light from a hole in the top of the rock. In it all sorts of rare fruits, bales of rich merchandise, silk stuffs and brocades, and great heaps of money, both silver and gold, some loose, some in large leather bags, were piled up. The sight of all these things 5 almost took Ali Baba's breath away.

But he did not hestitate long as to what he should do. He went boldly into the cave, and as soon as he was there the door shut; but since he knew the secret by which to open it, this gave him no fear. Leaving the silver, he turned to the gold which was 10 in the bags, and when he had gathered enough for loading his three asses, he brought them to the rock, loaded them, and so covered the sacks of gold over with wood that no one could suspect anything. This done, he went up to the door, and had no sooner said the words, "Shut Sesame," than it closed.

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And now Ali Baba took the road to the town; and when he got home, drove his asses into the yard, and shut the gate with great care. He threw off the wood that hid the gold, and carried the bags into the house, where he laid them down in a row before his wife, who was sitting upon a couch.

When he had told the whole story of the cave and the forty thieves, he emptied out the sacks, making one great heap of gold that quite dazzled his wife's eyes.

His wife began to rejoice in this good fortune; and was going to count over the money that lay before her, piece by piece. "What are you going to do?" said he; "why, you would never have done counting. I will dig a pit to bury it in; we have no time to lose."

"It is right, though," replied the wife, "that we should know about how much there may be. I will go and borrow a small 30 corn-measure, and whilst you are digging the pit, I will find how much there is."

So the wife of Ali Baba set off and went to her brother-inlaw, Cassim, who lived a short way from her house. Cassim was from home, so she begged his wife to lend her a measure for a 35 few minutes. "That I will with pleasure," said Cassim's wife.

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She went to seek a measure, but knowing how poor Ali Baba was, she was curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure; and she put some tallow under the measure, which she did without its being visible.

measured the whole.

The wife of Ali Baba returned home, and placing the measure on the heap of gold, filled it over and over again, till she had Ali Baba by this time had dug the pit for it, and while he was burying the gold, his wife went back with the measure to her sister-in-law, but without observing that a 10 piece of gold had stuck to the bottom of it.

The wife of Ali Baba had scarcely turned her back, when Cassim's wife looked at the bottom of the measure, and was astonished to see a piece of gold sticking to it. "What!" said she, "Ali Baba measures his gold! Where can the wretch have 15 got it?" When her husband Cassim came home, she said to him, "Cassim, you think you are rich, but Ali Baba must have far more wealth than you; he does not count his gold as you do; he measures it." Then she showed him the piece of money she had found sticking to the bottom of the measure; a coin so 20 ancient that the name of the prince, engraven on it, was unknown to her.

Far from feeling glad at the good fortune which his brother had met with, Cassim grew so jealous of Ali Baba that he passed almost the whole night without closing his eyes. The 25 next morning before sunrise he went to him. "Ali Baba," said he, harshly, "you pretend to be poor and miserable, and a beggar, and yet you measure your money," and Cassim showed him the piece of gold his wife had given him. "How many pieces," added he, "have you like this, that my wife found sticking to 30 the bottom of the measure yesterday?"

CASSIM VISITS THE CAVE

From this speech Ali Baba knew that Cassim, and his wife also, must suspect what had happened. So, without showing the least sign of surprise, he told Cassim by what chance he had

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found the retreat of the thieves, and where it was; and offered, if he would keep it secret, to share the treasure with him.

"This I certainly expect," replied Cassim in a haughty tone; "otherwise I will inform the police of it."

Ali Baba, led rather by his good nature than by fear, told him all, even to the words he must pronounce, both on entering the cave and on quitting it. Cassim made no further inquiries of Ali Baba; he left him, determined to seize the whole treasure, and set off the next morning before break of day with ten mules 10 charged with large hampers which he proposed to fill. He took

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the road which Ali Baba had pointed out, and arrived at the rock and the tree, when, on looking for the door, he soon discovered it. Having cried, "Open Sesame!" the door obeyed; he entered, and it closed again.

