Chapter two: The 40 thieves
Meanwhile, the robbers returned to their cave. They soon realized that the body was gone. Someone knows our secret! Cried the captain. I will go into town, said one robber. And find a clue.
By accident, the robber met Mustafa in town. Mustafa told him that he sewed up a dead body. Show me where you did the sewing, said the robber. My eyes were covered, explained Mustafa. So I don't know where the house is.
The robber decided to blindfold Mustafa again. Finally, Mustafa was able to find the house. The robber put an x on the door with chalk. Then he returned to his friends.
Shortly after, Morjiana saw the mark on the door. What is this Mark? She thought to herself. She feared that something bad might happen. Therefore, she marked all the doors on both sides of the street with the same x.
Meanwhile, the robber had reported his success. We will all go into town, ordered the captain. The robber took the captain to Alibaba street. The captain quickly noticed that all the doors had been marked. We have been tricked, said the captain. I will go myself.
Finally, he found Alibaba's house. The captain ordered his men to buy 20 mules and 40 oil jars. Fill one oil jar and leave the rest empty, he said. He put a man in each of the empty jars and loaded them onto the mules.
We'll go to town before it gets dark, he told them. He took his mules to Alibaba's house. I'm an oil merchant, he said. I could not find a place to stay.
You can leave your mules in my yard, said Alibaba. And you can sleep in my house.
The captain unloaded the jars in the yard. When you hear me whistle, he whispered to each man. You must come out of the jar.
Morjiana just happened to need some oil. She thought she could take a little from one of the jars. In the yard, she heard a man's voice softly say, is it time? It was from one of the jars. She was shocked, but she kept herself cool. Not yet, but soon, she whispered back.
Alibaba is in danger, she thought. She filled a huge kettle with oil. She set it on fire, and the oil began boiling. Then she poured the oil into each jar. It killed each robber inside. After that, she went back to her room. She watched out her window to see what would happen next.
A few minutes later, the captain opened his window. He threw stones at the jars. Nothing happened. He was very surprised. He went outside and found all his men dead. He immediately went back to his cave.
Morjiana saw the captain run away. She was so happy that she had saved Alibaba's family. The next morning, she told Alibaba what happened.
Back in the cave, the captain promised himself that he would have revenge. He changed his appearance and went to town. He rented a warehouse. He filled it with silks and other stuff. He told the townspeople that he was a merchant and his name was Cogia Hassan.
Alibaba had a son who was also a merchant. His warehouse was close to Cogia Hassan's. The captain knew this and became friends with the son.
One day, the son invited Cogia Hassan to his house to eat dinner. Cogia went to Alibaba's house. He carried a knife under his shirt. At dinner, he wouldn't eat any salt. At that time in Persia, there was a custom. It was considered wrong to kill a man after sharing salt.
Morjiana noticed that their guest wouldn't eat any salt. I'm sure this is the oil merchant, she thought to herself. She knew she had to protect Alibaba.
Morjiana was a great dancer. She often danced for the guests. After the meal, she came to give a performance. She had a tambourine in one hand and a knife in the other. She would place the knife on the chest of each man. She pretended that this was part of the dance, but when she got to Cogia Hassan, she stuck the knife in his chest. He fell dead to the ground.
What are you doing? Cried Alibaba. This is the oil merchant, explained Morjiana. He planned on killing you. She opened his shirt and showed Alibaba his knife.
You saved my life, said Alibaba. He could not thank her enough. After a while, Alibaba's son married Morjiana. They all live long, peaceful lives