Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves · chapter 2 of 5
Cassim Forgets
卡西姆忘了
Greedy Cassim wants his brother's secret and every coin in the cave. But what happens inside a magic cave when you forget the magic words?
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天一早，卡西姆就来到了阿里巴巴的家。
Dì'èr tiān yìzǎo, Kǎxīmǔ jiù lái dào le Ālǐbābā de jiā.
Early the next morning, Cassim turned up at Ali Baba's house.
- Cassim 阿里巴巴，你看！这是什么？
Ālǐbābā, nǐ kàn! Zhè shì shénme?
Ali Baba, look! What's this?
- Ali Baba 哥哥……这是……一块金子。
Gēge… zhè shì… yí kuài jīnzi.
Brother… that's… a gold coin.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Cassim 你那么穷，哪儿来的金子？快说！不说，我就告诉大家，你是小偷！
Nǐ nàme qióng, nǎr lái de jīnzi? Kuài shuō! Bù shuō, wǒ jiù gàosu dàjiā, nǐ shì xiǎotōu!
Poor as you are, where did you get gold? Out with it! If you won't tell me, I'll tell everyone you're a thief!
- Ali Baba 好吧，好吧，我都告诉你。山里有一个山洞，里面都是强盗的金子。
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba, wǒ dōu gàosu nǐ. Shān lǐ yǒu yí gè shāndòng, lǐmiàn dōu shì qiángdào de jīnzi.
All right, all right, I'll tell you everything. There's a cave up in the mountains, and it's full of robbers' gold.
- Ali Baba 你站在大石头前面，说“芝麻开门”，门就开了。
Nǐ zhàn zài dà shítou qiánmiàn, shuō “Zhīma kāimén”, mén jiù kāi le.
Stand in front of the big rock and say “Open, Sesame,” and the door will open.
- Cassim 芝麻开门？哈哈，我记住了！
Zhīma kāimén? Hāhā, wǒ jìzhù le!
“Open, Sesame”? Ha ha, I won't forget that!
- Ali Baba 哥哥，那些金子，我分你一半，好吗？你别去山洞了，太危险！
Gēge, nàxiē jīnzi, wǒ fēn nǐ yíbàn, hǎo ma? Nǐ bié qù shāndòng le, tài wēixiǎn!
Brother, I'll give you half of my gold, all right? Just don't go to the cave. It's too dangerous!
- Cassim 一半？我不要一半，我要山洞里所有的金子！
Yíbàn? Wǒ bú yào yíbàn, wǒ yào shāndòng lǐ suǒyǒu de jīnzi!
Half? I don't want half. I want all the gold in that cave!
- Cassim 你只拿了三个口袋？真没用！我要带十头毛驴去！
Nǐ zhǐ ná le sān gè kǒudai? Zhēn méiyòng! Wǒ yào dài shí tóu máolǘ qù!
You only took three sacks? You're hopeless! I'm taking ten donkeys!
- Narrator 又过了一天。天还没亮，卡西姆就带着十头毛驴出门了。
Yòu guò le yì tiān. Tiān hái méi liàng, Kǎxīmǔ jiù dàizhe shí tóu máolǘ chū mén le.
Another day passed. Before dawn, Cassim set out with ten donkeys.
- Morgiana 先生，天还没亮呢！您带着这么多空口袋，要去哪儿？
Xiānsheng, tiān hái méi liàng ne! Nín dàizhe zhème duō kōng kǒudai, yào qù nǎr?
Sir, it isn't even light yet! Where are you going with all those empty sacks?
- Cassim 玛吉娜，做你的饭去，别问那么多！晚上我回来，这些口袋都是满的！
Mǎjínà, zuò nǐ de fàn qù, bié wèn nàme duō! Wǎnshang wǒ huílái, zhèxiē kǒudai dōu shì mǎn de!
Go and see to your cooking, Morgiana, and stop asking questions! When I come back tonight, every one of these sacks will be full!
- Morgiana 满的？……他的眼睛里只有钱。我觉得，今天要出事。
Mǎn de?… Tā de yǎnjing lǐ zhǐ yǒu qián. Wǒ juéde, jīntiān yào chūshì.
