【英音】阿里巴巴和四十大盗 | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

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Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

In a town in Persia there dwelled twobrothers, one named Cassim, the other Ali Baba. Cassim was married to a richwife and lived in plenty; while Ali Baba had to maintain his wife and childrenby cutting wood in a neighbouring forest and selling it in the town. One day,when Ali Baba was in the forest, he saw a troop of men on horseback, comingtoward him in a cloud of dust. He was afraid they were robbers, and climbedinto a tree for safety. When they came up to him and dismounted, he countedforty of them. They unbridled their horses and tied them to trees. The finestman among them, whom Ali Baba took to be their captain, went a little way amongsome bushes, and said: “Open Sesame!” so plainly that Ali Baba heard him. Adoor opened in the rocks, and having made the troop go in, he followed them,and the door shut again of itself. They stayed some time inside, and Ali Baba,fearing they might come out and catch him, was forced to sit patiently in thetree. At last the door opened again, and the forty thieves came out. As thecaptain went in last, he came out first, and made them all pass by him. He thenclosed the door, saying, “Shut Sesame!” Every man bridled his horse andmounted. The captain put himself at their head, and they returned as they came.

Then Ali Baba climbed down and went to thedoor concealed among the bushes, and said: “Open Sesame!” It flew open. AliBaba, who expected a dull, dismal place, was greatly surprised to find it largeand well lighted, hollowed by the hand of man in the form of a vault, whichreceived the light from an opening in the ceiling. He saw rich bales ofmerchandise – silk brocades, all piled together, and gold and silver in heaps,and money in leather purses. He went in and the door shut behind him. He didnot look at the silver, but brought out as many bags of gold as he thought hisasses, which were browsing outside, could carry. He loaded them with the bags,and hid it all with fagots. Using the words: “Shut Sesame!” he closed the doorand went home.

Then he drove his asses into the yard, shutthe gates, carried the money-bags to his wife, and emptied them out before her.He bade her to keep the secret, and he would go and bury the gold. “Let mefirst measure it,” said his wife. “I will go and borrow a measure off someone,while you dig the hole.” So she ran to the wife of Cassim and borrowed ameasure. Knowing Ali Baba’s poverty, the sister was curious to find out whatsort of grain his wife wished to measure, and artfully put some suet at thebottom of the measure. Ali Baba’s wife went home and set the measure on theheap of gold, and filled it and emptied it often, to her great content. Shethen carried it back to her sister, without noticing that a piece of gold wassticking to it, which Cassim’s wife perceived directly whilst her back wasturned. She grew very curious, and said to Cassim when he came home: “Cassim,your brother is