The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

In one of the cities of Persia, two brothers lived, the eldest Kasim and the younger Ali Baba. After the death of the father, the brothers divided equally a small inheritance, which they inherited. Kasym married a very rich woman, engaged in trade, his wealth increased. Ali Baba married a poor woman and earned his living by chopping wood.

Once Ali Baba chopped wood near the cliff, when suddenly the armed horsemen showed up. Ali Baba got scared and hid. There were forty horsemen — these were robbers. The leader went up to the rock, parted the bushes that grew in front of it, and said: "Sesame, open up!" The door opened and the robbers carried the loot into the cave.

When they left, Ali Baba went to the door and also said: "Sesame, open it!" Door opened. Ali Baba went into a cave full of different treasures, put everything he could into bags and brought the treasures home.

To count the gold, Ali Baba’s wife asked Kasim’s wife to measure, supposedly, to measure the grain. It seemed strange to Kasym’s wife that the poor woman was about to measure something, and she poured a little wax on the bottom of the measurement. Her cunning was a success - a gold coin stuck to the bottom of the measurement. Seeing that his brother and wife are measuring gold, Kasym demanded an answer, where did the wealth come from. Ali Baba revealed the secret.

Once in the cave, Kasym was taken aback by what he saw and forgot the magic words. He listed all the grains and plants known to him, but the coveted “Sesame, open up!” never said.

Meanwhile, the robbers attacked a rich caravan and seized vast wealth. They went to the cave to leave the loot there, but before the entrance they saw harnessed mules and guessed that someone had discovered their secret. Finding Kasima in the cave, they killed him, and cut his body to pieces and hung above the door so that no one else dared to enter the cave.

Kasym’s wife, worried that her husband hadn’t been away for several days, turned to Ali Baba for help. Ali Baba understood where there could be a brother, went to the cave. Seeing his dead brother there, Ali Baba wrapped his body in a shroud to bury according to the commandments of Islam, and, after a night, he went home.

Kasym's wife Ali Baba proposed to become his second wife, and in order to arrange the funeral of the murdered, Ali Baba entrusted this to slave Kasima Marjan, who was famous for her intelligence and cunning. Marjana went to the doctor and asked him for medicine for her sick Mr. Kasim. This went on for several days, and Ali Baba, on the advice of Marjan, began to often go into his brother's house and express sorrow and sadness. The news spread around the city that Kasym was seriously ill. Marjan also brought a shoemaker home late at night, having previously blindfolded him and confused the road. Having paid well, she ordered the victim to be sewn up. After washing the dead Kasim and putting a shroud on him, Mardzhan told Ali Baba that it was already possible to announce the death of her brother.

When the period of mourning ended, Ali Baba married his brother’s wife, moved with his first family to Kasym’s house, and handed the brother’s shop to his son.

Meanwhile, the robbers, seeing that there was no Kasim’s corpse in the cave, realized that the murdered man had an accomplice who knew the secret of the cave and needed to find it at all costs. One of the robbers went into the city, disguised as a merchant, to find out if anyone had died recently. By chance, he ended up in a shoemaker's shop, boasting with his sharp eyesight, he told how he had recently sewn up a dead man in the dark. For a good fee, the shoemaker brought the robber to Kasym’s house, as he remembered all the turns of the road that Marjan was driving along. Appearing in front of the gates of the house, the robber drew a white sign on them to find the house on it.

Early in the morning, Mardzhana went to the market and noticed a sign on the gate.Feeling something was amiss, she drew the same signs on the gates of neighboring houses.

When the robber brought his comrades to Kasym’s house, they saw the same signs on other houses that were identical. For an unfulfilled mission, the leader of the robber executed.

Then the other robber, having also paid well to the shoemaker, said to take him to Kasym’s house and put a red sign there.

Again Marjan went to the market and saw a red sign. Now she painted red signs on neighboring houses and the robbers again could not find the right house. The robber was also executed.

Then the leader of the robbers got down to business. He also paid generously to the shoemaker for his service, but did not put a sign on the house. He calculated what kind of house he needed in the quarter. Then he bought forty wineskins. In two of them, he poured oil, and in the rest he put his people. Under the guise of a merchant selling olive oil, the leader drove up to Ali Baba's house and asked the owner to stay overnight. Good Ali Baba agreed to shelter the merchant and ordered Marjan to prepare various dishes and a comfortable bed for the guest, and the slaves were put on the wineskins in the yard.

