The story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is one of the beautiful traditional stories that both adults and children love. Many cinema directors have even made cinematic films about the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
Story Events:
The events of the story take place in Baghdad in the Abbasid era. It is told that there were two brothers, the elder named Qasim and the younger named Ali Baba. They lived with their father the rich merchant. After their father’s death, he left them a great fortune, much money, and many properties.
But Qasim, the elder brother, seized all their father’s fortune because of his greed and avarice, leaving Ali Baba poor. He even treated him badly. Ali Baba worked as a woodcutter in the forest to provide himself with daily sustenance.
He would go out to work in the forest, cut tree branches every day from morning until evening, then return to the city to sell the firewood and obtain money to buy food for his family.
Ali Baba Discovers the Secret of the Treasure:
One day, while Ali Baba was working in the forest, he heard a faint sound from behind the mountain. Ali Baba stopped working and hid behind a large tree, awaiting the sound. He found forty horsemen standing in front of a cave in the mountain.
Ali Baba began to follow the horsemen. He found the commander of the horsemen advancing and standing before the cave, shouting: “Open, Sesame!” As soon as he finished that utterance, Ali Baba found the cave door open before them. Ali Baba was astonished and approached to see the situation from near.
The horsemen entered the cave, and Ali Baba looked inside the cave. He found golden treasures abundant and numerous. Ali Baba waited until the horsemen left the place, approached and stood before the cave, and shouted the secret word: “Open, Sesame!”
Ali Baba found the cave door open before him. Ali Baba hastened to enter the cave and tried to gather as much as he could of the golden treasures. He returned with them to his home in the city.
Ali Baba Tells His Wife the Secret of the Treasure:
When Ali Baba returned with the treasure, his wife asked him: “Where did you get those golden treasures from?” He told her the story of the cave he discovered in the mountain. Ali Baba began with his wife’s help in counting the treasures Ali Baba had gathered.
But they couldn’t count all the treasures and gold coins because of their abundance. Ali Baba’s wife suggested borrowing a scale from her brother Qasim’s house to weigh those treasures.
The Scale Trick:
Ali Baba’s wife went to Qasim’s wife and asked her to borrow a scale. But Qasim’s wife was astonished at this request and decided to discover what Ali Baba wanted to weigh while he was poor. She placed wax in the bottom of the scale and gave it to Ali Baba’s wife, who didn’t know about the wax’s presence in the scale and didn’t notice it.
Ali Baba’s wife returned with the scale and began weighing the treasures and golden coins. When finishing the work, Ali Baba took the scale to return it to his brother. But he didn’t notice the presence of some golden coins stuck in the bottom of the scale because of the wax’s presence.
Qasim’s Wife Discovers the Scale Secret:
Qasim’s wife took the scale and looked in the bottom. She found some golden coins. She hastened and told Qasim about this matter. Qasim decided to monitor Ali Baba and know the secret of those golden coins until he discovered the place of the golden cave Ali Baba used to go to.
Seizing Qasim:
The next day, Qasim went out in disguise to the cave and stood before it, shouting: “Open, Sesame!” He found the cave door open. He entered quickly to the cave but found inside the cave forty thieves.
The forty thieves seized Qasim and tried to kill him. He hastened and told them that his brother also robs the cave. They cooperated with him to reach Ali Baba, who had become rich after obtaining those golden treasures.
The Faithful Servant Marrjana Rescues Ali Baba:
Qasim and the forty thieves disguised themselves as merchants and headed to Ali Baba’s house to get rid of him. The thieves hid inside forty large jars. The commander of the thieves ordered Qasim to knock on Ali Baba’s door and tell them they were a group of olive merchants, and darkness had befallen them and they wanted a place for shelter until morning.
Ali Baba asked his servant Marrjana to prepare food for them and welcome them. Marrjana went to prepare food for them but didn’t find oil. Ali Baba asked her to take oil from the large jars the merchants had.
While Marrjana was opening one of the jars, she heard the sound of men carrying swords inside them. She hastened and blocked the mouths of the jars with large stones so the men couldn’t come out.
Marrjana carried a large knife, went to Ali Baba, and pretended to be dancing and fighting. She struck the commander of the thieves and killed him. Ali Baba was astonished at what his servant Marrjana had done.
But she told him about the hidden thieves. Ali Baba hastened and fought the thieves while they were hiding in the olive jars, until he finished them all. Ali Baba thanked Marrjana for what she had done in saving his life and discovering the matter of the thieves.