Summary
Highlights
Alibaba, a poor woodcutter, lives with his wife and children while his greedy brother Cassim thrives. One day, while gathering wood, Alibaba encounters a troop of 40 thieves and observes their leader opening a secret cave with the magic words 'Open Sesame'. After they leave, Alibaba enters the cave, filled with immense treasure, and takes a bag of gold coins.
Alibaba's wife, astonished by the gold, borrows a weighing scale from Cassim's cunning wife. Cassim's wife discovers a gold coin stuck to the scale, revealing Alibaba's newfound wealth. Cassim, consumed by envy, learns the secret of the cave from Alibaba. He visits the cave with mules to collect all the treasure but forgets the magic word to exit, leading to his death at the hands of the returning thieves.
Alibaba finds Cassim's body in the cave and brings him home. Cassim's maid, Morgiana, devises a plan to hide the cause of Cassim's death by pretending he was ill. After Cassim's wife dies of grief, Alibaba takes Morgiana into his household, recognizing her intelligence.
The thieves return to the cave and find Cassim's body gone, realizing someone else knows their secret. They send a thief to the village to find out who recently died. The thief learns about Cassim's death and Alibaba's relation, marking Alibaba's door to target his family. Morgiana, noticing the mark, marks all the houses in the alley, confusing the thieves and foiling their night attack.
The captain of the thieves decides to find Alibaba's house himself and disguises himself as an oil merchant, hiding his men in barrels. Alibaba hosts him for the night. Morgiana grows suspicious of the merchant and discovers the hidden thieves. She heats oil and pours it into each barrel, killing the thieves. The leader escapes in fear. Alibaba, grateful for Morgiana saving his family, declares her a member of his family, not just a maid.