Marjana, meanwhile, ran out of oil. She decided to borrow it from a guest, and in the morning to give him money. When Marjan approached one of the wineskins, the robber sitting in it decided that their chieftain had come. Since he was already tired of sitting hunched over, he asked when the time would come to leave. Marjan was not taken aback, she said in a low manly voice a little more to be patient. She did the same with the other robbers.

Gathering oil, Marjan boiled it in a cauldron and poured it on the robbers' heads. When all the robbers died, Marjan began to monitor their leader.

Meanwhile, the leader found that his assistants were dead, secretly left the house of Ali Baba. And Ali Baba, as a token of gratitude, gave Marjan freedom, from now on she was no longer a slave.

But the leader decided to take revenge. He changed his appearance and opened a fabric shop, opposite the shop of the son of Ali Baba Mohammed. And soon a good rumor went about him. The leader, under the guise of a merchant, made friends with Muhammad. Muhammad sincerely fell in love with his new friend and once invited him home for a Friday meal. The leader agreed, but with the condition that the food will be without salt, since it is extremely disgusting to him.

Hearing the order to prepare food without salt, Marjan was very surprised and wanted to look at such an unusual guest. The girl immediately recognized the leader of the robbers, and looking closely, he saw a dagger under his clothes.

Marjana dressed in luxurious clothes and put a dagger in her belt. Entering during the meal, she began to entertain men with dancing. During the dance, she pulled out a dagger, played with it and stuck it in the chest of the guest.

Seeing what misfortune Mardjan saved them from, Ali Baba married her to his son Muhammad.

Ali Baba and Muhammad took away all the treasures of the robbers and lived in complete contentment, having a pleasant life, until the Destroyer of Pleasures and the Destroyer of Assemblies, overthrowing the palaces and erecting graves, came to them.

Tale of the Merchant and the Spirit

One day a very wealthy merchant went on business. On the way, he sat down under a tree to rest. Resting, he ate dates and threw a bone on the ground. Suddenly, ifrit with a drawn sword grew out of the ground. The bone fell into the heart of his son, and the son died, the merchant will pay for it with his life. The merchant asked ifrit for a year to delay his affairs.

A year later, the merchant arrived at the appointed place. Crying, he expected his death. An old man with a gazelle approached him. Hearing the story of the merchant, the old man decided to stay with him. Suddenly another old man came up with two hunting dogs, and then a third with a pinto mule. When ifrit with a sword appeared, the first old man suggested ifrit to listen to his story. If it seems surprising, ifrit will give the old man a third of the merchant’s blood.

The story of the first elder

The gazelle is the daughter of an uncle of an old man. He lived with her for about thirty years, but had no child.Then he took the concubine and she endowed him with a son. When the boy was fifteen years old, the old man left on business. During his absence, the wife turned the boy into a calf, and his mother into a cow and gave them to a shepherd, and told her husband that his wife had died and his son had run away to no one knew where.

Year old man cried. The holiday has come. The old man ordered to kill the cow. But the cow brought by the shepherd began to moan and cry, as she was a concubine. The old man felt sorry for her and he ordered another one to be brought, but his wife insisted on this, the fattest cow in the herd. Slaughtering her, the old man saw that she had neither meat nor fat. Then the old man ordered to bring the calf. The calf began to cry and rub against his legs. The wife insisted that they kill him, but the old man refused, and the shepherd took him.

The next day, the shepherd told the old man that, having taken the calf, he came to his daughter, who had learned witchcraft. When she saw the calf, she said that he was the son of the master and the wife of the master turned him into the calf, and the cow that was slaughtered was the mother of the calf. Hearing this, the old man went to the shepherd’s daughter so that she would bewitch her son. The girl agreed, but with the condition that he would marry her son and allow her to bewitched. The old man agreed, the girl cast a spell on her son, and turned his wife into a gazelle. Now the son’s wife has died, and the son has left for India. An old man with a gazelle goes to him.

