The Blue Fairy Book
Morgiana, meanwhile, sought an apothecary and asked him for some
lozenges. “My poor master,” she said, “can neither eat nor speak, and
no one knows what his distemper is.” She carried home the lozenges and
returned next day weeping, and asked for an essence only given to those
just about to die. Thus, in the evening, no one was surprised to hear
the wretched shrieks and cries of Cassim’s wife and Morgiana, telling
everyone that Cassim was dead. The day after Morgiana went to an old
cobbler near the gates of the town who opened his stall early, put a
piece of gold in his hand, and bade him follow her with his needle and
thread. Having bound his eyes with a handkerchief, she took him to the
room where the body lay, pulled off the bandage, and bade him sew the
quarters together, after which she covered his eyes again and led him
home. Then they buried Cassim, and Morgiana his slave followed him to
the grave, weeping and tearing her hair, while Cassim’s wife stayed at
home uttering lamentable cries. Next day she went to live with Ali Baba,
who gave Cassim’s shop to his eldest son.
The Forty Thieves, on their return to the cave, were much astonished to
find Cassim’s body gone and some of their money-bags. “We are certainly
discovered,” said the Captain, “and shall be undone if we cannot find
out who it is that knows our secret. Two men must have known it; we have
killed one, we must now find the other. To this end one of you who
is bold and artful must go into the city dressed as a traveler, and
discover whom we have killed, and whether men talk of the strange manner
of his death. If the messenger fails he must lose his life, lest we be
betrayed.” One of the thieves started up and offered to do this, and
after the rest had highly commended him for his bravery he disguised
himself, and happened to enter the town at daybreak, just by Baba
Mustapha’s stall. The thief bade him good-day, saying: “Honest man, how
can you possibly see to stitch at your age?” “Old as I am,” replied the
cobbler, “I have very good eyes, and will you believe me when I tell you
that I sewed a dead body together in a place where I had less light than
I have now.” The robber was overjoyed at his good fortune, and, giving
him a piece of gold, desired to be shown the house where he stitched
up the dead body. At first Mustapha refused, saying that he had been
blindfolded; but when the robber gave him another piece of gold he began
to think he might remember the turnings if blindfolded as before. This
means succeeded; the robber partly led him, and was partly guided by
him, right in front of Cassim’s house, the door of which the robber
marked with a piece of chalk. Then, well pleased, he bade farewell to
Baba Mustapha and returned to the forest. By and by Morgiana, going out,
saw the mark the robber had made, quickly guessed that some mischief was
brewing, and fetching a piece of chalk marked two or three doors on each
side, without saying anything to her master or mistress.
The thief, meantime, told his comrades of his discovery. The Captain
thanked him, and bade him show him the house he had marked. But when
they came to it they saw that five or six of the houses were chalked
in the same manner. The guide was so confounded that he knew not what
answer to make, and when they returned he was at once beheaded for
having failed. Another robber was dispatched, and, having won over Baba
Mustapha, marked the house in red chalk; but Morgiana being again too
clever for them, the second messenger was put to death also. The Captain
now resolved to go himself, but, wiser than the others, he did not
mark the house, but looked at it so closely that he could not fail to
remember it. He returned, and ordered his men to go into the neighboring
villages and buy nineteen mules, and thirty-eight leather jars, all
empty except one, which was full of oil. The Captain put one of his men,
fully armed, into each, rubbing the outside of the jars with oil from
the full vessel. Then the nineteen mules were loaded with thirty-seven
robbers in jars, and the jar of oil, and reached the town by dusk. The
Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba’s house, and said to Ali
Baba, who was sitting outside for coolness: “I have brought some oil
from a distance to sell at to-morrow’s market, but it is now so late
that I know not where to pass the night, unless you will do me the favor
to take me in.” Though Ali Baba had seen the Captain of the robbers in
the forest, he did not recognize him in the disguise of an oil merchant.
He bade him welcome, opened his gates for the mules to enter, and
went to Morgiana to bid her prepare a bed and supper for his guest. He
brought the stranger into his hall, and after they had supped went again
to speak to Morgiana in the kitchen, while the Captain went into the
yard under pretense of seeing after his mules, but really to tell his
men what to do. Beginning at the first jar and ending at the last, he
said to each man: “As soon as I throw some stones from the window of the
chamber where I lie, cut the jars open with your knives and come out,
and I will be with you in a trice.” He returned to the house,
and Morgiana led him to his chamber. She then told Abdallah, her
fellow-slave, to set on the pot to make some broth for her master, who
had gone to bed. Meanwhile her lamp went out, and she had no more oil in
the house. “Do not be uneasy,” said Abdallah; “go into the yard and take
some out of one of those jars.” Morgiana thanked him for his advice,
took the oil pot, and went into the yard. When she came to the first jar
the robber inside said softly: “Is it time?”
