Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Among the most beloved tales associated with the One Thousand and One Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves unfolds in the storied landscape of the medieval Middle East. Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter who, hidden in the forest, watches a band of forty thieves halt before a rock face and speak the magic words: Open, Sesame. The stone door swings wide upon a cavern heaped with stolen gold and jewels. When the robbers depart, Ali Baba speaks the words himself, enters, and carries home a modest fortune. But his greedy brother Cassim, learning the secret, is trapped inside when he forgets the phrase, and the thieves discover the intrusion. What follows is a deadly game of wits in which the thieves try to hunt down Ali Baba, marking his door and hiding in great oil jars, only to be outmatched at every turn by the sharp and fearless slave girl Morgiana, who saves her master and finally destroys the whole band. Rich with magic, cunning, and justice, the tale has enchanted readers for centuries as a fable of humble virtue rewarded and clever loyalty triumphant.