In a city of Persia there lived two brothers, Cassim and Ali Baba. While Cassim married a rich woman and lived in abundance, Ali Baba had to support his family by cutting wood in a nearby forest. One day, as he worked among the trees, Ali Baba saw a troop of men on horseback approaching in a cloud of dust. Fearing they were thieves, he quickly climbed a tall tree to hide himself.
When the horsemen reached his hiding spot, Ali Baba counted forty of them. They dismounted and tied their horses to the trees. Their captain, a fearsome-looking man, walked toward some bushes near a rocky cliff. In a clear voice he commanded: 'Open, Sesame!' And to Ali Baba's amazement, a great door opened in the rocks!
After the thieves disappeared inside, Ali Baba waited patiently in his tree. When they finally came out, the captain said 'Close, Sesame!' and the door sealed shut. Once they rode away, Ali Baba climbed down and approached the hidden entrance. With a trembling voice he said the magic words: 'Open, Sesame!' The door flew open, revealing a vast treasure cave filled with gold, silver, and rich silks!
Ali Baba's eyes grew wide at the sight of countless treasures. Gold coins were piled in great heaps, leather bags overflowed with precious gems, and fine silk brocades lay stacked against the walls. He carefully loaded as many bags of gold as his donkeys could carry, covered everything with firewood, and returned home to his astonished wife.
Ali Baba's wife wanted to measure all the gold, so she borrowed a measuring cup from Cassim's wife. But Cassim's wife was clever and cunning - she put sticky tallow on the bottom of the cup. When the cup was returned, a gold coin had stuck to it! Cassim's wife showed her husband and said: 'Your brother is richer than you! He doesn't count his money - he measures it!'
Burning with envy, Cassim stormed to Ali Baba's house before dawn. He showed the gold coin and demanded to know the secret. Kind Ali Baba told his brother everything - the cave, the magic words, and where to find it. But greedy Cassim wouldn't share. He took ten mules and hurried to the forest, already dreaming of all the treasure that would soon be his alone.
Cassim found the cave and cried 'Open, Sesame!' The door opened wide. Inside, he stuffed his chests with gold and jewels, thinking only of his riches. But when he tried to leave, his mind went blank with greed! 'Open, Barley!' he cried. 'Open, Wheat!' He named every grain but the right one. The door stayed firmly shut, and Cassim was trapped!
At noon, the forty thieves returned to find strange mules outside their cave. Drawing their sabers, they opened the door. Poor Cassim tried to flee but could not escape their wrath. When Ali Baba found his brother's fate that night, he wept with sorrow. He loaded the body onto a donkey and brought it home, wondering how he could possibly give his brother a proper burial without revealing the terrible secret.
Morgiana, the clever slave girl, devised a plan. She went to an old cobbler named Baba Mustafa and, after blindfolding him, led him to sew the body whole again. She prepared medicine and announced to the neighborhood that Cassim had died of illness. Thanks to her quick thinking, no one suspected the truth, and Cassim was buried with honor.
The thieves discovered that someone had taken Cassim's body! Their captain sent a spy to the city. The spy found old Baba Mustafa, who boasted about sewing a man together in the dark. For two gold coins, the cobbler let himself be blindfolded again and led the spy right to Ali Baba's door. The thief marked it with white chalk and hurried back to report his success.
But Morgiana had sharp eyes! She spotted the strange chalk mark and guessed its evil purpose. Quick as a fox, she took chalk and marked several other doors exactly the same way. When the thieves came that night, they found five houses with white marks and couldn't tell which was Ali Baba's. The spy was punished, and another was sent - but clever Morgiana outwitted him too with red chalk!
The furious captain decided to handle matters himself. He memorized Ali Baba's house and hatched a cunning plan. He bought nineteen mules and thirty-eight large oil jars. In each jar, he hid one of his armed thieves! He filled the last jar with oil and, disguised as a traveling oil merchant, knocked on Ali Baba's door at nightfall, asking for shelter.
Ali Baba welcomed the 'merchant' kindly and invited him to stay the night. The jars were placed in the courtyard while the captain dined inside. Later, Morgiana went to get oil for her lamp and approached the first jar. From inside, a voice whispered: 'Is it time?' Quick-witted Morgiana replied calmly: 'Not yet, but soon.' She checked each jar and discovered the terrible plot!
Instead of screaming for help, brave Morgiana kept her head. She heated a great cauldron of oil until it boiled fiercely, then poured it into each jar, silencing the thieves forever. When the captain threw pebbles from his window as a signal, no one answered. He crept to the courtyard and discovered that his entire gang had been defeated by one clever servant girl!
The captain escaped but returned months later, disguised as a merchant befriending Ali Baba's son. When invited to dinner, Morgiana recognized him despite his disguise! She put on dancer's clothes and performed with a dagger, spinning closer and closer to the false merchant. With one swift move, she plunged the blade into his heart, saving her master forever! Ali Baba gratefully gave Morgiana her freedom and welcomed her as family. Years later, he shared the cave's secret with his children, and they lived happily and richly ever after.
