The Arabian Nights II (15 page)

The thief, on his return to his companions in the forest, did not fail to value as infallible the precaution he had taken to distinguish 'Ali Baba's house from all the others. The captain and his men, agreeing with him that this should succeed, went to the city, in the same order and with the same precautions as before, armed and ready to strike. When they arrived, the captain and the thief went to 'Ali Baba's street, and as before, met with the same difficulty. The chief was indignant, and the thief was in as great a confusion as the man who had preceded him on the same mission. So the captain was again forced to withdraw that day with his men, with as little satisfaction as the day before, and the thief, as the man responsible for the error, was condemned to the same fate, to which he submitted willingly.

The captain, who saw his troop lose two brave men, feared that he might lose more if he continued to send them to find for certain 'Ali Baba's house. The example of the two convinced him that, on such occasions, planned attack was better than impulsive action. He took charge of the thing himself; he went into the city, and, with the aid of Baba Mustafa, who rendered him the same service he had rendered
his two volunteers, he, without bothering to make any mark by which to recognize 'Ali Baba's house, examined it so carefully, going back and forth, in front of it so many times, that he could not possibly mistake it again.

The captain, satisfied with his journey for having found what he wanted, returned to the forest, and when he went into the cavern where his men were waiting for him, he said, “Comrades, at last, nothing will prevent us from exacting full vengeance for the damage we have suffered. I know for sure the house of the guilty one on whom it should fall, and on the way back, I thought of the means of making him taste it, in such an effective way, that no one will ever again know the secret of our hiding place or our treasure, for this is the aim we should endeavor to pursue in our enterprise; otherwise, our efforts, instead of being useful, would be fatal.” The captain continued, “In order to accomplish this, here is what I think, and after I explain it to you, if any of you knows of a better way, he may tell us.” He then explained to them what he proposed to do and asked them to disperse in the small market towns, the surrounding villages, and even the cities and to buy as many as nineteen mules and thirty-eight leather jars for transporting oil, one full with oil and the others empty. Within two or three days, the thieves collected everything. As the empty jars were a little too narrow at the neck for carrying out the captain's plan, he had them enlarged, and after he made each of his men go inside a jar with the weapons he considered necessary, and after he opened some seams in order that they might breathe freely, he closed the jars in such a way that they appeared to be full of oil, and, in order to disguise the jars better, he rubbed them with oil taken from the jar that was full.

After these preparations, the mules were loaded with the thirty-seven thieves, except for the captain, each hiding in a jar, together with the jar that was full of oil, and the captain, as the driver, took the road to the city at the time he had decided on and arrived there at dusk, an hour after sunset, as he had intended. He entered the city and went directly to 'Ali Baba's house, planning to knock at the door and ask to spend the night there, with his mules, as a favor from the master of the house. He did not have to knock, for he found 'Ali Baba at the door, enjoying the fresh air after supper. He halted his mules and, addressing 'Ali Baba, said, “Sir, I am bringing oil, as you see, from a faraway place, to sell tomorrow at the market, and I don't know where to find lodging at this late hour. If it does not inconvenience you, do me a favor and let me spend the night in your house, and I will be grateful to you.”

Although 'Ali Baba had seen and even heard in the forest the man who spoke to him, how could he have recognized him as the captain
of the forty thieves, under his disguise as an oil merchant? He said to him, “You are welcome; come in.” So saying, 'Ali Baba made room to let him in with his mules. At the same time 'Ali Baba called a slave of his and ordered him, after the mules were unloaded, not only to shelter them under a cover in the stable, but also to give them hay and barley. He even took the trouble of going into the kitchen and ordering Marjana to offer supper to the guest and to prepare a bed for him in one of the rooms.

'Ali Baba did even more. When he saw that the captain of the thieves had unloaded the mules and that they had been taken into the stable, as he had ordered, 'Ali Baba, wishing to accommodate him as well as possible and looking for a place to spend the night in the open air, went to take the captain into the hall where he received his guests, saying to him that he himself would not mind sleeping in the courtyard. The captain protested strongly, but, in reality, only in order to carry out more freely what he had planned, and he did not yield to 'Ali Baba's offer until after many entreaties.

