Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves · chapter 1 of 5
Open, Sesame!
芝麻开门
Poor woodcutter Ali Baba hides in a tree, counts forty robbers and hears two magic words. Does he dare to say them himself?
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- Narrator 很久很久以前，波斯有一个小城。那里住着一个穷人，叫阿里巴巴。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Bōsī yǒu yí gè xiǎo chéng. Nàlǐ zhùzhe yí gè qióngrén, jiào Ālǐbābā.
Long, long ago, there was a small town in Persia. In it lived a poor man named Ali Baba.
- Ali Baba 走吧，我的三头小毛驴！我们上山打柴去！
Zǒu ba, wǒ de sān tóu xiǎo máolǘ! Wǒmen shàng shān dǎ chái qù!
Come on, my three little donkeys! We're off up the mountain to cut firewood!
- Ali Baba 哥哥卡西姆那么有钱，我呢？家里的米都快吃完了。
Gēge Kǎxīmǔ nàme yǒu qián, wǒ ne? Jiā lǐ de mǐ dōu kuài chī wán le.
My brother Cassim is so rich, and me? We've almost run out of rice at home.
- Ali Baba 要是我也有一点儿钱，就好了。
Yàoshi wǒ yě yǒu yìdiǎnr qián, jiù hǎo le.
If only I had a little money too.
- Narrator 这天，阿里巴巴正在山上打柴。忽然，他听见了很多马的声音。
Zhè tiān, Ālǐbābā zhèngzài shān shang dǎ chái. Hūrán, tā tīngjiàn le hěn duō mǎ de shēngyīn.
That day, Ali Baba was cutting wood on the mountain when he suddenly heard the sound of many horses.
- Ali Baba 好多马！是谁来了？快，我先上树！
Hǎo duō mǎ! Shì shéi lái le? Kuài, wǒ xiān shàng shù!
So many horses! Who's coming? Quick, up a tree!
- Narrator 一群人骑着马跑了过来。他们都带着刀，马背上还有很多大口袋。
Yì qún rén qízhe mǎ pǎo le guòlái. Tāmen dōu dàizhe dāo, mǎbèi shang hái yǒu hěn duō dà kǒudai.
A band of men came galloping up. Every one of them wore a sword, and their horses were loaded with big sacks.
- Ali Baba 一、二、三……三十九、四十。四十个人！他们一定是强盗！
Yī, èr, sān… sānshíjiǔ, sìshí. Sìshí gè rén! Tāmen yídìng shì qiángdào!
One, two, three… thirty-nine, forty. Forty men! They must be robbers!
- The Robber Captain 兄弟们，到了！拿上口袋，跟我来！
Xiōngdìmen, dào le! Ná shang kǒudai, gēn wǒ lái!
Here we are, brothers! Grab the sacks and follow me!
- The Robber Captain 芝麻开门！
Zhīma kāimén!
Open, Sesame!
- Ali Baba 我的天哪！石头动了！大石头上开了一个门！
Wǒ de tiān na! Shítou dòng le! Dà shítou shang kāi le yí gè mén!
Oh my heavens! The rock moved! A door just opened in the big rock!
- Narrator 强盗们走进了山洞。过了很久，他们才出来，口袋都空了。
Qiángdàomen zǒujìn le shāndòng. Guò le hěn jiǔ, tāmen cái chūlái, kǒudai dōu kōng le.
The robbers went into the cave. A long time later they came out again, and their sacks were empty.
- The Robber Captain 芝麻关门！兄弟们，走！
Zhīma guānmén! Xiōngdìmen, zǒu!
Close, Sesame! Let's ride, brothers!
- Ali Baba 他们走了……山洞里有什么呢？我去看一看？
Tāmen zǒu le… Shāndòng lǐ yǒu shénme ne? Wǒ qù kàn yi kàn?
They're gone… What's inside that cave? Should I go and look?
- Ali Baba 不行，不行，太危险了！可是……我真的很想知道。
Bù xíng, bù xíng, tài wēixiǎn le! Kěshì… wǒ zhēn de hěn xiǎng zhīdào.
No, no, it's far too dangerous! But… I really want to know.
- Ali Baba 好吧，就试一次。芝麻开门！
Hǎo ba, jiù shì yí cì. Zhīma kāimén!
All right, just one try. Open, Sesame!
- Narrator 石头门又开了。山洞里又大又亮，到处都是金子。
Shítou mén yòu kāi le. Shāndòng lǐ yòu dà yòu liàng, dàochù dōu shì jīnzi.