Ifrit found the story amazing and gave the old man a third of the merchant's blood. Then a second old man came forward with two dogs and offered to tell his story. If it seems more surprising than the first, ifrit will give him a third of the merchant's blood.

The story of the second elder

Two dogs are the elder brothers of the old man. The father died and left his sons thousands of dinars each and each son opened a shop. The older brother sold everything that was and went to travel. He returned to the poor a year later: the money was gone, happiness changed. The old man calculated his profit and saw that he had made a thousand dinars and now his capital is two thousand. He gave half to his brother, who again opened the shop and began to trade. Then the second brother sold his property and set off to travel. He returned a year later, also a beggar. The old man calculated his profit and saw that his capital again amounted to two thousand dinars. He gave half to his second brother, who also opened a shop and began to trade.

Time passed and the brothers began to demand that the old man go with them to travel, but he refused. Six years later, he agreed. His capital was six thousand dinars. He buried three, and divided three between himself and his brothers.

During the trip, they made money and suddenly met a beautiful girl dressed as a beggar who asked for help. The old man took her to his ship, took care of her, and then they got married. But the brothers were jealous of him and decided to kill him. During sleep, they threw their brother and wife into the sea. But the girl turned out to be ifrit. She saved her husband and decided to kill his brothers. Her husband asked her not to do this, then the Ifrit turned the brothers into two dogs and cast a spell that would release them no earlier than ten years later, her sister. Now the deadline has come and the old man with his brothers goes to his wife’s sister.

Ifrit found the story amazing and gave the old man a third of the merchant's blood. Then a third old man came forward with a mule and offered to tell his story. If it seems more surprising than the first two, ifrit will give him the rest of the merchant's blood.

The story of the third elder

Mule is the old man’s wife. Once he found her with a lover and his wife turned him into a dog. He came to the butcher's shop to pick up the bones, but the butcher's daughter was a sorceress and she conjured him. The girl gave magical water so that he would spray on his wife and turn her into a mule. To the question of ifrit it is true, the mule nodded his head, indicating that it was true.

Ifrit found the story amazing, gave the old man the rest of the merchant's blood and let go of the latter.

The Tale of the Fisherman

There lived one poor fisherman with his family. Every day, he threw the net into the sea four times.Once he caught a copper jug ​​sealed with a lead cork with the seal of the ring of Suleiman ibn Daud. The fisherman decided to sell it in the market, but first see the contents of the jug. A huge ifrit came out of the pitcher, who disobeyed King Suleiman and the king imprisoned him in a jug. Upon learning that the king was already gone for almost two thousand years, ifrit from anger decided to kill his savior. The fisherman doubted how such a huge ifrit could fit in such a small jug. To prove that he was telling the truth, ifrit turned into smoke and entered a jug. The fisherman sealed the vessel with a cork and threatened to throw it into the sea if ifrit wanted to repay evil for good, telling a story about Tsar Yunan and the doctor Duban.

The tale of the king Vyazir Yunan

King Yunan lived in the Persian city. He was rich and great, but leprosy formed on his body. None of the doctors could heal him with any drugs. Once, the doctor Duban came to the king’s city, possessing many knowledge. He offered Yunan his help. The doctor made a hammer and put a potion into it. He attached a pen to the hammer. The doctor told the king to ride a horse and hammer the ball with a hammer. The king’s body was covered with perspiration and medicine from the hammer spread over his body. Then Yunan washed himself in the bathhouse and the next morning there was no trace of his illness. In gratitude, he gifted the doctor of Duban with money and all kinds of benefits.

The vizier of Tsar Yunan, envious of the doctor, whispered to the Tsar that Duban wanted to excommunicate Yunan from the reign. In response, the king told the story of King al-Sinbad.

The story of King al-Sinbad

One of the kings of the Persians, al-Sinbad loved hunting. He raised a falcon and never parted with him. Once on a hunt, the king long pursued a gazelle. Killing her, he felt thirsty. And then he saw a tree, from the top of which water flowed. He filled his cup with water, but the falcon overturned it. The king filled the cup again, but the falcon overturned it again. When the falcon turned the cup over for the third time, the king chopped off his wings. While dying, the falcon showed the king that the echidna sits on top of a tree, and the flowing liquid was its poison. Then the king realized that he had killed a friend who had saved him from death.