'Ali Baba, not wishing to sit down with the man who wanted to take his life until Marjana served him supper, went on to chat with him about several subjects he thought might please him and did not leave him until he finished his rich meal, saying to him, “I leave you as the master here; all you have to do is to ask for whatever you may need; there is nothing in my house that is not at your disposal.” The captain rose at the same time and accompanied him to the door, and while 'Ali Baba went into the kitchen to speak with Marjana, he went into the courtyard, on the pretext that he was going to the stable to see whether his mules needed anything.

'Ali Baba again asked Marjana to take good care of the guest and not to let him lack anything, adding, “Tomorrow, I will go to the bath before dawn. See to it that my bath linen is ready and give it to 'Abd Allah (that was the name of his slave), and make me some good broth to drink on my return,” and, having given her these orders, he retired to go to bed.

Meanwhile, the captain went as far as the entrance to the stable to tell his men what they had to do. From the first jar to the last, he said to each man, “When I throw small stones from the room where I will be staying, be sure to free yourself by tearing open the jar with the knife you are supplied with and coming out, and as soon as you do, I will be with you.” The knife he referred to was pointed and sharpened for that purpose. Then he returned to the house, and as he stood at the kitchen door, Marjana took a lamp and led him to the room she had prepared for him, and in which she left him, after asking him whether he needed anything else. Then in order not to arouse any suspicion, he put out the light shortly after he lay down in his clothes, ready to get up after a short nap.

Marjana did not forget 'Ali Baba's orders. She prepared his bath linens, gave them to 'Abd Allah, who had not yet gone to bed, and put the pot on the fire to prepare the broth. While she was skimming the foam, the lamp went out, and as there was no more oil or candles in the house, what was she to do, while she needed to see clearly, in order to skim the broth? She expressed her predicament to 'Abd Allah, who said to her, “Here you are, at a loss. Go and take some oil from one of the jars in the courtyard.” Marjana thanked him for his advice, and while 'Abd Allah went to sleep near 'Ali Baba's room, in order to follow him to the bath, she took the oil pitcher and went into the courtyard. As she approached the nearest jar, the thief who was hiding inside asked in a whisper, “Is it time?” Although he spoke in a whisper, Marjana heard the voice clearly, since the captain, as soon as he had unloaded his mules, had opened not only this jar, but all the others, to let in more air for his men, who were extremely ill at ease, although they were able to breathe.

Any other slave but Marjana, as surprised as she was to find a man in a jar instead of the oil she was looking for, would have made an uproar that might have caused a great mishap. But Marjana was above that; she understood instantly the importance of keeping secret the imminent danger to 'Ali Baba and his family, as well as to herself, and the necessity of finding a prompt and quiet remedy, to which, with her intelligence, she immediately found the means. She recovered at once and, pretending to be the captain of the thieves, she replied to the question, without showing any emotion, “Not yet, but soon.” She went to the next jar, and the same question was asked, and the same answer given, and so on until she reached the jar with the oil.

Marjana realized that her master 'Ali Baba, who thought that the man he had invited to stay with him was merely an oil merchant, had actually invited thirty-eight thieves, including their captain, the fake merchant. She quickly filled her pitcher with oil, which she took from the last jar, and returned to the kitchen, where, after filling the lamp with oil and lighting it, she took a large boiling pan, returned to the courtyard, and filled the pan with oil from the jar. Then she brought it back and put it on the fire, which she stocked with more firewood, for the sooner the oil boiled, the sooner she could carry out what would contribute to the common salvation of the household, which could not bear any postponement. When the oil finally began to boil, she took the pan and, going out again, poured into each jar enough boiling oil to choke the thieves and kill them.

