Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Cuento infantil en inglés

Te presentamos este cuento en inglés para que tus hijos aprendan jugando.

There was a man who was called Ali Baba and ahd a brother called Kassim. Ali Baba was honest, hard working, good, a woodcutter and poor.

Kassim was dishonest, lazy, bad, usurer and rich. Ali Baba had a wife, a beautiful servant called Light of Night, several strong children and three mules.

Kassim had a wife and very bad memory as he never reminded to visit his relatives, not even for asking them if they were ok or they needed something.Actually, he did not visit them to avoid that they asked them for something.

One day, Ali Baba was in the forest cutting wood when he heard a noise coming close similar to forty horses galloping. He was scared, but as he was curious he climbed up a tree. He saw that there were in fact forty horses.

On each horse there came a thief and each thief had a bag full of golden coins, golden necklaces and more than one thousand rubies, sapphires, agates and pearls. In front of all of them, the chief of thieves was. Thieves went past down Ali Baba and stopped in front of a big rock completely plain. Then, the chief of the thieves shouted at the rock:

“Open Sesame!”

A thunder was heard, and the rock open in the middle, as if it was a sesame while Ali Baba almost fell of the tree due to the emotion. The thieves entered through the hole with their horses and once they were inside the chief shouted:

“Close Sesame!”

And the rock closed.

“It’s unquestionable- thought Ali Baba without going down the tree- that that completely plain rock is magical and that the words pronounced by the chief of thieves have the power to open it. But it is still more unquestionable that inside that strange rock, those thieves have their secret hiding place, where they keep everything they steal”.

Right then, a big thunder was heard again and the rock opened. Thieves went out and the chief shouted

“Close, Sesame!”

The rock closed and the thieves went away at a gallop, probably to go stealing somewhere.

Cuento inafntil sobre la honestidad

When they had disappeared from view, Ali Baba descended from the tree.

-“I will also enter in that rock- he thought.- The point will be to see if other person, pronouncing the magical words, can open it”.

Then, he shouted with all his might:

“Open Sesame!”

And the rock opened. After blinking, he threw himself on the magic door and he entered. And once inside, he found the biggest treasure in the world.

“Close, Sesame!” he said after.

The rock closed with Ali Baba inside and he put in a bag a good amount of golden coins and rubies, not too much but enough to eat for one year and three months. Then he said

“Open, Sesame!”.

The rock opened and Ali Baba went out with the bag on his choulder. He said:

“Close, Sesame!”and the rock closed and he returned home singing of joy.

But when his wife saw him entering with the bag she started crying.

-To whom did you steal that? – moaned the woman.

And she kept on crying. But when Ali Baba told her the truth story, she started dancing with him.

-Nobody can know that we have this treasure- said Ali Baba,- because if someone knows, he will want to know where we got it and if we say where we got it, he will like to go to that magic rock also, and if he goes, the thieves might discover him and if they discover him, they will eventually discover us. And if they discover us, they will cut our head of. Let’s bury all this.

-First, let’s count how many money and precious stones are there- said Ali Baba’s wife.

-And finishing in ten years? Never!- Answered Ali Baba

-Then I’ll weight all of this. So I’ll know, at leas approximately, how much we have and how much we can spend- said the woman. And she added: -I will ask for a balance.

Unfortunately, Ali Baba’s wife had the bad idea of going to Kassim’s house to ask for the balance. Kassim was not at that moment, but his wife was.

-And what do you want that balance for?- Asked Kassim’s wife to Ali Baba’s wife.

-To weigh some grains- answered Ali Baba’s wife. “How strange!- though Kassim’s wife.- These ones don’t have anything and now they want a balance to weigh grains. That is only done by the owners of big barns or the rich merchants who sell grains”.

-And which kind of grains are you going to weigh?- Asked Kassim’s wife after thinking what she thought.

-Grains… - answered Ali Baba’s wife.

-I’m going to lend you the balance- said Kassim’s wife But before lending it, and very craftily, Kassim’s wife spreaded grease on the base of the balance. “Some grains will stick on the grease and so I will find what they were weighting actually” though Kassim’s wife.

Ali Baba and his wife weighted all the coins and precious stones. After that, they returned the balance but a ruby had remained stuck on the grease.

-So these are the grains the have been weighing- mumblered Kassim’s wife- I’ll show it to my husband.

And when Kassim saw the ruby, he almost dies. And he, who never reminded to visit Ali Baba went running to look for him. Without saying hello to anyone, he entered in his brother’s house at the same moment they were burying the treasure.

-What a swine!- he shouted-. You were always poor. Tell me where you took that wonderful treasure if you don’t want that I report to the police.

And he started stamping his feet out of anger. Ali Baba, resigned, understood that the best thing to do was to tell him the truth.

-Tomorrow for sure I will go to that rock and I’ll bring everything to my home- said Kassim when they finished explaining him.

