Once upon a time...in a distant Persian city lived two brothers called Ali Baba and Kasim.  Ali Baba was terribly poor, Kasim, however, had a rich wife, and he lived in a big fine house.   One day, as Ali Baba was gathering sticks in the forrest some way from the city, he heard a band of horsemen gallop towards him.  He scrambled up a tree and hid amongst the foliage, seconds before the men, armed to the teeth, rode underneath.  They dismounted from their horses.  Their leader strode towards a rocky mountain nearby.  Throwing wide his arms suddenly shouted:  "Open sesame!"  the rock face swung open to become the entrance to a deep, dark cave.  The robbers trooped inside, dragging their sacks.  Ali Baba could hear the robbers' voices echo in the cave, then out they came.  Again opening his arms, the leader exclaimed loudly:  "Close sesame!" And the rock swung tightly shut, as they leapt onto their horses and galloped away.  Ali Baba climbed down the tree. He muttered:  "Open sesame," But the mountain stood still.  Ali Baba said the words again, but this time he shouted them.  Suddenly, the rock began to move.  Ali Baba lit a flare and entered the cave.  In front of his bulging eyes lay vast piles of treasure:  pots of silver gold, precious vases, emeralds, diamonds, carved plates and carpets, all heaped together.  The poverty-stricken-gatherer rubbed his eyes in disbelief.  His hand was shaking like a leaf , as he picked up a gold coin.  "It's real!" he said in awe.  Jabbering with excitement and stunned at the sight of such untold wealth, he told himself:  "I'll take some coins.  Nobody will ever know!"  And he filled four bags full. The second he reached home, Ali Baba innocently told Kasim his strange story, but asked him to keep it secret.  Of course, Kasim promised, but he quickly told his wife about it and ordered the servants to saddle ten sturdy mules or next morning.  "I'll be richer than ever.  Incredibly rich!" he said to himself.  It was still dark when Kasim and his mule train set out.  When he reached the mountain, beyond hte forest, he pronounced the magic words and entered the cave.  With a beating heart, he crammed as much as he could into the saddlebags.  But Kasim's greed led to his downfall, for the bags were so stuffed with treasure that they became too heavy to lift.  As fate would have it, the robber band returned.  When they saw that the entrance to the cave was open, they rushed inside with drawn swords.   Unlucky Kasim was quickly discovered and killed.  After three days when Kasim never returned, Ali Baba went to the cave and recovered his brother's body. When the robber leader saw that the body had been removed, he knew that someone else had found the treasure trove.  Angry and alarmed, he ordered one of his men to sneak into the city and find out what the could.  But a few days later, the  men returned without any clues.  "You fools.  Can't you do anything properly?  I'll go to the city myself,"  Said their leader.  Disguised as a merchant, he bought thirty-nine giant jars.  He ordered each thief to hide in a jar.  Then, he loaded them into a cart pulled by four horses.  The robbers set off for the city.  It was late when they reached Ali Baba's house, the leader knocked on the door and said "I'm an oil merchant, and I must be at market tomorrow.  It's late and we're weary.  Can you give us a bed for the night?"  Pleased at being able to help, Ali Baba, who had known what it meant to be poor, warmly welcomed the merchant and had the cart taken into the courtyard.  After a good meal, the leader of the band went back to the courtyard.  He said the was going to make sure that none of the jars had been damaged during the journey, but in fact, he warned his men to be ready, at a signal, to leap from the jars and kill everyone in the place.   As the household slept, Morgiana, Ali Baba's servant, discovered the robbers and told Ali Baba.  Ali Baba and Morgiana quickly killed all the robbers while they slept and then Ali Baba became the only person left who knew the secret of the treasure.  He made wise use of it for many years, but he never told anyone the magic words that would open the cave of the Forty Thieves.