After this deed, which was worthy of Marjana's courage, was carried out as quietly as she had intended, she returned to the kitchen and closed the door. Then she put out the great fire that she had lighted, leaving only what was needed to finish cooking the broth for 'Ali Baba. She then put out the lamp and remained very quiet, determined
not to go to sleep until she saw, through a kitchen window overlooking the courtyard, and as much as the darkness permitted, what would happen next.

It was no more than a quarter of an hour later when the captain woke up and, getting up, opened the window and looked out, and as he saw no light and heard nothing but peace and quiet in the house, he gave the signal, by throwing little stones, of which several fell on the jars, as he was certain from the sound he heard. He listened, but he neither heard nor saw anything to indicate that his men were making any move. Beginning to worry, he threw the stones a second and a third time. They fell on the jars, but not a single thief gave the slightest sign of life, and he could not understand why. He went down into the courtyard in alarm, as quietly as he could. Again, he approached the first jar, and when he was about to ask the thief, whom he thought to be alive, whether he was asleep, he smelled the odor of hot and burnt oil coming from the jar and realized the failure of his enterprise against 'Ali Baba and his plan to kill him, plunder his house, and, if possible, carry back the gold he had taken from the group. He went to the next jar and to the others and found out that all his men had perished in the same way, and, from the diminishing of the oil in the jar, which was full when he brought it, he understood the means taken to deprive him of the assistance he had expected. In his despair at the failure of his attempt, he slipped through the door of 'Ali Baba's garden, which adjoined the courtyard, and, going over the fences, from garden to garden, he escaped.

When Marjana waited for some time but did not hear any sound and did not see the captain come back, she had no doubt what course of action he had taken, instead of trying to escape through the main door, which was secured with a double bolt. Thus, satisfied and overjoyed to have so well succeeded in ensuring the safety of the entire household, she finally lay down and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, 'Ali Baba left before daybreak and went to the bath, followed by his slave, without knowing anything of the surprising turn of events that took place in his house while he slept. For Marjana did not deem it proper to awaken him about it, with all the more reason, since she had no time to lose while the danger lasted, and since it would have served no purpose to disturb his peace after she had averted that danger. When 'Ali Baba returned from the bath and entered his house, the sun was already up, and he was very surprised to see that the oil jars were still in their place and that the merchant did not go with his mules to the market and asked for an explanation from Marjana, who had come to open the door for him and who had left everything as it was, in order to show him the spectacle and explain to him more effectively what she had done to save him.

Replying to 'Ali Baba, Marjana said, “My good master, may God preserve you, you and all your household! You will understand better what you wish to know, when you see what I have to show you. Please, come with me.” 'Ali Baba followed Marjana who, after closing the door, led him to the first jar, saying, “Look inside, and see if there is any oil.” 'Ali Baba looked, and when he saw a man inside the jar, he drew back in fright and uttered a loud cry. Marjana said, “Fear nothing, for the man you see will not do you any harm. He did some damage, but he is no longer in a condition to do more, neither to you nor to anyone else; he is no longer alive.” 'Ali Baba cried out, “What do you mean to say by showing me this? Explain!” Marjana replied, “I will explain it, but control your amazement and don't arouse the neighbors' curiosity to find out about something that is very important for you to keep hidden. Look first in all the other jars.” 'Ali Baba looked in them, one after another, from the first to the last that had the oil, noticing that the oil had appreciably diminished, and when he finished, he remained motionless, looking sometimes at the jars, sometimes at Marjana, without saying a word, for so great was his astonishment. At last, as if he had recovered his speech, he asked, “And the merchant, what has become of him?” Marjana replied, “The merchant is as much of a merchant as I am. I will tell you what he is and what has become of him, but you will hear the whole story more conveniently in your room, for it is time, for the sake of your health, to drink some broth after coming out of the bath.” While 'Ali Baba returned to his room, Marjana went into the kitchen to get the broth. When she brought it, 'Ali Baba, before drinking it, said to her, “Satisfy my impatience, and start telling me this very strange story, in all its details.”