Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Fairy tales in Romanian.
The Beginnings
Once upon a time in ancient Persia, there lived a carpet merchant who had two sons. One was named Casim, and the other Ali Baba.
After their father's death, greedy Casim took over the family business, tricking the naive Ali Baba. Casim married a rich woman. Ali Baba had to support his wife and children. He earned his daily bread by selling wood that he cut in the forest.
The Discovery of the Secret Cave
One day, Ali Baba was gathering wood in the forest. Suddenly, he heard the sound of many horses trotting.
— Huh? Huh?
He hid behind a tree because he was scared. A group of 40 men on horseback arrived, carrying sacks, and stopped near a huge rock at the foot of the mountain.
— They wear swords and daggers at their belts. These are certainly a band of thieves. — What are they doing here in the forest?
One of the thieves, who seemed to be their leader, approached the rock.
— Open Sesame!
Ali Baba couldn't believe his eyes.
— Wow!
The rock was actually the entrance to a dark cave. The thieves entered the cave, and the door closed behind them. Ali Baba remained amazed and couldn't move from fear.
After a while, the door opened again, and the thieves came out empty-handed. They had left their sacks in the cave. The thieves mounted their horses and disappeared into the forest.
— Oh, this must be their treasure hideout!
Ali Baba's Fortune
Ali Baba couldn't resist entering the cave. He stood in front of the rock and shouted:
— Open Sesame!
The door opened just as before. Ali Baba entered the cave.
— Hoho!
There were huge piles of gold, silver, precious tools, diamonds, rubies, and much more, such as Ali Baba had never seen in his life.
— Ha!
Ali Baba couldn't believe it, but everything was there, spread on the ground.
— I'll take a few coins too. The thieves won't even notice.
Ali Baba filled a sack with coins and went home.
— Look what I brought!
Ali Baba emptied the sack of gold coins in front of her. His wife was amazed to see so much gold.
— Ha! — Did you steal these coins? — It's a long story. — I didn't steal anything. It was already stolen. Ha ha! — I'll count them first. — No, we can't count so much money. Go to my brother's house and bring a scale.
Ali Baba's wife quickly ran to her brother-in-law's house.
— My dear, lend me a scale tonight. I'll bring it back by tomorrow morning. — What do you want to weigh with it? — Nothing, just some wheat.
Casim's wife was a cunning woman and thought that Ali Baba couldn't have so much wheat to weigh. So she put a little wax on the bottom of the scale and gave it to Ali Baba's wife. She weighed the gold coins and was extremely happy with the quantity.
— We've become rich! We can buy anything we want! — Not so soon. Everyone will suspect us. We can't let anyone find out our secret.
Ali Baba's wife agreed to keep silent. But the next day, Casim's wife discovered their secret by seeing a coin stuck to the scale. She immediately informed Casim of his brother's fortune.
Casim's Envy
— Ali Baba has gold coins. Where did he get them? I must find out!
Casim became so envious that he couldn't sleep. So he immediately went to Ali Baba's house.
— Ali, how are you, brother? I came to ask if you need anything. Never hesitate. Ask me for anything you need. Your older brother is always here for you. — Oh, brother, I'm glad you care about me, but I have enough money now. I don't need anything else. — Money? Tell me about it!
Naive Ali Baba couldn't keep the truth hidden. So he told Casim everything about the thieves and the cave.
— That's great! I'm going there tomorrow. After all, your money is my responsibility. I must take care of it. Uh, what's the magic word to open the cave? — Open Sesame! — Open Sesame! Open Sesame! I'll remember! Open Sesame!
The next morning, Casim left home with four strong mules to carry the gold.
— I'll be richer than the richest!
He reached the cave and shouted:
— Open Sesame!
And the door opened and closed behind him.
— Amazing! Incredible! So much gold, so many precious stones! I'll take everything from here!
Casim's Fate
Casim put all the coins and precious stones into sacks. But when he went to the door to leave, he stood there thinking.
— What was the formula? Uh, Open Barley! Open Wheat! Open the door! Open the door! Someone, open it!
In all his excitement, Casim forgot the password and remained locked in the cave. After a while, he heard the sound of horses trotting. The 40 thieves returned to the cave.
— Open Sesame!
When the door opened, they all found Casim kneeling in front of the door. Without asking him any questions, their leader killed him with a dagger and left his body lying inside.
Casim's wife went to Ali Baba to inform him of his disappearance.
— He had gone to the cave. I'll go find him.
Ali Baba went to the cave and found Casim's body lying there.
— No! Oh, no!
He placed him on one of the mules and took him home.
The Thieves' Plan
Casim's maid, Morgiana, heard everything about the incident.
— We must not tell anyone the reason for his death. I'll go to the doctor to get medicine for him, so we can pretend he's sick. Tomorrow morning, we'll announce that he has died.
They all agreed to her plan. They passed
