too late to save
him; but he took down the quarters and put them upon one of his asses,
covering them with fagots of wood; and, weeping for the miserable end of
his brother, he regained the city. The door of his brother's house was
opened by Morgiana, an intelligent, faithful female slave, who, Ali Baba
knew, was worthy to be trusted with the secret.

He therefore delivered the body to Morgiana, and went himself to impart
the sad tidings to the wife of Cassim. The poor woman was deeply
afflicted, and reproached herself with her foolish envy and curiosity,
as being the cause of her husband's death; but Ali Baba having convinced
her of the necessity of being very discreet, she checked her
lamentations and resolved to leave everything to the management of
Morgiana.

Morgiana, having washed the body, hastened to an apothecary's and asked
for some particular medicine, saying that it was for her master Cassim,
who was dangerously ill. She took care to spread the report of Cassim's
illness throughout the neighborhood; and as they saw Ali Baba and his
wife going daily to the house of their brother, in great affliction,
they were not surprised to hear shortly that Cassim had died of his
disorder.

The next difficulty was to bury him without discovery; but Morgiana was
ready to contrive a plan for that also. She put on her veil and went to
a distant part of the city very early in the morning, where she found a
poor cobbler just opening his stall. She put a piece of gold into his
hand, and told him he should have another, if he would suffer himself to
be blindfolded and go with her, carrying his tools with him. Mustapha,
the cobbler, hesitated at first, but the gold tempted him and he
consented; when Morgiana, carefully covering his eyes, so that he could
not see a step of the way, led him to Cassim's house; and taking him
into the room where the body was lying, removed the bandage from his
eyes, and bade him sew the mangled limbs together. Mustapha obeyed her
order; and having received two pieces of gold, was led blindfold the
same way back to his own stall.

Morgiana then covered the body with a winding-sheet and sent for the
undertaker to make preparations for the funeral. Cassim was buried with
all due solemnity the same day. Ali Baba now removed his few goods, and
all the gold coin that he had brought home from the cavern, to the house
of his deceased brother, of which he took possession; and Cassim's widow
received ever