Cast
Ali Baba: Yorozu Iruru
Cassim: Karasumori Daikoku
Morgiana: Toneri Nikako
Chief of the Thieves: Renjakuno Hatsumi
Thief: Fudesjima Shigure
Act 1 -
Once upon a time, there lived a poor but good natured hard worker named Ali Baba. To feed his family, Ali Baba often collected firewood in the nearby mountain.
One day, while working as usual on the mountain, he witnessed some dangerous-looking men, presumably thieves, chanting a spell toward a cave.
Curious about what they were doing, Ali Baba waited until the thieves had left the cave and gone elsewhere, then decided to imitate them and try the spell himself.
"Open, Sesame!"
Suddenly, at what had seemed like a dead end, a mysterious room appeared deep within the cave. Inside this room hidden by the spell was an overflowing treasure of coins, precious swords, and jewels.
"It's a sea of treasure! Woohoo!"
Ali Baba's eyes sparkled at the brilliance of the treasures. He swam through the sea of gold coins with great delight.
"I'll just borrow a bit and make life easier for my family."
Humming happily, he filled his bag with gold coins and jewels and took them home.
Act 2 -
Ali Baba's elder sister Cassim, known for her greed and bad reputation, lived apart from the family. When she returned home after a long time, she noticed changes everywhere. The once dilapidated house had been repaired, and the meals were more lavish than before.
"What's going on here? Are you hiding something from me?"
"W-who knows...?"
Cassim interrogated Ali Baba and their parents, but they evaded her questions.
However, using a forgotten jewel as evidence, she managed to extract the truth from them.
Pressured by her questions, Ali Baba revealed the secret of the cave.
"I have a bad feeling about what Cassim might do..."
As expected, Cassim waited for the thieves to leave before sneaking into the cave to steal.
Upon entering, she became extremely excited at the sight of the treasures.
Just as she was about to leave with her bag full of treasure, thinking "What a haul," she forgot the spell.
"Open...what was it again?"
She tried various words but couldn't remember the correct spell.
Unable to exit the cave, she was still trapped when the thieves returned.
"Well, well. You've got some nerve, stealing from a band of thieves?"
The chief was furious, and Cassim was killed.
Act 3 -
"Cassim hasn't come back..."
Ali Baba, along with his servant Morgiana, worried about Cassim's return.
As his bad feeling grew stronger, Ali Baba headed to the cave where he thought Cassim had gone.
Taking Morgiana with him and chanting the spell to enter, he discovered Cassim's lifeless body.
"It's my fault..."
Holding Cassim, who had been killed by the thieves, Ali Baba grieved deeply and tried to take her body back.
"Master Ali Baba, if we transport the body, we might be discovered too."
"I don't care! I must give Cassim a proper burial."
Ali Baba secretly conducted Cassim's funeral and, with no one else to claim it, ended up inheriting the wealth Cassim had hidden.
"It's not what I wanted, but I've become very wealthy. I'll use this money to help those in need."
As Ali Baba made this resolution, the pursuing thieves were closing in on the area.
The chief tracked down houses that had recently held funerals in the vicinity, found Ali Baba's house, and marked it-
Act 4 -
The perceptive servant Morgiana noticed an X mark suddenly placed on the outer wall of the house and immediately informed her master.
"It seems the thieves are looking for us."
"What should we do!?"
To the panicking Ali Baba, calm Morgiana offered, "Leave it to me."
She placed similar marks on nearby houses and quickly changed the appearance of Ali Baba's house using prepared materials. By making it difficult to identify which house was the target, the thieves became confused about which house they were after.
Though Ali Baba and Morgiana were safe for the time being, eventually they were identified as Cassim's relatives. The chief of the thieves, disguised as an oil merchant, visited the house to get close to Ali Baba.
He hid thirty-nine of his men in barrels, waiting for a chance to attack, but Morgiana grew suspicious and inspected the barrels, uncovering the plot.
"Master Ali Baba, this merchant might be one of those thieves."
After telling him this, the two began preparing to drive the thieves away. Morgiana carried the one barrel that actually contained oil, heating it in a pot until it boiled.
She quickly poured the hot oil over the barrels where the thieves were hiding, taking them all out at once.
Ali Baba also succeeded in trapping and capturing the chief, and together they defeated the thieves.
"Morgiana, thank you so much. I'm glad we were able to avenge Cassim."
After defeating the thieves, the two visited the cave again and brought back the treasures.
"Quit being a servant. Would you like to become part of my family?"
Ali Baba freed Morgiana from her servant status, shared his wealth with her, and welcomed her as his adopted sister.
Not only that, he distributed the remaining treasure from the thieves' cave to the poor, becoming a famous figure in town.
The good natured Ali Baba was loved by everyone, with the capable Morgiana by his side, and it is said that Ali Baba's house prospered for a long time.
Aftertalk:
Yorozu Iruru
Wow~! These prop gold coins are so sparkly. I wish I could become super rich like Ali Baba too.
Toneri Nikako
I'd love to swim in a sea of treasure!
Yorozu Iruru
I wonder if our salaries will keep increasing as Eden becomes more recognized in the world. I guess we can only hope for the future.
Toneri Nikako
I'm surprised to hear you say that, Iruru. I thought you'd stay with Eden no matter what happens.
Yorozu Iruru
Eh!? Ehh...? You think so? Well, job satisfaction is important, but money matters too, right? I want to buy clothes and go out more with Nikako.
Toneri Nikako
Yes! Let's go! I want to see the mahjong parlor and the horse racing track you mentioned, Iruru!
Yorozu Iruru
Y-yeah... But Nikako, there are also places where younger people can have more fun...! I know! Let's go watch baseball next time! Okay?