Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is a classic Middle Eastern folk tale that tells the story of a poor woodcutter named Ali Baba who discovers the treasure cave of a band of thieves. One day, while gathering firewood in the forest, Ali Baba witnesses the thieves' magic password to enter their secret cave filled with riches. He remembers the password and uses it to enter the cave himself, taking home a fortune.
However, the head thief discovers Ali Baba's theft and sets out to kill him and reclaim the treasure. Through a series of clever schemes and narrow escapes, Ali Baba and his clever slave girl Morgiana outwit the thieves, kill their leader, and keep the treasure for themselves.
The story is a classic tale of rags-to-riches, the power of wit over brute force, and the risks and rewards of uncovering hidden treasures. It has endured for centuries as one of the most beloved stories in the canon of Middle Eastern folklore and literature.
@cts-stories
#cts stories
However, the head thief discovers Ali Baba's theft and sets out to kill him and reclaim the treasure. Through a series of clever schemes and narrow escapes, Ali Baba and his clever slave girl Morgiana outwit the thieves, kill their leader, and keep the treasure for themselves.
The story is a classic tale of rags-to-riches, the power of wit over brute force, and the risks and rewards of uncovering hidden treasures. It has endured for centuries as one of the most beloved stories in the canon of Middle Eastern folklore and literature.
@cts-stories
#cts stories
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00موسيقى
00:19Dominoes
00:20Quick Starter
00:22Arle Bubber and the Forty Thieves
00:26Retold by Janet Hardy-Gould
00:30Read by Ben Elliott, Danica Fairman, David Menken, Paul Panting, Nigel Pilkington and Joe Wyatt
00:42Published and Copyrighted by Oxford University Press, 2012
00:52Chapter 1 Thieves in the Forest
01:02Music
01:13Our story is about Arle Bubber, a poor woodcutter in Persia.
01:25Arle Bubber's brother is a rich merchant. His name is Kasim.
01:37One day, Arle Bubber is working in the forest.
01:45Suddenly, he hears some men. They are coming nearer.
01:57He quickly goes behind a tree before the men arrive.
02:05There are forty of them. He sees some treasure in their bags.
02:14They're thieves, he thinks.
02:20The thieves stand near some rocks. Their chief says,
02:28Open sesame!
02:36A door in the rock opens and the men go into a cave.
02:47Later, the thieves come out. They say,
02:53Close sesame!
03:00And the door closes.
03:05Interesting. What's in that cave?
03:10Arle Bubber thinks.
03:13I'd like to see.
03:24Chapter 2 In the Treasure Cave
03:42After the thieves leave, Arle Bubber goes to the rocks.
03:51Open sesame! he says.
03:58The door opens and he walks in.
04:06Wow! he cries in the treasure cave.
04:12What beautiful things!
04:17He takes some gold coins and leaves.
04:25Close sesame! he says.
04:30The cave door closes behind him.
04:41Back home, Arle Bubber tells everything to his wife and son, Murad.
04:50Look at these coins! We're rich! he cries.
04:58How rich? his wife asks.
05:03She runs to Kasim's house.
05:08Can I borrow your scales? I want to weigh something.
05:14She tells Kasim's wife.
05:17Of course.
05:19Kasim's wife smiles.
05:22But what are you weighing?
05:25Oh, nothing important.
05:29Arle Bubber's wife answers her.
05:35Kasim's wife thinks.
05:38That's not true.
05:41She quickly puts some wax on the scales.
05:48Later, Arle Bubber's wife takes back the scales.
05:55Kasim's wife finds a gold coin on the wax.
06:01They're weighing gold.
06:04She thinks.
06:06They're richer than us.
06:10She tells Kasim.
06:13My brother's a poor woodcutter.
06:17Kasim cries angrily.
06:20How can he have lots of gold? I must learn more.
06:31Chapter 3. Kasim Visits the Cave.
06:50At Arle Bubber's house, a young woman opens the door to Kasim.
06:58She's Morjana, Arle Bubber's new servant.
07:04Kasim asks his brother.
07:08Where's this gold coin from?
07:12Arle Bubber explains.
07:16Later, Kasim visits the cave.
07:22Open sesame.
07:25He says and goes in.
07:35It's my treasure now.
07:39He cries.
07:42The cave door closes behind him.
07:48Open salt!
07:51He says when he wants to leave.
07:55But the cave door doesn't open.
08:00When the thieves arrive, they find Kasim.
08:06They kill him angrily.
08:12Cut his body into four pieces.
08:17Their chief, Arshad, says.
08:20Do more people know about our cave?
08:25This dead body can scare them and stop their visits.
08:34Later, Arle Bubber finds Kasim's body.
