As they shared equally the little their father left them, it seemed that their means should have been equal. But luck had it otherwise, for Qasim married a woman who, shortly after their marriage, inherited a well-stocked shop, a storehouse filled with fine goods, and much wealth buried in the ground. Thus Qasim became a wealthy man, one of the richest merchants of the city. ’Ali Baba, on the other hand, married a woman who was as poor as he was and lived in great poverty, and his only means to earn a living and support himself and his children was to cut firewood in a neighboring forest and sell it in town, loaded on three asses, which were his only possessions. One day, ’Ali Baba was in the forest, having cut enough wood to load his asses with, when he saw a great cloud of dust rising high in the air and moving toward him. When he looked closely, he saw a troop of horsemen advancing rapidly. Although there had not been any mention of bandits in these parts, ’Ali Baba thought that these horsemen might well be.
