Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - Middle Eastern

Once upon a time, in a warm, sunny town, there was a kind woodcutter named Ali Baba. One bright morning, he took his donkey deep into the cool forest to work. Suddenly, he heard the sound of many horses coming closer. Ali Baba hid behind a big, leafy tree and peeked out to see a group of grumpy-looking men stop in front of a giant, mossy rock. He was very quiet, wondering what they were doing. This is the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

The leader of the men stood before the giant rock and shouted, 'Open Sesame!'. Like magic, a secret door in the rock slid open all by itself. Wow! After the men went inside and came back out, the door closed again with a thud. Once they rode away, Ali Baba bravely tiptoed to the rock. He whispered the magic words, 'Open Sesame!'. Inside, it was a wonderland filled with sparkling jewels and shiny gold coins. There were also colorful, soft carpets piled high. He only took one tiny bag of gold to buy yummy food for his family and hurried back home, feeling very excited.

The grumpy thieves soon found out some of their treasure was gone and they were not happy at all. They searched every street until they found Ali Baba's house. To remember it, one of them put a white chalk mark on the door. But a very clever and kind girl who helped the family, named Morgiana, saw the mark. She had a brilliant idea. She took some chalk and put the exact same mark on every single door on their street. A mark here, a mark there, a mark on every door. When the thieves came back, they couldn't tell which house was the right one and left in a big, grumpy huff.

Hooray! Everyone was safe. Ali Baba learned that the real treasure wasn't the shiny gold in the cave. The best treasure was having clever and brave friends like Morgiana. This story reminds us all that being smart and kind is the most valuable treasure you can ever have.