Ali Baba and the forty thieves [antikvár]

A Ladybird Book Series 740 The story of Ali Baba is taken from a collection of stories called 'The Thousand and One Nights'. These stories are based on ancient Persianf Arabian and Indián ta/es handed down by word of mouth for hundreds of years. They first appeared in their present form, in Arabic, in 1450. The ta/es are linked together by the story of Sheherazade. Sheherazade was the wife of the Su/tan and had been condemned to death for her wickedness. She managed to put off her execution by teliing one of the stories to her sister each night, in the presence of the Su/tan. Being a very clever woman, as well as a talented storyteller, Sheherazade always left the most exciting part of the story until the following night. The Su/tan could not bear to miss the end of each story, and kept on putting off the execution. For a thousand and one nights Sheherazade kept the Su/tan spe/lbound with the stories. He eventua/ly rea/ised that he had been wrong and forgave Sheherazade. The stories are just as spellbinding today as they were in those far-off days, and are here presented in simple text so that younger readers can enjoy them.