Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
The most famous treasure cave in all of storytelling
A poor woodcutter discovers the secret cave of forty thieves and must outwit them to survive.
Arabian Nights
Magical tales of genies, sultans, and adventures from 1001 Nights
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
A street boy, a genie, and the price of wishes
A poor boy finds a magic lamp and must learn that having unlimited wishes doesn't mean having unlimited wisdom.
The Fisherman and the Jinni
When a poor man outsmarts an immortal being
A fisherman pulls up a sealed bottle from the sea and releases a furious jinni who has waited 400 years.
Sinbad the Sailor: The First Voyage
The voyage that started a legend
A young merchant sets sail for the first time and discovers that the island he lands on is not an island at all.
The Ebony Horse
A flying machine from a thousand years ago
A prince receives a mechanical flying horse and must learn its secrets before time runs out.
About the Arabian Nights
The Arabian Nights, also called One Thousand and One Nights, is a collection of tales gathered over many centuries from Persia, Arabia, India and Egypt. The frame story tells of Scheherazade, who keeps a king listening night after night by leaving each story unfinished at dawn.
Some of the most famous stories, including Aladdin and Ali Baba, were added by the French translator Antoine Galland in the early 1700s, based on tales he heard from a storyteller from Aleppo. That history is part of what makes the collection interesting: it is a meeting point of many cultures rather than the work of one author.
Our versions are shortened, family-friendly retellings. We keep the adventure, the genies and the clever escapes, and leave out the violent passages found in some older translations.
Reading tips for parents and teachers
- These stories are longer, so read them over two or three nights, just like Scheherazade.
- Ask children which thing saved the hero: luck, magic or quick thinking.
- Older readers can discuss what the stories show about trade, travel and city life in the medieval Middle East.