The Riddles of the Bandits

At dusk, a suspicious merchant arrived at Ali Baba's courtyard with twenty laden pack mules, seeking shelter for the night. In the stables, thirty-nine large clay oil jars stood in neat rows beneath the cedar arbor.

While fetching olive oil for the kitchen hearth lamps, the clever housekeeper Morgiana noticed that only one jar smelled of sesame oil, while soft muffled breathing came from within the other thirty-eight vessels.

Without raising an alarm, Morgiana heated large kettles of bubbling water over the courtyard oven. Creeping silently between the rows of earthenware jars, she poured hot water through the lids, quietly subduing the hidden bandits before they could strike.

When the bandit leader signaled at midnight, not a single accomplice answered his whistle. Seeing his trap completely foiled, the chieftain attempted to flee, but Morgiana barred the heavy cedar gates.

The city guards arrived at dawn, securing the bandit leader and tying the captured thieves to their pack mules to face the magistrate.

Ali Baba presented Morgiana with a pouch of silver coins and the keys to his estate, as the household celebrated their safety in the bright morning sunlight.