Any other slave but Morgiana, on finding a man in the jar instead of the
oil she wanted, would have screamed and made a noise; but she, knowing
the danger her master was in, bethought herself of a plan, and answered
quietly: “Not yet, but presently.” She went to all the jars, giving
the same answer, till she came to the jar of oil. She now saw that her
master, thinking to entertain an oil merchant, had let thirty-eight
robbers into his house. She filled her oil pot, went back to the
kitchen, and, having lit her lamp, went again to the oil jar and filled
a large kettle full of oil. When it boiled she went and poured enough
oil into every jar to stifle and kill the robber inside. When this brave
deed was done she went back to the kitchen, put out the fire and the
lamp, and waited to see what would happen.
In a quarter of an hour the Captain of the robbers awoke, got up,
and opened the window. As all seemed quiet, he threw down some little
pebbles which hit the jars. He listened, and as none of his men seemed
to stir he grew uneasy, and went down into the yard. On going to the
first jar and saying, “Are you asleep?” he smelt the hot boiled oil, and
knew at once that his plot to murder Ali Baba and his household had been
discovered. He found all the gang was dead, and, missing the oil out of
the last jar, became aware of the manner of their death. He then forced
the lock of a door leading into a garden, and climbing over several
walls made his escape. Morgiana heard and saw all this, and, rejoicing
at her success, went to bed and fell asleep.
At daybreak Ali Baba arose, and, seeing the oil jars still there, asked
why the merchant had not gone with his mules. Morgiana bade him look
in the first jar and see if there was any oil. Seeing a man, he started
back in terror. “Have no fear,” said Morgiana; “the man cannot harm
you: he is dead.” Ali Baba, when he had recovered somewhat from his
astonishment, asked what had become of the merchant. “Merchant!” said
she, “he is no more a merchant than I am!” and she told him the whole
story, assuring him that it was a plot of the robbers of the forest, of
whom only three were left, and that the white and red chalk marks had
something to do with it. Ali Baba at once gave Morgiana her freedom,
saying that he owed her his life. They then buried the bodies in Ali
Baba’s garden, while the mules were sold in the market by his slaves.
The Captain returned to his lonely cave, which seemed frightful to
him without his lost companions, and firmly resolved to avenge them by
killing Ali Baba. He dressed himself carefully, and went into the town,
where he took lodgings in an inn. In the course of a great many journeys
to the forest he carried away many rich stuffs and much fine linen, and
set up a shop opposite that of Ali Baba’s son. He called himself Cogia
Hassan, and as he was both civil and well dressed he soon made friends
with Ali Baba’s son, and through him with Ali Baba, whom he was
continually asking to sup with him. Ali Baba, wishing to return his
kindness, invited him into his house and received him smiling, thanking
him for his kindness to his son. When the merchant was about to take his
leave Ali Baba stopped him, saying: “Where are you going, sir, in such
haste? Will you not stay and sup with me?” The merchant refused, saying
that he had a reason; and, on Ali Baba’s asking him what that was, he
replied: “It is, sir, that I can eat no victuals that have any salt
in them.” “If that is all,” said Ali Baba, “let me tell you that there
shall be no salt in either the meat or the bread that we eat to-night.”
He went to give this order to Morgiana, who was much surprised. “Who is
this man,” she said, “who eats no salt with his meat?” “He is an honest
man, Morgiana,” returned her master; “therefore do as I bid you.” But
she could not withstand a desire to see this strange man, so she helped
Abdallah to carry up the dishes, and saw in a moment that Cogia Hassan
was the robber Captain, and carried a dagger under his garment. “I am
not surprised,” she said to herself, “that this wicked man, who intends
to kill my master, will eat no salt with him; but I will hinder his
plans.”
She sent up the supper by Abdallah, while she made ready for one of the
boldest acts that could be thought on. When the dessert had been served,
Cogia Hassan was left alone with Ali Baba and his son, whom he thought
to make drunk and then to murder them. Morgiana, meanwhile, put on a
head-dress like a dancing-girl’s, and clasped a girdle round her waist,
from which hung a dagger with a silver hilt, and said to Abdallah: “Take
your tabor, and let us go and divert our master and his guest.” Abdallah
took his tabor and played before Morgiana until they came to the door,
where Abdallah stopped playing and Morgiana made a low courtesy. “Come
in, Morgiana,” said Ali Baba, “and let Cogia Hassan see what you can
do”; and, turning to Cogia Hassan, he said: “She’s my slave and my
housekeeper.” Cogia Hassan was by no means pleased, for he feared
that his chance of killing Ali Baba was gone for the present; but he
pretended great eagerness to see Morgiana, and Abdallah began to play
and Morgiana to dance. After she had performed several dances she drew
her dagger and made passes with it, sometimes pointing it at her own
breast, sometimes at her master’s, as if it were part of the dance.
Suddenly, out of breath, she snatched the tabor from Abdallah with her
left hand, and, holding the dagger in her right hand, held out the tabor
to her master. Ali Baba and his son put a piece of gold into it, and
Cogia Hassan, seeing that she was coming to him, pulled out his purse to
make her a present, but while he was putting his hand into it Morgiana
plunged the dagger into his heart.
“Unhappy girl!” cried Ali Baba and his son, “what have you done to ruin
us?”
“It was to preserve you, master, not to ruin you,” answered Morgiana.
“See here,” opening the false merchant’s garment and showing the dagger;
“see what an enemy you have entertained! Remember, he would eat no salt
with you, and what more would you have? Look at him! he is both the