Rap Point 3
Hi this is Aman Jain, 8ENG1, Parramatta High School, this is my fractured fairytale.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Once upon a time there lived in a town in Persia two brothers, one named Cassim, and the other Ali Baba. Cassim had married a rich wife, but Ali Baba was poor and made his living by cutting wood from the nearby forest and selling it in the town with the help of a mule. Although Cassim was rich, he was kind and Ali Baba on the other hand was stupid. The only similarity was that they both were greedy.
One day when he was in the forest cutting wood, he saw a troop of men on horseback coming toward him. Curious they might be robbers, he climbed up a tree to hide. Near the tree there was a steep bank formed of solid rock. When the horsemen came up Ali Baba counted them and found that they were the famous “Forty Thieves” who
were very cruel robbers. They dismounted in front of the rock, and one, who seemed to be captain, said the words, "Open, O Great Cave," when instantly a door opened in the rock. Then they all passed through, and the door closed after them.
Ali Baba stayed in the tree, and after a while the door opened again, and the robbers came out. Then the captain closed the door by saying, "Shut, O great Cave," and they all rode away.
When they were out of sight Ali Baba came down, and, going up to the rock, said, "Open, O Great Cave." The door at once opened, and Ali Baba, entering, found himself in a large cave, full of all kinds of treasure- gold and silver ware, great bags of money, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. He loaded three sacks with as many of the bags of gold as they could carry; and, after closing the door by saying, "Shut, O Great Cave," made his way home.
When he got there and told his wife that they had became rich, she was overjoyed,
but said that he must dig a hole and bury it at once. "No," said Ali Baba, "that will take too long. I must get as much gold as I could carry from the cave.”
So he started for the forest with a lot of mules the next morning. He opened the door by saying, "Open, O Great Cave," and when he went in, it closed after him. He began to pile up bags of gold near the door, but when he was ready to go he found that he had forgotten the magic words which opened it, and before he could recall them, the robbers returned. The moment they caught sight of him they rushed upon him with their swords and killed him, and then cut his body in four quarters and hung him up in the cave.
When night fell, and Ali Baba had not returned, his wife was greatly alarmed and ran to Cassim and told her everything. He tried to comfort her; but when morning came, and Ali Baba did not yet appear, he set out for the cave with three mules. When he reached there, he was astonished with all the wealth, and
was struck with horror when he saw his brother's body in pieces, but he quickly wrapped up the pieces and carried them home on one of the mules loading the other two with precious stones and gold and also taking Ali Baba’s mules.
He now wished to get Ali Baba buried without letting anyone know that he had not died a natural death. His wife had a slave named Morgiana, who was very quick-witted, and got her to assist him. She went very early in the morning, to an old cobbler named Mustapha, and bribed him to come and stitch the body together, tying a handkerchief over his eyes as she led him to and from the house, so that he would not know where he had done the work. Then it was given out that Ali Baba had died, and the funeral was held without betraying the secret of his death.
The customs of the country allowed a man to have more than one wife, and it was also usual when a husband died that his brother should marry his widow and owns all the wealth and property. So, in
order that he might enjoy his brother’s good fortune and live as a man of wealth made about his sudden rise in, Cassim married Ali Baba’s widow and they lived happily ever after.
Thanks for reading.
