring stick. Alibaba's wife measured the treasure. A piece of gold stuck to the back of the measuring stick. Kasim's wife saw the gold and told her husband.
Kasim went to visit Alibaba. Please, tell me how you got the gold. He said. Alibaba then explained about the big black rock. I will get some treasure too, said Kasim. The next day Kasim went to the forest. He took a lot of mules with him to carry the treasure.
Open sesame! Said Kasim. And sure enough, the door opened. He went in and the door closed. He piled bags of gold near the door. Then he was ready to leave, but he had forgotten the magic words to open the door.
He tried to remember for a long time. Finally, the robbers came back to the cave. They saw Kasim inside and rushed into the cave. They pulled out their swords and killed him. Then they cut him into four pieces and left him in the cave.
That night Kasim's wife ran to Alibaba. I'm so worried about my husband, she cried.
Please don't worry, answered Alibaba. If he doesn't return by the morning, I'll find him.
In the morning, Alibaba prepared his three mules. He then left for the cave. When he entered, he was struck with horror. He quickly carried his brother's body to his house. Alibaba didn't want people to know how Kasim died.
Kasim's wife had a servant named Morjiana. She was very smart, so Alibaba asked her to help him. Please bring Mustafa the tailor to sew up Kasim's body, ordered Alibaba.
Morjiana went to Mustafa in the early morning. She tied a handkerchief over his eyes. Then she took him to Alibaba's house. Mustafa didn't know where he was.
Afterwards, Alibaba told the town that Kasim had died of natural causes. Alibaba buried him, and everything remained a secret.
In those days, men in Persia had more than one wife. Often, when a husband died, his brother would marry his wife. Alibaba decided to marry his brother's wife, then no one would be curious about his new treasures.
Therefore, Alibaba married Kasim's widow. Then he went to live in her house