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g r a p h i c u n i v e r s e tmm i nn eapo l i s • n ew york

ALI BABA IS A CHARACTER IN ARABIAN NIGHTS. ALSOCALLED THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, THIS BOOK ISA CLASSIC WORK OF ARABIC LITERATURE. THE WORK ISMADE UP OF APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED STORIESFROM PERSIA, INDIA, AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN ANDNEAR THE MIDDLE EAST. ITS STORIES WERE COLLECTEDAND WRITTEN DOWN IN ARABIC IN ABOUT A.D. 1500.BRITISH SCHOLARS SIR RICHARD F. BURTON ANDJOHN PAYNE TRANSLATED THE STORIES INTO ENGLISH INTHE 1800S.

IN CREATING THE STORY OF ALI BABA, AUTHORMARIE P. CROALL WORKED FROM ARABIAN NIGHTSVOLUME I: THE MARVELS AND WONDERS OF THETHOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, ADAPTED FROM RICHARDF. BURTON’S UNEXPURGATED TRANSLATION BY JACKZIPES. ARTIST CLINT HILINSKI CONSULTED NUMEROUSHISTORICAL RESOURCES TO SHAPE THE VISUAL CONTENT OFTHE TALE. IN ADDITION, ALLAN T. KOHL, ART HISTORIANAND VISUAL RESOURCES LIBRARIAN AT THE MINNEAPOLISCOLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, LENT HIS EXPERTISE TO THEPROJECT BY REVIEWING BOTH TEXT AND ART. KOHL HASSTUDIED THE ARABIAN NIGHTS TALES AND AUTHORED ANARTICLE ON ONE OF THE STORIES IN THE COLLECTION.

story by marie p. croall

pencils and inks by clint hilinski

coloring by hi-fi colour design

lettering by marshall dillon and terri delgado

consultant: allan t. kohl, m.a., minneapolis college of art and design

Copyright © 2008 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Graphic UniverseTM is a trademark of LernerPublishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured.No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise—without the prior writtenpermission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in anacknowledged review.

Graphic UniverseTM

A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.241 First Avenue NorthMinneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.

Website address: www.lernerbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Croall, Marie P.Ali Baba: fooling the forty thieves : an Arabian

tale : story / by Marie P. Croall ; pencils and inks byClint Hilinski.

p. cm. — (Graphic myths and legends)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN: 978–0–8225–7525–2 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)I. Hilinski, Clint. II. Ali Baba (Folk tale)

III. Arabian nights. IV. Title. PZ8.C9694A1 2008398’.352—dc22 2007019741

Manufactured in the United States of America1 2 3 4 5 6 – JR – 13 12 11 10 09 08

eISBN-13: 978-0-7613-3993-9

table of contents

ali baba and the forest . . . 7

inside the cave . . . 12

kasim and his wife . . . 17

morgiana and the tailor . . . 27

the captain’s plan . . . 34

morgiana’s dance . . . 39

glossary and pronunciation guide . . . 46

further reading and websites . . . 47

creating ali baba: fooling the forty thieves . . . 47

index . . . 48

about the author and the artist . . . 48

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allah: the word for God in theIslamic faith

foil: to stop or to defeat

merchant: someone who makes moneyby selling goods

mourning: to be very sad for someonewho has died

pauper (paw-puhr): a very poorperson

Persia: modern-day Iran

rogue (rohg): a dishonest person

scimitar (sih-meh-tahr): a swordwith a curved blade

shroud: a cloth used to wrap a bodyfor burial

suet (soo-it): animal fat

glossary and pronunciation guide

46

original pencil sketch from page 9

further reading and websites

Croall, Marie P. Sinbad: Sailing Into Peril. Minneapolis: Graphic Universe,2008. Read all about the adventures of Sinbad, another character from theArabian Nights stories.

Hurwitz, Johanna. The Adventures of Ali Baba Bernstein. New York: Morrow,1985. When David Bernstein decides to change his name to Ali Baba, all kindsof strange and exciting things begin to happen.

Smith, Philip. Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Nights Stories. New York:Dover, 1993. This book contains six Arabian Nights tales, including AliBaba and the Forty Thieves.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieveshttp://www.pitt.edu/~dash/alibaba.htmlAt this website, you can read the story of Ali Baba online.

