Retold by Zully Mustafa

Illustrations by Done Stan

Nomina Publishing

Ali Baba and the Forty

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A long ago, two brothers lived in a small town in Persia: Cassim and Ali Baba. Their father had died and hadn’t left them much of a fortune. Cassim, the elder brother, married a rich girl, and Ali Baba, the youngest, married a poor girl, but who loved him sincerely.Either summer or winter, Ali Baba went to the forest every day to cut wood. Then he went to the fair to sell it, to make enough to get by.

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One day, as he was returning from the fair, angry and without money, Ali Baba met some thieves. Afraid not to be asked what he was looking for in those places, Ali Baba hid the donkey in a bush and climbed into a tree. From up there, Ali Baba counted them. There were forty thieves, no more, no less.The thieves stopped in front of a cave. They weren’t going to leave too soon.

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