08:40He takes it back home.
08:44Perhaps the thieves can find and kill me now.
08:50He says.
08:52Help! What can I do?
08:58Kasim's very ill. Tell everybody.
09:03Morjana says.
09:05The cobbler, Bubber Mustafa, can come and sew up Kasim's body.
09:12Then we can bury it.
09:16So, Morjana blindfolds Bubber Mustafa.
09:23So, Morjana blindfolds Bubber Mustafa.
09:28She brings him to Arle Bubber's house.
09:34He sews up Kasim's body.
09:37Then, Morjana blindfolds him and takes him back home.
09:45After that, the family buries Kasim.
09:50Now the thieves can't find me.
09:54Arle Bubber thinks happily.
09:57Or can they?
10:09Chapter 4 A Thief in Town
10:20Chapter 4 A Thief in Town
10:24The next day, the thieves go back to the cave.
10:30Where's the dead body?
10:33They ask.
10:35A friend of his knows about our treasure cave and has the body.
10:42Ashad, their chief, says.
10:45We must find him at once.
10:49Go into town, Ashad tells Najeed, one of the thieves.
10:56Perhaps you can learn something about the dead man there.
11:05In town, Najeed visits the cobbler's shop.
11:10Bubber Mustafa is speaking to a friend.
11:16So, she puts a blindfold on me and we go to a house.
11:23And I sew up a dead body in four pieces there, he says.
11:32Najeed gives two gold coins to the cobbler.
11:38Take me to the dead man's house, he says.
11:45Bubber Mustafa is clever.
11:48He closes his eyes and remembers his steps.
11:55In the end, they arrive at Arle Bubber's house.
12:01Here we are, the cobbler says.
12:06Najeed puts a white mark on the door.
12:12I must tell Ashad about this, he thinks, and he leaves.
12:20Bubber Mustafa walks slowly back to his shop.
12:27Soon after that, Morjana comes out.
12:33She sees the mark on Arle Bubber's door.
12:39Somebody wants to mark our house, she thinks.
12:45Perhaps it's the thieves. What shall I do?
13:00Chapter 5 The Chief Arrives
13:09Chapter 5 The Chief Arrives
13:18Morjana marks every door in the street.
13:24When Ashad arrives, he can't find Arle Bubber's house.
13:31He visits the cobbler's shop and gives three gold coins to Bubber Mustafa.
13:40The cobbler takes him to Arle Bubber's house.
13:45Ashad looks carefully at it.
13:50He doesn't mark it.
13:53Morjana is watching through the window.
13:59Later, Ashad comes back in different clothes.
14:05He knocks on Arle Bubber's door.
14:12I'm an oil merchant. I'm taking my oil to a town far away.
14:21Can I sleep here tonight? he says.
14:27Arle Bubber is a good man.
14:30Of course, he answers.
14:34Leave your oil jars behind my house and come in.
14:41Ashad leaves the forty jars behind the house.
14:47One jar has oil in, but there are thieves in thirty-nine of the jars.
14:56When I knock on the jars, Ashad tells his men quietly,
15:03come out and kill Arle Bubber.
15:08Then he goes into the house.
15:13Later, Morjana visits the jars.
15:18She needs oil for her lamp.
15:21Is it time? the thieves ask.
15:26No, wait! she answers.
15:30She puts hot oil in the jars, and the thieves die suddenly.
15:39When Ashad comes and knocks on the jars, nobody answers him.
15:53Hey, my men are all dead! he cries.
16:00He leaves very quickly.
16:09Chapter 6 Clever Morjana
16:26Some weeks later, Ashad comes back to town.
16:33Now he's wearing the clothes of a rich gold merchant.
16:40Ashad opens a new shop.
16:44Arle Bubber's son, Murad, has Kasim's old shop across the street.
16:52Ashad and Murad are soon friends.
16:57Father, can my new friend come for dinner?
17:01Murad asks Arle Bubber one day.
17:05Of course, Arle Bubber says.
17:11Arle Bubber doesn't recognize Ashad when he comes to the house for dinner.
17:19But when clever Morjana brings the dinner, she recognizes him at once.
17:28After dinner, Morjana dances for them.
17:33Suddenly, Ashad attacks Arle Bubber with a knife.
17:40Morjana quickly attacks Ashad, and she kills him.
17:50After that, she explains everything.
17:55Morjana, you're the cleverest servant in all Persia, Arle Bubber says.
18:04You must marry Murad and have some treasure too.
18:10Thank you, father, Murad and Morjana say.
18:17The two of them marry, and they move into the next house in the street.
18:25In time, they have many children, and they live there very happily for many years.
18:46Aram for improvement