Global Connections: The Middle Easthttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/index.htmlThis site features detailed information on the Middle East—the region of theworld where the Arabian Nights tales began.

47

creating ali baba: fooling the forty thievesTo create the story of Ali Baba, author Marie P. Croall relied heavily onArabian Nights Volume I: The Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and OneNights, adapted from Richard F. Burton’s unexpurgated translation by Jack Zipes.Artist Clint Hilinski referred to multiple historical resources and worked closelywith art historian Allan T. Kohl to make the story’s rich imagery come alive.

index

48

about the author and the artist

marie p. croall lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her loving husband and fourwonderful cats. She has written for Marvel, DC, Moonstone Books, Devil’sDue, and Harris Comics. She has also completed a self-published graphicnovel and a short film. Croall has spent much of her life reading fables andlegends from the Middle East and Asia and enjoys discovering new thingsabout different cultures.

clint hilinski grew up in Esko, Minnesota, where he became interested in art atan early age. He continued studying art at the University of Wisconsin,Superior, where he received his bachelor’s degree in fine art. Hilinski’sinfluences include Jim Lee, Alan Davis, and Adam Hughes. He has workedas an illustrator for DC, Image, Dark Horse, and many other companies.Hilinski has worked on titles such as Sinbad, Justice League of America,Xena, Voltron, and GI Joe.

Abdullah, 34–35, 43–45 Ali Baba: encountering the thieves, 7–11;

exploring the cave, 12–13; meetingthe captain of the thieves, 34

Ali Baba’s wife, 6, 14–18, 26–27

Baba Mustafa, 29–32

captain of the thieves, 9–12, 21–22, 31–45cave, 10–13, 20–22, 24–26, 31, 33, 45

forty thieves, 7–11, 21–22, 31, 33–38

gold, 9–10, 12–16, 18–20, 26, 31, 45

Kasim, 6, 18–30Kasim’s son, 40–42, 45Kasim’s wife, 6, 17–19, 23–25, 27

Morgiana, 27–30, 32–36, 38, 42–45

Persia, 6, 20pharmacist, 28

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from the pages of arabian nights . . .. . . comes an amazing tale of chance and adventure.

ALI BABA, A POOR MAN WHO MAKES HIS LIVING SELLING WOOD, STUMBLES UPONA SECRET CAVE WHERE FORTY THIEVES HAVE BEEN HIDING PRICELESS TREASURES. HE DISCOVERS THE TRICK TO ENTERING THE CAVE AND DECIDESTO TAKE SOME TREASURES FOR HIMSELF. BUT WHEN ALIBABA’S WIFE BORROWS A SCALE TO WEIGH THEIRNEWFOUND RICHES, THE SECRET GETS OUT. WILLALI BABA BE ABLE TO KEEP HIS FORTUNE? ORWILL THE BANDITS GET THEIR REVENGE?

GRAPHIC MYTHS AND LEGENDS TITLES:ALI BABA: FOOLING THE FORTY THIEVESAMATERASU: RETURN OF THE SUNARTHUR & LANCELOT: THE FIGHT FOR CAMELOTATALANTA: THE RACE AGAINST DESTINYBEOWULF: MONSTER SLAYERDEMETER & PERSEPHONE: SPRING HELD HOSTAGEGUAN YU: BLOOD BROTHERS TO THE ENDHERCULES: THE TWELVE LABORSTHE HERO TWINS: AGAINST THE LORDS OF DEATHISIS & OSIRIS: TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTHJASON: QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN FLEECEKING ARTHUR: EXCALIBUR UNSHEATHEDODYSSEUS: ESCAPING POSEIDON’S CURSEPERSEUS: THE HUNT FOR MEDUSA’S HEAD

ROBIN HOOD: OUTLAW OF SHERWOOD FORESTSINBAD: SAILING INTO PERILSUNJATA: WARRIOR KING OF MALITHESEUS: BATTLING THE MINOTAURTHOR & LOKI: IN THE LAND OF GIANTSTRISTAN & ISOLDE: THE WARRIOR AND THE PRINCESSTHE TROJAN HORSE: THE FALL OF TROYYU THE GREAT: CONQUERING THE FLOOD