Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves Page #3

the son of Hassan,

the friend whom you betrayed

to the Mongols.

Hassan is dead.

Speak no more of him.

His memory lives,

and I will avenge his death.

By noon tomorrow

you will be dead.

Nay.

Tomorrow I will see the moon rise,

and yet another moonrise.

And in the end,

I will point the way

for the vultures to find your body.

Jamiel, your eyes will be burned

from your head

if you are discovered here.

I thought you'd like to know,

the thief is tied in the marketplace.

He dies tomorrow.

What is that to me?

You would not let him die

cursing your name.

He thinks it was you

who led him into this trap.

What would you have me do?

You could have a word

with the prisoner.

Are you mad?

I cannot go to the marketplace

to speak to a thief.

The thief is a follower of Ali Baba.

He dies because he dared to defy

the Mongol tyrants.

Is he not worthy of your comfort?

He's a fool to die for a lost cause.

Should he then live a slave?

Is it better to live taxed

and trampled on than to die a man?

I have known

the tortures of chains,

as I know the value of freedom.

These thieves...

will be remembered long after

the Mongols are driven out.

You will come, my Lady.

Please.

Now you come to torment me,

beloved of the Butcher.

Beloved of the!

I came to tell you I did not know of

the trap that was laid for you.

What does that matter?

The Mongols were hiding at the pool

and they took me.

I cannot let you die thinking that

I delivered you to the soldiers.

Hundreds die in Baghdad every day.

Why should one more matter?

And that one, a thief?

Because hundreds die

and I can do nothing about it.

I want you to know that

I'd never betray you

or any follower of...

of anyone.

Must you torture me

with your lies?

Why would the future

queen of Baghdad

risk discovery to torture you?

Why come to the marketplace

to lie to a thief?

Why, indeed?

Except to trick me into telling you

the hiding place of Ali Baba.

Return to your Butcher

and tell him that neither you

nor Cassim will ever

wring the secret from me.

Again you come before me

with evil tidings.

Again you tell me

these robbers have escaped.

I send troops there,

I send an expedition here,

I set traps for them.

And what happens?

My entire army is not capable of

dealing with forty thieves.

We outnumber them,

we ride them down,

we surround them, we charge,

only to face each other.

They disappear into thin air,

O Mighty One!

Craven liar!

The truth is not in you.

And now they come within

the walls of Baghdad itself.

Under the nose of my own guards

they ride into Baghdad

to rescue the only member

of their band we've ever captured.

And to steal the betrothed

of Hulagu Khan.

By the thousand one-eyed kings,

I'll have their heads for it.

Their heads, or yours!

We must take him back

into the cave, Ali.

Nay, let me die as I have lived,

here in the open desert

under the stars.

A little wine, Old Baba.

It will strengthen you.

My strength is spent.

You will live to ride

with us again, Old Baba.

Many times.

You will ride again, my son.

Again and again until the Mongols

are driven from Baghdad.

Without you to lead us,

we will never triumph.

For 10 years

you have led this band.

When he came to us

we were thieves, despised...

and feared by the people.

Now we are loved and honored.

You tire yourself, Old Baba.

There are things I must say

before I leave you.

Return to Baghdad, my son.

You cannot escape your destiny.

Avenge your father

and free your people.

They must throw off the tyrant.

Remember, Abdullah,

you are still his nursemaid.

Forty and one for all.

Allah be with you, my son.

We found a spy at the outpost

near the Great Rock.

- What was he doing there?

- Following our trail.

I am no spy!

Release him.

I know not who you are,

but once you were kind to me.

You brought me water

when I was a prisoner.

And your knife saved my life

in the marketplace.

Why? Why did you do these things?

When I brought the water to

your cage in the caravan,

I did not know who you were,

but I would've died

for any follower of Ali Baba.

She whom you serve

will soon be Queen of Baghdad.

Why should you be willing

to die for Ali Baba?

Because I have seen what

the Mongols do to our people,

and have heard the songs

sung in secret,

songs in praise of Ali Baba.

Let me join your band.

Are we a wandering tribe of nomads?

Do we collect lazy desert rats

as we go?

Desert rats did you say, Abdullah?

By the Prophet,

I'll slice him to little pieces.

Your choice.

Sharp, aren't they?

I'll let you go this time.

Abdullah!

The terror of Baghdad!

You're very clever with your knives.

But how do I know

you've not come from the Khan?

Set me a task,

that I may prove it.

Think you can trust him, Ali?

You can trust me

as you can trust your own eyes.

I will not fail you, Ali Baba.

Are you well-known in Baghdad?

Aye. I can move freely

within the gates.

No-one will question me.

Good. Then you'll deliver

my message to the Khan.

- The Khan?

- Aye.

I've written that if he delivers

Cassim to me by noon tomorrow,

I shall return him his bride.

Now we buy traitors

in the open market.

A female beauty

for the grand vizier!

The Khan must deliver Cassim

to his own riverbank estate.

We will await them there.

They'll set a trap for us, Ali.

Then we shall post sentries

to warn us.

Go, and Allah be with you.

We must move quickly before

they have time to set a trap.

Abdullah, bring the girl.

Men! On to the house

of the traitor Cassim.

Close, oh Sesame!

Why have you brought me here?

If all goes well,

you'll be returned

to your beloved

by noon tomorrow.

And if all doesn't go well...

Why don't you kill me

and be done with it?

While we hold you alive,

the Khan must hear our demands.

What have your demands

to do with me?

That's not yours to question.

Where are you going?

Is one permitted to go into

one's own gardens?

Yes.

Why do you give her

all this freedom?

If you were her prisoner,

she'd serve you baked,

sliced and on a platter.

Strange are the fortunes of war

which place the thief

beside the Khan's beloved.

I'm curious to know why one

so beautiful, so young,

should marry the ruthless Khan.

I shall be queen in Baghdad.

Does that mean more to you

than love, than happiness?

Why are you suddenly

so kind and gentle?

My memory is long.

I can recall a country

when the Mongol scourge

was only a fantastic nightmare.

When the people lived

to dream and love,

not to torment and destroy.

Strange that Ali Baba

should speak of dreams.

A man without his dreams

withers and grows old.

In the midst of terror,

the memory of other days is sweet.

Aye.

There was a beautiful garden

where two children played.

The moonlight was reflected

on the water.

As it is reflected

in your eyes now.

For a moment you made me forget

that you are Ali Baba, the thief.

If these are to be my last moments,

let me live them in peace.

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