In response, King Yunan’s vizier told the story of an insidious vizir.

The story of the insidious vezir

One king had a vezir and had a son who loved hunting. The king ordered the vezir to always be with his son. Once the prince went hunting. Vezir saw a big beast, sent the prince to follow him. Chasing the beast, the young man got lost and suddenly saw a crying girl who said that she was a lost Indian princess. The Tsarevich took pity on her and took it with him. Driving past the ruins, the girl asked to stop. Seeing that she was gone for a long time, the prince went after her and saw that it was a ghoul who wanted to eat a young man with her children. Tsarevich realized that it was a fit for Vesar. He returned home and told about the incident to his father, who killed the vezir.

Believing his vezir that the doctor Duban decided to kill him, King Yunan ordered the executioner to chop off the doctor’s head. No matter how the doctor cried, nor asked the king to spare him, no matter how close the king’s entourage, Yunan was adamant. He was sure that the doctor was a scout who came to destroy him.

Seeing that his execution was inevitable, the doctor Duban asked for a respite in order to distribute his medical books to his relatives. One book, the most valuable doctor decided to give the king. According to the doctor’s order, the king put the severed head on a dish and rubbed it with a special powder to stop the blood. The doctor’s eyes opened and he ordered the book to be opened. To reveal the sticky pages, the king saliva dipped his finger. The book opened and he saw blank sheets. And then the poison spread throughout Yunan's body: the book was poisoned. She repaid the king with evil for his evil.

After hearing the fisherman, Ifrit promised that he would reward him for letting him out of the jug. Ifrit led the fisherman to a pond surrounded by mountains, in which colorful fish swam and said to fish here no more than once a day.

The caught fish, the fisherman sold to the king.When the cook cooked it, the kitchen wall opened and a beautiful young woman came out and spoke to the fish. The cook fainted in fear. When she woke up, the fish burned. The king’s vizar, having heard her story, bought fish from the fisherman and ordered the cook to fry it with him. Making sure that the woman was telling the truth, he told the king. The king bought fish from a fisherman and ordered them to fry. Seeing that when the fish was frying, the wall moved apart and a slave came out of it and spoke to the fish, the king decided to find out the secret of the fish.

The fisherman led the king to the pond. Whom the king did not ask about the pond and fish, no one knew anything. The king went to the mountains and saw a palace there. There was no one in the palace except a beautiful crying young man, whose lower half was stone.

The story of a bewitched young man

The father of the young man was king and lived in the mountains. The young man married his uncle's daughter. They lived for five years and he thought that his wife loved him with great love, but once a young man overheard the conversation of slaves. The girls said that his wife every night pours him sleeping pills, and she leaves for her lover. The young man did not drink the drink prepared by his wife and pretended to be sleeping. Seeing that his wife was gone, wearing her best clothes, he followed her. The wife came to the wretched hut and entered it, and the young man climbed onto the roof. In the hut lived a black ugly slave who was her lover. Seeing them together, the young man struck the neck of a slave with a sword. He thought he was killed, but actually only wounded. In the morning he found his wife in tears. She explained her sadness by the fact that her parents and brothers died. The wife built a tomb in the palace to retire there with her sorrows. In fact, she brought a slave there and looked after him. So three years passed, her husband did not interfere with her, but once he reproached her for treason. Then she turned it into a half-stone, half a man, turned the inhabitants of the city into fish, and the city into mountains. In addition, every morning she hits her husband with a whip to the blood, and then goes to her lover.

Hearing the story of the young man, the king killed the slave, and dressed in his clothes lay down in his place. When the young man’s wife came, the king changed his voice and told her that the groans of the young man and the cry of the enchanted inhabitants torment him. May she set them free, health returns to him. When the woman cast a spell on the young man and the inhabitants, and the city again became as before, the king killed her. Since the king did not have children, he adopted a young man and generously awarded a fisherman. He married one of the daughters of the fisherman himself, and gave another to a spouse for a bewitched young man. The fisherman became the richest man of his time, and his daughters were the wives of the kings until death came to them.