Orion1THE THIEF OF BAGDAD
AN ARABIAN NIGHTS FANTASY
HAPPINESS MUST BE EARNED
Praise be to Allah- the Beneficent King-
The Creator of the Universe-
...Lord of the Three Worlds!
The Koran
Verily the works of those gone
before us have become
instances and examples to men
of our modern day,
that folk may view what admonishing chances
befel other folk and may there...
from take the warning.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
A street in Bagdad, dream city
of the ancient East...
If it be his purse, let
him tell what is in it.
'Tis empty.
The magic basket...
The magic rope of Ispahбn...
...woven from a witch's hair in
the caverns of the Jinn.
Come to prayer! Come to prayer!
Come to prayer!
O true believers, gathered in...
...this sacred mosque,
earn thy happiness...
...in the name of the
true God...
Toil... for by toil the sweets
...of human life are found
Thou liest!
What I want - I take.
My reward is here.
Paradise is a fool's dream and Allah is a myth.
Honest citizens of Bagdad,
...here is a thief to be flogged.
Let all thieves beware! Four
and twenty lashes for the
stealing of this jewel.
Alms! O ye merciful!
Alms!
Rouse yourself, bird of evil.
I have brought home treasure.
It is a magic rope. With it we can
scale the highest walls.
In far eastern Asia, a Mongol Prince
in his...
...Palace at Ho Sho...
The Palace of the Caliph of Bagdad.
It shall be mine. What
I want - I take.
Celestial Majesty, at the next moon,
...suitors do go to Bagdad,
...seeking in marriage its royal Princess.
The gods of our dynasty
direct us.
We shall enter Bagdad
as a suitor.
Open wide the gates of Bagdad!
Open wide the gates of Bagdad!
We be porters bound for
the Palace of the Caliph.
We bear gifts and viands to feast
the suitors who, on the tomorrow,
..e to woo our Princess.
Tonight - with the magic rope.
Beasts and scimitars
guard the Palace.
When night reaches
its noon...
The Princess sleeps.
The treasure-where is it?
'This here-
The melody of the oriental night
dies in the dawn.
And it is morning-.
It is the birthday of our Princess...
and royal suitors come from all the East
to seek her hand in marriage.
On the balcony of the Princess,
a slave girl reads a fortune-
The sands of Mecca
shape a rose.
This is the meaning:
Thou wilt wed the suitor who first
toucheth the rose-tree in thy garden.
'This here-
'This here-
Nizzy noodle!
He's turned love-bird.
She is a rare jewel, my love-bird.
Something beyond your reach,
you prince of thieves.
Yet- once upon a time- a Princesa
was stolen from a Palace...
under the very eye of Harun-al-Rashid.
They found a way into the Palace
and, with a subtle drug, they...
...drowsed her and carrier her away.
The suitors are at the Palace gates.
The Prince of the Indies whose palace
is covered with an hundred thousand rubies.
He glowers. I like him not -
with all his rubies.
Allah grant he touch
not the rose-tree.
He touched not the rose-tree.
In the bazaars of the sleepy merchants,
thy nimble fingers can ...
...procure us princely raiment.
The Prince of Persia whose fathers
fought at Feyjoo...
...five hundred years ago.
He's fat and gross as if he fed on lard.
Praise Allah! He touched not the rose-tree.
The bazaars of the merchants...
Cham Shang the Great,
Prince of Mongols, King of Ho Sho...
...Governor of Wah Hoo
and the Island of Wak.
Bagdad is a mighty city.
Fail I to win the Princess,
it shall be mine by strategy.
O horrible! He chills
my blood with fear!
Ahmed, Prince of the Isles, of the
Seas, and of the Seven Palaces.
Ahmed, Prince of the Isles, of the
Seas, and of the Seven Palaces.
See how he rides -
a Prince indeed!
'This he would make me happy. Allah
guide him to touch the rose.
Ahmed, Prince of the Isles, of the
Seas, and of the Seven Palaces.
There's no such rank nor title.
Celestial Majesty,
the superstition of the Princess...
...centers on that rose-tree.
Fail not to touch