Arabian Ali Baba

tale:arabian_ali_baba

Ali Baba overhears the words 'Open Sesame' that unlock the forty thieves' treasure cave and takes a modest share. His greedy brother Cassim, having forced the secret from him, gorges on the gold but forgets the magic words, is trapped inside, and is killed. When the thieves track Ali Baba home, his quick-witted servant Morgiana foils them — scalding the men hidden in oil jars and slaying their captain in a dance. Moral: greed forgets the way out; level wit finds it. — Thousand and One Nights