piled upon one another, gold and silver ingots in great
heaps, and money in bags. The sight of all these riches made him
suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers,
who had succeeded one another.

Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold
coin, which was in bags, as he thought his three asses could carry.
When he had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over them in such
a manner that they could not be seen. When he had passed in and out as
often as he wished, he stood before the door, and pronouncing the
words, "Shut, Sesame!" the door closed of itself. He then made the
best of his way to town.

When Ali Baba got home he drove his asses into a little yard, shut the
gates very carefully, threw off the wood that covered the panniers,
carried the bags into his house, and ranged them in order before his
wife. He then emptied the bags, which raised such a great heap of gold
as dazzled his wife's eyes, and then he told her the whole adventure
from beginning to end, and, above all, recommended her to keep it
secret.

The wife rejoiced greatly at their good fortune, and would count all
the gold piece by piece.

"Wife," replied Ali Baba, "you do not know what you undertake, when
you pretend to count the money; you will never have done. I will dig a
hole, and bury it. There is no time to be lost."

"You are in the right, husband," replied she, "but let us know, as
nigh as possible, how much we have. I will borrow a small measure, and
measure it, while you dig the hole."

Away the wife ran to her brother-in-law Cassim, who lived just by, and
addressing herself to his wife, desired that she lend her a measure
for a little while. Her sister-in-law asked her whether she would have
a great or a small one. The other asked for a small one. She bade her
stay a little, and she would readily fetch one.

The sister-in-law did so, but as she knew Ali Baba's poverty, she was
curious to know what sort of grain his wife wanted to measure, and
artfully putting some suet at the bottom of the measure, brought it to
her, with an excuse that she was sorry that she had made her stay so
long, but that she could not find it sooner.

Ali Baba's wife went home, set the measure upon the heap of gold,
filled it, and emptied it often upon the sofa, till she had done, when
she was very well satisfied to find the number of measures amounted to
so many as they did, and went to tell her husband,