The next morning, Kassim was in front of the rock ready to pronounce the magical words. He had brought twelve mules and twenty four bags that was what he intended to take.

What did I have to say?- asked Kassim to himself- Oh yes, I remember… and very excited he exclaimed “Open, Sesame!”

The rock opened and Kassim entered. Then he said

-“Close, sesame” and the rock closed with him inside.

Kassim stood in front of the mountains of golden coins and precious stones for an hour. “Even if I have to come everyday- he thought- I won’t leave not even the less valuable thing here. I’m going to take everything home.” And he started biting the coins to see if they were false. Then he started to choose among the precious stones. “Although I will take them all, it’s better that I start by the biggest ones, just in case that for any reason I can’t come and I run out of the best”

The election took him about five hours. But he did not feel tired at any moment. “It’s the most beautiful work that I have ever done. Thanks to my silly brother, I have become the richest man in the world. And when he loaded the twenty four bags he was ready to go.

-What was what I had to say?- he asked himself- Oh, yes, I remember… And very excited he said “Open, Birdseed” But the rock did not move. “Open, Birdseed!” Kassim repeated.

But the rock did not obey.

-My God- said Kassim,- I forgot the name of the seed. Why didn’t I write it on a paper?

And, desperated, he started to pronounce the name of all the seeds he remembered:

-Open, Barley!”, “Open, Corn!”, Open, Chickpea!”.

Finally, completely scared he did not know what to do.

-“Open, Carrot!”, “Open, Cauliflower!”, Open, Pumkin!”.

Eventually, the rock was opened. But not by Kassim but by the forty thiefs who returned. And when they saw Kassim, they cut his head off.

-How could he have entered here?- asked one of the thieves.

-We’ll find it- said the chief.- Now let’s go stealing again.

And they went stealing after leaving the rock well closed.

But Ali Baba was worried because Kassim did not return. Then he went searching him to the rock. He said “Sesamo, open” and when he entered he saw Kassim dead.

Cuento en inglés para niños

Crying, he took him home to bury him. But there was a problem: what will he say to the neighbours? If he told that Kassim had been killed by the thiefs, the secret wold be discovered and we know that it was not of his interest.

-Let’s say that he died of natural causes- said Light of Night.

-How are we going to say that? Nobody dies without head- said Ali Baba

-I’ll solve it- said Light of Night, and she went to look for a shoemaker.

Walking and walking she arrived to the shoemaker’s home.

-“Shoemaker-she said him,- I’m going to blindfold you and i´ll take you to my home”. “You’ll never do that- answered the shoemaker.

- If I go, I’ll go with my eyes well free”

“No”, answered Light of Night and gave him another golden con.

“ And what do I have to do at your home?”

Asked the shoemaker.

“To sew a dead man”; Light of Night explained him,

“Oh no,- said the shoemaker- I’ll never do that”, and she held out his hand to Light of Night so she would give him another coin.

-Ok- said the shoemaker,- let’s go to your home. And they went. The shoemaker sew the head of the old man joining it all of this blindfolded. Finally he returned home accompanied by Light of Night and there he took of his blindfold.

-Don’t tell anybody what you have done- Light of Night warned him.

And she went happy because with her plan, everything was solved. So, when the neighbours were informed that Kassim had died, nobody suspected anything. And that was what happened with Kassim, the lazy, the one with bad memory.

But the thieves returned to the rock and they saw that Kassim was not there. None of the thieves was quite clever, but the chief said.

-If the dead man is not here, that means that somebody took him.

-And if somebody took him, it jeans that somebody got out of here carrying him- said other Thies.

-But if somebody got out of here carrying him, it means that first somebody entered.

-But how is anybody going to enter if he has to pronounce the secret magic words that, as they are secret, nobody knows?- say other thief.

-It means that if someone got out carrying that dead man, before going out, he entered because nobody can go out of any place if he has not entered before. It means that the one who entered pronounced the secret words. -And what does it mean?- asked the other 39 thieves.

-It means that somebody has found the secret! Answered the chief.

-And what does it mean?- asked the 39.

-That we must cut him his head off!

-Ok! Let’s cut it off right now!

They were going to cut his head off when the chief said:

-“First we have to know who is the one who discovered our secret. One of you must go to the village and find it”.

-I’ll go- said the thief number 39 (number 40 was the chief)

When the thief number 39 arrived to the village, he passed by a shoemaker’s workshop and he entered. As it happens, it was the shoemaker that we already know.

-Shoemaker- said the thief number 39,- I’m looking for a dead man who died few time ago. Didn’t you see him?

-One without head?- asked the shoemaker.

-The same- said the thief number 39.

-No, I didn’t see him- said the shoemaker.

-A shoemaker is not going to laugh at me- said the thief- You know well who I’m talking about.

-Course I do, but I swear I didn’t see him.

-It’s a shame- complained 39- I wanted to reward you with this nice little bag. And he show him a bag full of golden coins.