Greedy as Cassim was, he could have passed the whole day in feasting his eyes with the sight of so much gold; but he reflected that he had come to take away as much as he could; he therefore filled his sacks, and coming to the door, he found that he had forgotten the secret words, and instead of saying 20 "Sesame," he said, "Open Barley." But the door, instead of flying open, remained closed. He named various other kinds of grain; all but the right one were called upon, and the door did not move.

The thieves returned to their cave toward noon; and when 25 they were within a short distance of it, and saw the mules

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belonging to Cassim laden with hampers, standing about the rock, they were a good deal surprised. They drove away the ten mules, which took to flight in the forest. Then the Captain and his men with their sabres in their hands, went toward the door, said "Open Sesame!" and it opened.

Cassim, who from the inside of the cave heard the horses trampling on the ground, did not doubt that the thieves had come, and that his death was near. Resolved, however, on one effort to escape and reach some place of safety, he placed him35 self near the door ready to run out as soon as it should open.

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The word "Sesame," was scarcely pronounced when it opened, and he rushed out with such violence that he threw the Captain to the ground. He could not, however, escape the other thieves, who slew him on the spot.

On entering the cave the thieves found the sacks which Cassim had filled near the door, but they could not imagine how he had been able to get in.

The wife of Cassim, in the meantime, was in the greatest uneasiness, when night came and her husband did not return. 10 She went in the utmost alarm to Ali Baba, and said to him, "Brother, I believe you know that Cassim has gone to the forest; he is not yet come back, and as night is come, I fear some accident may have befallen him.”

Ali Baba did not wait for entreaties to go and seek for 15 Cassim. He immediately set off with his three asses, and went to the forest. As he drew near the rock he was astonished to see that blood had been shed near the cave. When he reached the door, he said, "Open Sesame!" and it opened.

He was shocked to see his brother's body in the cave. He 20 decided to carry it home, and placed it on one of his asses, covering it with sticks, to conceal it. The other two asses he quickly loaded with sacks of gold, putting wood over them as before. Then, commanding the door to close, he took the road to the city, waiting in the forest till nightfall, that he might return without being observed. When he got home, he left the two asses that were laden with gold for his wife to unload; and having told her what had happened to Cassim, he led the other ass to his sister-in-law.

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Ali Baba knocked at the door, which was opened to him by 30 Morgiana, who was a female slave, clever, and full of invention. "Morgiana," said he, "the first thing I have to ask you is to keep a deep secret! This packet contains the body of your master, and we must bury him as if he had died a natural death. Let me speak to your mistress, and hearken what I say to her." Morgiana went to call her mistress, and Ali Baba then told

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her all that had happened until his arrival with the body of Cassim: "Sister," added he, "here is a sad affliction for you, but we must contrive to bury my brother as if he had died a natural death; and then we shall be glad to offer you a shelter 5 under our own roof."

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The widow of Cassim reflected that she could not do better than consent. She therefore wiped away her tears, and suppressed her mournful cries, and thereby showed Ali Baba that she accepted his offer.

Ali Baba left her in this frame of mind, and Morgiana went out with him to an apothecary's there; she knocked at the shopdoor, and when it was opened, asked for a particular kind of lozenge of great effect in dangerous illness. The apothecary gave her the lozenge, asking who was ill in her master's family. 15 "Ah!" exclaimed she with a deep sigh, "it is my worthy master, Cassim himself. He can neither speak nor eat!"

Meanwhile, as Ali Baba and his wife were seen going backwards and forwards to the house of Cassim, in the course of the day, no one was surprised on hearing in the evening the 20 piercing cries of his widow and Morgiana, which announced his death.

And so the body of Cassim was prepared for its burial, which took place the next day, attended by Ali Baba and Morgiana.

As for his widow, she remained at home to lament and weep 25 with her neighbors, who, according to the usual custom, repaired. to her house during the ceremony of the burial, and joining their cries to hers, filled the air with sounds of woe. Thus the manner of Cassim's death was so well hidden that no one in the city had any thought of it.

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THE ROBBERS SEEK REVENGE ON ALI BABA

But let us now leave Ali Baba and Morgiana, and return to the forty thieves. When they came back to their cave, they found the body of Cassim gone, and with it much of their