ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

The story of Ali Baba and the forty thieves, which took place in Baghdad, Iraq, introduces us to two main characters. Two brothers: Ali Baba, a poor man who struggle to support his family, and Cassim, who is married to a wealthy woman. One day, Ali Baba went with his donkey to cut woods in the forest. All of a sudden, he encountered a group of forty men, on their horses, rushing into a cave. He noticed that before entering the cave, the leader of the group shouted the words “Open Sesame” and two doors, magically, opened. Allie Baba, by following the forty thieves, had memorized the password, and after they left, he entered the cave to find out great amounts of gold. Quickly after, Ali Baba had brought his donkey and loaded him with a sufficient amount of treasure for him and his wife.

Ali Baba’s wife which works as a servant at Cassim (Ali Baba’s brothers) house wanted to weigh all of the gold that was given to her by Ali, but while doing so, Cassim’s wife caught her in action. When Ali Baba’s brother heard about it, he commanded Ali Baba for an explanation. Ali Baba, in response, had told him the whole story and even offered him to share the treasure. Ali Baba’s brother was greedy; he went to the cave by himself, took ten donkeys with him and loaded them with even more treasure than Ali Baba had. When Ali Baba’s brother was about to exit from the cave, he forgets the password and remained locked in. After a while, the forty thieves came back to the cave and saw Cassim inside the cave; they immediately killed him. Meanwhile, Cassim’s wife raised her concerns her husband and urged Ali Baba to go to the cave and look for Cassim. Ali Baba, then, went to the cave and found his brother dead. Alibaba Carries his brother’s body back home and the family is conducting a funeral and burial; Ali Baba even promises to marry his brother’s wife after the mourning period so she won’t be left alone, which he, ultimately did.

The leader of the thieves went to the cave and found that Cassim’s body is missing. The leader, then, realizes that there is another intruder out there and opens a search against a second trespasser. After asking the locals, The thieves’ leader concluded that Ali baba is the second one to know the password to the cave and decide to send his forty men over to kill Ali baba. When Ali Baba’s mistress, Morgiana, heard about the scheme and sabotaged the thief’s plans over and over again and even killed few of them. The thief leader frustrated went back to his cave seeking revenge. He decides to get along with Ali Baba’s son. The thieves’ leader assumed that by doing so he will be able to get a special invitation for a family dinner at Ali Baba’s house and then kill Ali baba. When Morgiana discovered about the plot, she invites the leader to have dinner. In their culture, it was acceptable that the house mistresses would dance before guests as act of respect and hospitality. Morgiana dances for the thieves’ leader and use the opportunity to kill him. When Ali baba had heard about it, he expressed his gratitude to her and decide to marry her with his son. Ali baba, the only man who knows the password to the cave is finally gaining his wealth and power that he always wanted.