The stone door opened again. Inside, the cave was huge and bright, and there was gold everywhere.
- Ali Baba 我的天哪！金子，银子，还有漂亮的布……都是强盗们偷来的吧？
Wǒ de tiān na! Jīnzi, yínzi, hái yǒu piàoliang de bù… dōu shì qiángdàomen tōu lái de ba?
Oh my heavens! Gold, silver, beautiful cloth… The robbers must have stolen all of it.
- Ali Baba 我不能多拿。我只有三头毛驴，一头背一个口袋。
Wǒ bù néng duō ná. Wǒ zhǐ yǒu sān tóu máolǘ, yì tóu bēi yí gè kǒudai.
I mustn't take too much. I only have three donkeys, so one sack each.
- Ali Baba 来，小毛驴们，上面再放一点儿柴，谁也看不见！芝麻关门！
Lái, xiǎo máolǘmen, shàngmiàn zài fàng yìdiǎnr chái, shéi yě kàn bú jiàn! Zhīma guānmén!
Here, little donkeys, a bit of firewood on top and nobody will see a thing! Close, Sesame!
- Narrator 天黑以后，阿里巴巴回到了家。
Tiān hēi yǐhòu, Ālǐbābā huí dào le jiā.
After dark, Ali Baba arrived home.
- Ali Baba's Wife 这是什么？金子？阿里巴巴，你……你偷东西了？
Zhè shì shénme? Jīnzi? Ālǐbābā, nǐ… nǐ tōu dōngxi le?
What's this? Gold? Ali Baba, did you… did you steal something?
- Ali Baba 小声点儿！不是我偷的。你坐下，我慢慢告诉你。
Xiǎoshēng diǎnr! Bú shì wǒ tōu de. Nǐ zuòxià, wǒ mànmàn gàosu nǐ.
Keep your voice down! I didn't steal it. Sit down and I'll tell you everything.
- Ali Baba's Wife 一个，两个，三个……太多了，我数不过来！
Yí gè, liǎng gè, sān gè… tài duō le, wǒ shǔ bú guòlái!
One, two, three… There's too much, I can't keep count!
- Ali Baba 你数到明天，也数不完。我们把它放在地下吧。
Nǐ shǔ dào míngtiān, yě shǔ bù wán. Wǒmen bǎ tā fàng zài dìxià ba.
You could count till tomorrow and never finish. Let's just bury it.
- Ali Baba's Wife 不行，我一定要知道有多少！我去大哥家借一个斗，量一量。
Bù xíng, wǒ yídìng yào zhīdào yǒu duōshao! Wǒ qù dàgē jiā jiè yí gè dǒu, liáng yi liáng.
No, I have to know how much there is! I'll borrow a measure from your brother's house.
- Ali Baba 好吧，好吧。可是别说为什么！这是我们的秘密。
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba. Kěshì bié shuō wèishénme! Zhè shì wǒmen de mìmì.
All right, all right. But don't tell them why! This is our secret.
- Narrator 卡西姆的妻子很好奇，在斗下面放了一点儿牛油。斗还回来了，牛油上有一块金子！
Kǎxīmǔ de qīzi hěn hàoqí, zài dǒu xiàmiàn fàng le yìdiǎnr niúyóu. Dǒu huán huílái le, niúyóu shang yǒu yí kuài jīnzi!
Cassim's wife was curious, so she smeared a little tallow on the bottom of the measure. When it came back, a gold coin was stuck in the tallow!
- Cassim 金子？我那个穷弟弟，用斗来量金子？
Jīnzi? Wǒ nàge qióng dìdi, yòng dǒu lái liáng jīnzi?
Gold? My poor little brother has so much gold he has to measure it?
- Cassim 阿里巴巴，你有什么秘密？明天，你的秘密，你的金子，都是我的！
Ālǐbābā, nǐ yǒu shénme mìmì? Míngtiān, nǐ de mìmì, nǐ de jīnzi, dōu shì wǒ de!
Ali Baba, what are you hiding? By tomorrow, your secret and your gold will all be mine!
What changed in the story?
- Why does Ali Baba climb a tree?
“他听见了很多马的声音……快，我先上树！”
- How many riders does Ali Baba count?
“三十九、四十。四十个人！”
- What happens when the captain says the magic words?
“石头动了！大石头上开了一个门！”
- Why does Ali Baba take only three sacks of gold?
“我只有三头毛驴，一头背一个口袋。”
- How does Cassim's wife find out about the gold?
“在斗下面放了一点儿牛油……牛油上有一块金子！”