Full?… He only has eyes for money. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen today.
- Cassim 就是这块大石头吧？芝麻开门！
Jiù shì zhè kuài dà shítou ba? Zhīma kāimén!
This must be the big rock. Open, Sesame!
- Cassim 哈哈，开了！金子啊金子，我来了！
Hāhā, kāi le! Jīnzi a jīnzi, wǒ lái le!
Ha ha, it's open! Gold, oh gold, here I come!
- Narrator 卡西姆走进了山洞。他身后的石头门，慢慢地关上了。
Kǎxīmǔ zǒujìn le shāndòng. Tā shēnhòu de shítou mén, mànmàn de guānshang le.
Cassim walked into the cave. Behind him, the stone door slowly swung shut.
- Cassim 这个是我的，那个也是我的！都是我的！
Zhège shì wǒ de, nàge yě shì wǒ de! Dōu shì wǒ de!
This one's mine, and that one's mine too! It's all mine!
- Cassim 有了这些金子，我要买最大的房子，最好的马……
Yǒu le zhèxiē jīnzi, wǒ yào mǎi zuì dà de fángzi, zuì hǎo de mǎ…
With all this gold, I'll buy the biggest house, the finest horses…
- Cassim 十个口袋都满了！好了，回家！开门吧……那个，什么开门来着？
Shí gè kǒudai dōu mǎn le! Hǎo le, huí jiā! Kāimén ba… nàge, shénme kāimén láizhe?
All ten sacks are full! Right, time to go home! Open up… um, open what, again?
- Cassim 大麦开门！
Dàmài kāimén!
Open, Barley!
- Cassim 不对？小麦开门！豆子开门！
Bú duì? Xiǎomài kāimén! Dòuzi kāimén!
No? Open, Wheat! Open, Beans!
- Narrator 石头门一动也不动。
Shítou mén yí dòng yě bú dòng.
The stone door didn't move an inch.
- Cassim 大米开门！开门啊！到底是什么开门？
Dàmǐ kāimén! Kāimén a! Dàodǐ shì shénme kāimén?
Open, Rice! Open up! What on earth was it?
- Cassim 我记得……是一种很小很小的东西……
Wǒ jìde… shì yì zhǒng hěn xiǎo hěn xiǎo de dōngxi…
I remember… it was something tiny, really tiny…
- Narrator 就在这时候，外面传来了很多马的声音。
Jiù zài zhè shíhou, wàimiàn chuánlái le hěn duō mǎ de shēngyīn.
Just then, the sound of many horses came from outside.
- The Young Robber 头儿，你看！这里有十头毛驴！
Tóur, nǐ kàn! Zhèlǐ yǒu shí tóu máolǘ!
Boss, look! There are ten donkeys here!
- The Robber Captain 有人进了我们的山洞。兄弟们，拿好刀！
Yǒu rén jìn le wǒmen de shāndòng. Xiōngdìmen, ná hǎo dāo!
Someone has got into our cave. Brothers, swords ready!
- Cassim 强盗们回来了！怎么办？怎么办？
Qiángdàomen huílái le! Zěnme bàn? Zěnme bàn?
The robbers are back! What do I do? What do I do?
- The Robber Captain 芝麻开门！
Zhīma kāimén!
Open, Sesame!
- Cassim 芝麻……对，是芝麻！可是……太晚了。
Zhīma… duì, shì zhīma! Kěshì… tài wǎn le.
Sesame… yes, it was sesame! But… it's too late.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Cassim threaten to do if Ali Baba won't talk?
“不说，我就告诉大家，你是小偷！”
- What does Ali Baba offer his brother?
“那些金子，我分你一半，好吗？”
- Why does Morgiana feel uneasy?
“天还没亮呢！……他的眼睛里只有钱。”
- Why can't Cassim get out of the cave?
“开门吧……那个，什么开门来着？”
- How do the robbers know someone is inside their cave?
“这里有十头毛驴！”……“有人进了我们的山洞。”