In a Persian town lived two brothers. Cassim had married a wealthy merchant’s daughter and kept a grand shop. Ali Baba earned his bread by cutting wood and carrying it home on three donkeys.
One day, deep in the forest, he heard hoofbeats. Forty riders approached, armed and dusty. Ali Baba hid in a tree while they stopped before a bare rock.
Their captain called, “Open, Sesame!”
A doorway appeared in the stone. The men carried heavy bags inside. When they came out, the captain cried, “Shut, Sesame!” The rock closed, and the riders vanished among the trees.
Ali Baba waited until even the dust had settled. Then he climbed down.
“Open, Sesame!”
Beyond the doorway lay carpets, silk, spices, silver, and heaps of gold collected through years of robbery. Ali Baba took one small sack of coins, loaded it beneath firewood on his donkeys, and closed the cave.
At home, his wife wanted to count the gold. There were too many coins, so she borrowed a measuring pot from Cassim’s wife. Curious, Cassim’s wife secretly smeared grease beneath it.
When the pot came back, one gold coin clung to the bottom.
“Ali Baba measures gold while we count ours?” she exclaimed.
Cassim hurried to his brother and demanded the secret. Ali Baba reluctantly gave him the words and directions.
Before sunrise, Cassim led ten mules to the forest. “Open, Sesame!” he cried, and entered with empty chests.
Inside, greed made every heap seem too small. He filled bag after bag with gold, jewels, and rich cloth. By the time he reached the stone door, his mind buzzed with treasure.
“Open, Barley!” he shouted.
Nothing happened.
“Open, Wheat! Open, Rye! Open, every grain in the market!”
The rock did not move. In his panic, Cassim had forgotten the one small word that mattered.
Outside, hoofbeats shook the ground. The forty thieves were returning, and their captain had already noticed ten strange mules waiting beside the cave.