The Children's Hour, v 5. Stories From Seven Old FavoritesTappan, Eva March
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The Children's Hour, v 5. Stories From Seven Old Favorites
Tappan, Eva March
Children's stories; Literature -- Adaptations
They presented themselves at the door with a low bow, and Morgiana was
bidden to enter and show Cogia Houssain how well she danced. This, he
knew, would interrupt him in carrying out his wicked purpose, but he
had to make the best of it, and to seem pleased with Morgiana's
dancing. She was indeed a good dancer, and on this occasion outdid
herself in graceful and surprising motions. At the last, she took the
tabor from Abdalla's hand, and held it out like those who dance for
money.
Ali Baba put a piece of gold into it, and so did his son. When Cogia
Houssain saw that she was coming to him he pulled out his purse from
his bosom to make her a present; but while he was putting his hand
into it, Morgiana, with courage worthy of herself, plunged the poniard
into his heart.
"Unhappy woman!" exclaimed Ali Baba, "what have you done to ruin me
and my family?"
"It was to preserve, not to ruin you," answered Morgiana. Then she
showed the dagger in Cogia Houssain's garment, and said, "Look well at
him, and you will see that he is both the pretended oil merchant and
the captain of the band of forty robbers. As soon as you told me that
he would eat no salt with you, I suspected who it was, and when I saw
him I knew."
Ali Baba embraced her, and said, "Morgiana, I gave you your liberty
before, and promised you more in time; now I would make you my
daughter-in-law. Consider," he said, turning to his son, "that by
marrying Morgiana, you marry the preserver of my family and yours."
The son was all the more ready to carry out his father's wishes,
because they were the same as his own, and within a few days he and
Morgiana were married, but before this, the captain of the robbers was
buried with his comrades, and so secretly was it done, that their
bones were not found till many years had passed, when no one had any
concern in making this strange story known.
For a whole year Ali Baba did not visit the robbers' cave. At the end
of that time, as nobody had tried to disturb him, he made another
journey to the forest, and, standing before the entrance to the cave,
said, "Open, Sesame." The door opened at once, and from the appearance
of everything within the cavern, he judged that nobody had been there
since the captain had fetched the goods for his shop. From this time
forth, he took as much of the treasure as his needs demanded. Some
years later he carried his son to the cave, and taught him the secret,
which he handed down in his family, who used their good fortune
wisely, and lived in great honor and splendor.
THE STORY OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR
In the reign of the same Caliph, Haroun Al-Raschid, of whom we have
already heard, there lived at Bagdad a poor porter called Hindbad. One
day, when the weather was very hot, he was employed to carry a heavy
burden from one end of the town to the other. Being much fatigued, he
took off his load, and sat upon it, near a large mansion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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