Once upon a time . . . in a distant Persian city lived two brothers called
Ali Baba and Kasim. Ali Baba was terribly poor, and he lived with his wife in
a mud hut. He picked up sticks in the woods and sold them in bundles at the
market.
Kasim, however, had a rich wife, and he lived in a big fine house and sold
carpets. He became richer than ever. One day, as Ali Baba was gathering sticks
in a wood some way from the city he heard a band of horsemen gallop towards
him. Scared that he might be in trouble for stealing wood, he scrambled up a
tree and hid amongst the foliage, seconds before the men, armed to the teeth,
rode underneath.
They were robbers, no doubt about that. Ali could tell by their evil looks,
rough beards and bad language. But what made it perfectly clear to him was the
booty they unloaded from their horses, obviously plundered in a raid. Their
leader was a grim wicked-looking man. Followed by his men, he strode towards
a rocky mountain nearby. Throwing wide his arms suddenly shouted:
"Open sesame!"
