blue fairy tale book

Chapter 32 The Forty Thieves (2)
The thief rejoiced at his good fortune, and gave him a piece of gold, in the hope that he would show him the house where he had sewn the corpse.At first Mustafa was reluctant, saying he was blindfolded, but when the thief gave him another piece of gold, he began to think that if he were blindfolded as before, he might remember the turns.This was successful, and the thief and he led each other to Qassim's house, where the thief marked the door with a piece of chalk.And then he said goodbye to Baba with gusto?Mustafa, go back to the forest.Presently, when Morgiana came out, she saw the marks left by the thieves, and guessing at once that some evil intention was in the making, she took a piece of chalk and marked two or three doors on each side, and nothing happened. Say to hostess and hostess.

Meanwhile, the thief told his accomplices about his discovery.The leader thanked him and asked him to show him the marked house.But when they came to the house, they saw five or six houses all chalked with the same mark.The thief who led the way was very confused and didn't know what to answer, and because he failed, he was beheaded as soon as they returned.Another thief was sent out and he got Baba?With the help of Mustafa, the house was marked with red chalk.But once again Morgiana outsmarted them, and the second messenger was put to death.The chief decided to go himself, being wiser than the two thieves, he did not mark the house, but observed it very carefully, so that he would not make a mistake in his memory.After he returned, he ordered his men to go to nearby villages to buy 90 mules and 38 leather tanks, leaving all the tanks empty except for one tank filled with oil.The chief filled each of the remaining jars with a robber in full armor, and smeared the outside of the jars with the oil from the full jar.

So the 90 mules, carrying the 37 robbers and the oil tank hidden in the tank, arrived in the city at dusk.The leader asked the mule to stop in front of Ali Baba's house, and said to Ali Baba who was sitting outside enjoying the cool: "I brought some oil from a far away place, and I'm going to sell it in the market tomorrow, but it's too late now. I don't know where to spend the night unless you help me to live in your house." Although Ali Baba had seen the leader of the gang in the forest, he did not recognize the leader dressed as an oil merchant. .He said some words of welcome, opened the gate to let the mules in, and went to order Morgiana to get bed and supper ready for her visitor.He took the stranger into the drawing room, and when they had finished supper he went to the kitchen to speak to Morgiana, while the chief went into the courtyard pretending to tend the mules, but actually to give orders to his men.From the first tank to the end of the last tank, he said to everyone: "As soon as I throw stones from the window of the bedroom where I live, you cut open the tank with a knife and come out, and then I will join you immediately." .”

He returned to the house, and Morgiana led him into the bedroom.Then she told Abdalla, the servant of her companion, to set up a pot to make some broth for the master who was already in bed.Just then, her lamp went out, and she had no more oil in the house.

"Don't worry," said Ebudala, "go into the courtyard and get some from one of the vats there." Morgiana thanked him for the idea, and took the oiler and went out into the courtyard.When she came to the first tank, the robber inside said softly, "Is it time?"

Except for Morgiana, any of the other servants would have screamed piercingly when they found out that the vat contained people instead of the oil she wanted.But knowing that her master was in danger, she thought of a way, and quietly replied, "Not yet, but not for long." She went to all the tanks, said the same answer, and finally came to the oil tank forward.Now she understood that the owner wanted to entertain an oil merchant, but let 38 robbers enter the house.

She filled the oil pot, went back to the kitchen, lit the lamp, went to the oil tank again, and filled a large pot of oil.When the oil boiled, she poured enough oil into each jar to scald the robbers to death.Having accomplished this heroic feat, she returned to the kitchen, put out the fire and lights, and waited to see what would happen.

A quarter of an hour later the leader of the robbers awoke, got up, and opened the window.All seemed to be all right, so he threw some small pebbles down on the jars.He listened, and none of his men seemed to move, and he grew restless and walked into the courtyard.

As he approached the first pot and said, "Are you asleep?" he smelled the heat of boiling oil, and knew at once that his plot to murder Ali Baba and his family had been revealed.He found that the gang was all dead, and the oil in the last tank was gone, so he understood how they died.He then turned the lock on the door leading into the garden, climbed some walls and escaped.Morgiana, hearing and seeing all this, was delighted with her success, and went to bed.