-Wait a moment- said the shoemaker,- I didn’t see anything but you must know that blind people have their other senses very developed. When they blindfolded me, I had the sense of smell suddenly developed. I think that I could recognize by the odour the house I was taken to” And he added “Blindfold me. I’ll be guided by my nose”.

So it was done. With his nose, the shoemaker smelled everything. The thief 39 was behind him. Until they stopped in front of a house.

-“Is this one- said the shoemaker-. I recognize it by the odour of the wood which comes from it.

-Very good- answered the thief number 39.- I’ll make a mark in the door to guide my mates and carry out our revenge protected by the darkness of the night.

And the thief draw a cross in the door. Then, Thies and shoemaker went, each one his way. But Light of Night had seen all. Then she went out and marked the doors of all the houses with a cross as the one that the thief had made. Then she went to sleep very calm.

-Chief- said the thief number 39 when he arrived to the secret hideout,- with the help of the shoemaker I discovered the house of the man who knows our secret and now I can lead you to that place.

-Even in the darkness of the night? Won’t you find the wrong house?

-No, because I marked it with a cross.

-Let’s go- said all the thieves And branding their swords they went galloping.

-This is the house- said the thief number 39 when they arrived to the first door of the village.

-Which one?-asked the chief.

-The one which has a cross on it.

-All of them have a cross! How many houses did you marked?

The thief number 39 almost fainted but he did not have time because the chief, furious, cut his head off. And, with no waste of time, he ordered the return. He did not want to arouse suspictions.

Someone has to return to the village, talk with that shoemaker and try to find the house.

-I’ll go- said the thief number 38.

And he went. And he found the shoemaker’s house. And the shoemaker was blindfolded. And he pointed him the house. And the thief number 38 made a cross in the door, but red and so little that it was scarcely seen. Then, the shoemaker and the thief went each one his way.

But Light of Night had seen all and she repeated the previous stratagem: she marked all the doors with a red cross as the bandit had done before

-Chief, I’ve found the house and I can guide you right now- said the thief number 38 when he returned to

-You won’t get wrong, will you?- asked the chief.

-No, because I did a very small cross that only I know which one it is.

And the 39 thieves went on galloping.

-This is the house- said the thief number 38 when they arrived to the first door in the village.

-Which one?-asked the thief.

-The one with that small red cross in the door.

-All of them have a small red cross in the door.- said the chief of the bandits.

And he cut his head off. Then the chief said:

-“Tomorrow I’ll talk myself to that shoemaker”. And he ordered the return.

The next day the chief of the thieves looked for the shoemaker. And he found him. And the shoemaker was blindfolded. And he guided him. And he show him the house. But the chief did not make any cross in the door nor other mark. What he did was to stay for ten minutes watching the house.

-Now I can recognize it among ten thousand similar houses.

And he went to look for his guys.

-Thieves- he said them-, to enter in the house of the man who discovered our secret and cut his head off without problem, I will disguise myself of an oil seller. On each horse, I will load two large jars of oil without oil. Each of you will hide in a large jar and when I order it, you will go out of the jar and we will kill the one who discovered our secret and all of them who defend him.

-All right- said the thieves

The horses were loaded with the jars and each thief entered in one of them. The chief disguised himself as an oil seller and then he put the lid on the jars. That evening, the 38 thieves entered in the village. All the people who saw them thought that it was a seller who was carrying 37 jars of oil. They arrived to Ali Baba’s house and the chief of thieves asked for permission to enter.

-Who are you?-asked Ali Baba

-A peaceable oil seller-said the chief.- All I ask you is lodging for me and my horses.

-Enter, peaceable seller- said Ali Baba And he gave them lodging.

And also food, and sweets and liquors. But the chief of thieves only wanted the night to arrive to kill Ali Baba and all his family. And night came. But they had to light the lamps.

-We have not a single drop of oil left- said Light of Night,- and I can’t light the lamps. Luckily there’s an oil seller at home; I’ll get some of those large jars he has”.

Light of Night took a heavy copper laddle and went to the first jar and she lifted the lid. The thiefwho was inside thought it was his chief who came to look for him to attack and stuck his head out.

-What an strange oil- exclaimed Light of the Night and she hit him with the ladle on his head.

The thief did not move any more. Light of Night went to the second jar and lifted the lid and another thief stuck his head out thinking it was his chief.

-An oil with turbans- said Light of Night.

And she hit him with the ladle. The thief did not move any more. Light of Night covered jar by jar and in all of them it happened the same to her and to the thieves. Very angry, she went to look for the oil seller and brandishing the ladle she said:

-This is outrageous! I did not find any single drop of oil in none of your jars. Whith which I’m going to light my lamps?

And she hit him with the ladle in his head. The chief of thieves collapsed.

-Why do you treat my guests that way?- Asked Ali Baba.

Then Light of the Night removed the disguise to the chief of thieves and everything was clear. As you can imagine, the thieves got what they deserved.

FIN