trampling of their horses' feet, resolved to sell his life dearly, so
when the door opened he leaped out and threw the Captain down. In
vain, however, for the robbers with their sabres soon killed him. On
entering the cave they saw all the bags laid ready, and could not
imagine how any one had got in without knowing their secret. They cut
Cassim's body into four quarters, and nailed them up inside the cave,
in order to frighten any one who should venture in, and went away in
search of more treasure.

[Illustration: Cassim forgets the magic word]

As night drew on Cassim's wife grew very uneasy, and ran to her
brother-in-law, and told him where her husband had gone. Ali Baba did
his best to comfort her, and set out to the forest in search of
Cassim. The first thing he saw on entering the cave was his dead
brother. Full of horror, he put the body on one of his asses, and bags
of gold on the other two, and, covering all with some fagots, returned
home. He drove the two asses laden with gold into his own yard, and
led the other to Cassim's house. The door was opened by the slave
Morgiana, whom he knew to be both brave and cunning. Unloading the
ass, he said to her: "This is the body of your master, who has been
murdered, but whom we must bury as though he had died in his bed. I
will speak with you again, but now tell your mistress I am come." The
wife of Cassim, on learning the fate of her husband, broke out into
cries and tears, but Ali Baba offered to take her to live with him and
his wife if she would promise to keep his counsel and leave everything
to Morgiana; whereupon she agreed, and dried her eyes.

Morgiana, meanwhile, sought an apothecary and asked him for some
lozenges. "My poor master," she said, "can neither eat nor sleep, and
no one knows what his distemper is." She carried home the lozenges and
returned next day weeping, and asked for an essence only given to
those just about to die. Thus, in the evening, no one was surprised to
hear the wretched shrieks and cries of Cassim's wife and Morgiana
telling every one that Cassim was dead. The day after, Morgiana went
to an old cobbler near the gates of the town who opened his stall
early, put a piece of gold in his hand, and bade him follow with his
needle and thread. Having bound his eyes with a handkerchief, she took
him to the room where the body lay, pulled off the bandage, and bade
him sew the quarters together, after which she covered his eyes again
a