Ali Baba got up at dawn, and seeing the oil tanks were still there, he asked why the merchant had not driven his mules away.Morgiana told him to look into the first tank to see if there was any oil in it.He saw a man and took a step back in fear. "Don't be afraid," said Morgiana, "that man cannot harm you: he is dead." When Ali Baba regained his composure a little, he asked the merchant what was the matter. "A merchant!" she said, "he is no more a merchant than I am!" and she told him the whole story, and convinced him that it was the plot of the gang of robbers in the forest, and there were only three of them left. , and those white and red chalk marks are all related to that conspiracy.Ali Baba immediately set Morgiana free, claiming that it was her fault that he was able to save his life.Then they buried those bodies in Ali Baba's garden, while the donkey had his servants sell them in the market.

The chief returned to his forlorn cave, bereft of his companions, which seemed to chill him, and determined to avenge them by killing Ali Baba.Dressed carefully, he returned to the city and checked into a hotel.He went back to the forest many times, took many expensive raw materials and fine linens, and opened a shop for himself opposite the shop opened by Ali Baba's son.He called himself Cogia Hansen, and as he looked civilized and well dressed, he soon made friends with Ali Baba's son, and through him he made friends with Ali Baba again—he frequently asked Ali Baba for dinner.Ali Baba wanted to repay his kindness, so he invited him to his home, received him warmly, and thanked him for being so kind to his son.When the merchant was about to leave, Ali Baba stopped him and said, "Sir, where are you going in such a hurry? Won't you stay and have dinner with me?" The merchant rejected his invitation, saying he was going away There is a reason.Ali Baba asked him what was the reason, and he replied, "Sir, I can't eat food that contains salt." There is no salt in the meat or in the bread."

He went and told Morgiana about the request, and she was surprised. "Who is this man?" said she, "who eats meat without salt?" "He is an honest man, Morgiana," answered the host. "So do as I tell you." But she couldn't help taking a look at the queer man, and helping Ebudala with the dishes, saw for a split second that Kogia Hansen was the robber Chief, and under his coat he carried a short sword.She thought to herself, "I am not surprised that this villain who intends to kill my master does not eat salt, but I will not allow his scheme to succeed."

She asked Ebudala to deliver the dinner while she prepared a most daring move.After eating and ordering the sweet blue fairy tale book, only Kogia Hansen was left with Ali Baba and his son, who he wanted to get drunk and kill.At this time, Morgiana put on a headdress like a dancer's head, and a belt with a short sword with a silver handle hung on it, and said to Ebudala: "Bring a tambourine, and let the master and Have fun with his guests." Ebudala picked up the tambourine and played it in front of Morgiana until he came to the door, where Ebudala stopped playing and Morgiana bowed deeply. bow. "Come in, Morgiana," Ali Baba said, "let Coggia? Hansen see how you dance." Then he turned to Coggia?Hansen, said: "She is my servant and steward." Kogia Hansen was absent-minded, worried that he would lose the chance to kill Ali Baba for a while; Ra began to drum and Morgiana danced.After a few dances, she drew her dagger and swung it, sometimes pointing the sword at her chest, sometimes at the chest of her master, as if it were part of the dance.Suddenly, out of breath, she grabbed the tambourine from Ebdala's hand with her left hand, held the sword in her right hand, and stretched out the tambourine to its master.Ali Baba and his son put a gold coin in it, and Cogia Hansen saw that she was coming towards him, so he took out the money bag to reward her, but just as he put his hand into the money bag, Morgiana thrust the dagger into his heart.

"Unfortunate woman!" cried Ali Baba and his son, "what have you done? Hasn't this ruined us?"

"This is to protect you, master, not to destroy you," Morgiana replied. "Look here." She tore off the fake merchant's coat to reveal the short sword. "Look what an enemy you've got! Remember, he doesn't eat salt with you, what else do you think? Look at him! He's both the fake oiler and the 'Forty Thieves' ' leader."

Ali Baba was very grateful to Morgiana for saving his life, and offered to let her marry his son, which she readily agreed to, and a few days later the most solemn wedding was held.

At the end of the year, Ali Baba heard nothing of the two remaining thieves, and concluded that they must be dead, so he set out to the cave.He said, "Sesame, open the door!" The door opened.He went in and saw that no one had been here since the chief had left.He took as much of the gold as he could and went back to the city.He told his son the secret of the cave, and his son passed on the secret, so Ali Baba's descendants lived a prosperous life all their lives.

①It refers to not being a guest at someone's place, not being entertained by someone.

(End of this chapter)