Somewhere below the clouds there is an island called the United Kingdom.

In the south
of this island there is a city called London. In the south of this city there is a small
village. And in this village All of the guests were very scared, including Ali's father, but
they did as they were toThere once lived a small boy called Pukhraj who was the son of
a farmer. The one trouble with PukhYou all look so funny!’ cried the naughty boy. ‘There
is no lion; I was only joking with you, hee hee ha ha!’

The villagers were very angry with Pukhraj, and his father was forced to apologise for
his son’s terrible behaviour because many of the people believed that Pukhraj should be
punished for his actions.

‘You must not tell such lies,’ his father warned. But the young boy was too busy
laughing to pay any attention to his poor father.

On the following morning, as Pukhraj was resting in the shade of a tall tree watching the
cattle grazing in the clearing, he heard a gentle rustling of leaves behind him. When the
young boy turned to see what was making such a noise, he came face to face with a
huge lion. The lion had big claws and menacing eyes and very sharp teeth!

Pukhraj jumped to his feet as quickly as he could and tried to run from the jungle
towards the village, but the lion quickly blocked his escape.

‘Help me, help me!’ screamed the young boy as loud as he could, ‘I am being attacked
by a fierce lion!’

But when the villagers heard the young boy’s cries for help, they did not rush up the
hillside towards the clearing. Not this time. Instead, they returned to their work in the
fields as if nothing had happened.

And so poor Pukhraj was killed by the lion that day because none of the villagers
believed that the naughty boy was telling the truth. He had told too many lies and
laughed at the villagers too many times, and so they did not believe him when he cried
out for help. That is what happens if you tell lies.

raj was that he often told lies to his family and to his friends. He would tell stories of
monsters in the jungle, or he would pretend that there were deadly snakes in the fields,
or that he was too sick to work when he was really not sick at all.

It was the young boy’s job to take his father’s cattle out grazing each morning in a
clearing in the jungle on the edge of a nearby hillside. Pukhraj did not enjoy this job very
much because he found the cattle very boring and often wished that his life was filled
with more fun and adventure. But instead of fun and adventure, Pukhraj found himself
doing the same boring jobs each and every day and this made the young boy very
resentful. And it was this resentment which often caused naughty Pukhraj to invent
stories that were not true.
One day, when the young boy was especially bored with looking after the cattle in the
clearing, he decided to have a joke with the people of the village.

‘I shall pretend that I am being attacked by a lion,’ thought Pukhraj. And all of a sudden
the young boy began to scream as loud as he could ... ‘Help me, help me!’ he cried. ‘I
am being attacked by a fierce lion!’

At once, the brave villagers all rushed up the hillside towards the clearing so that they
could save young Pukhraj from the lion. But when they arrived in the clearing there was
no lion at all, just the young boy rolling around on the ground, laughing to himself at
what a joke he had made.

The villagers were very disappointed in Pukhraj and warned him that such jokes were
not sensible. But the naughty boy was too busy laughing to pay any notice to such
warnings.

A little time passed and life returned to its normal routine: Pukhraj took care of the cattle
each morning by taking them out to graze in the jungle, and each evening he would
return the cattle to his father’s field before dinner. But young Pukhraj was still restless,
still resentful of his boring life of work and routine. And so, one quiet morning, he
decided to play the same trick on the villagers.

Once he had reached the clearing in the jungle, once he was sure the timing was just
perfect, he began to scream as loud as he could.

‘Help me, help me!’ cried the naughty boy, ‘I am being attacked by a fierce lion! Please
come and save me!’

The men and women working in the fields at the edge of the village all ran up the
hillside towards the clearing in order to save the cattle and the young boy from the fierce
lion. But when they reached the clearing, there was no lion at all. Once again Pukhraj
was found rolling around on the ground in fits of

ld and began reaching for their wallets and jewellery, placing them on the tables to be
collected by the thieves.

Suddenly, there was a very loud and very deep voice from out of nowhere.

'Drop your guns!' commanded the voice. 'I am coming in there and I am going to catch
you and give you over to the police.'

Nobody knew where the voice was coming from. The thieves looked all around the
dining room but could not find a soul.

Then the voice came again, even louder this time. 'I will make you pay for your wicked
ways. I will make sure that you spend many years in prison.'
Because the thieves could not tell where the voice was coming from, they convinced
themselves that it must belong to a ghost.

And if there was one thing the thieves were scared of even more than the police, it was
ghosts.

All of a sudden, the thieves dropped their guns and ran from the hotel and disappeared
into the night.

Even though the guests were happy that the robbers had fled, they too were afraid of
ghosts and wanted to run away to their rooms and hide.

'Do not worry,' said Ali's father. 'It is not a ghost that is talking. It is my son.'

And with that, the old man reached into his pocket so that Ali could climb into his hand.
Then he placed Ali gently down on the table so that all of the guests might say hello.

'I am sure the robbers will not return,' said Ali in his deep, booming voice, a big smile on
his face due to all of the adventures he was having.

The guests were very surprised and very curious to meet a boy who was no bigger than
a thumb.

But more than anything, they were all very grateful to Ali for saving them from the
thieves, and they thanked him and shook his hand and said to his father how proud he
must be to have such a brave son.

In the morning, as they left the hotel for the market, Ali's father took his little son out of
his pocket and placed him up on his shoulder.

All morning at the market, and then on the way home, the old man had to stop many
times to introduce Ali to passersby. And he was very proud and told them all how his
son had saved everybody from the three thieves.

When father and son arrived home that evening, Ali's mother looked very worried that
Ali was sitting up on her husband's shoulder.

'What if somebody should see him?' she asked her husband.

But the old man smiled and explained to his wife what adventures the pair had
experienced at the hotel, and how Ali had saved the day and scared off the thieves.

'It has been a very great mistake to be ashamed of our son. We should not have kept
him hidden in the house for all these years. We should be proud of Ali and all of the
things that he is capable of doing.'

Ali's mother was indeed very proud when she heard the story of her son's bravery, and
promised never to hide him away or be ashamed ever again.
Ever since that day, Ali Thumb has always travelled on his parents' shoulders wherever
they go, and he has seen and done many things and had many adventures.

there liEach evening Ali Baba went out to gather twigs and branches for his wife so
thaey are abOnce upon a time, a couple had a baby boy whom they called Ali.

The baby came as a surprise to his parents, because when he was born he was no
bigger than a thumb!

The mother and father were both very upset to begin with, but then they thought to
themselves,

'This is what God has given us, and one day our son will grow up to be a big, strong
boy.'

But the years passed and Ali did not grow at all. He remained as little as a thumb.

Every evening at dinner, the mother would set a place at the table for her son.

She would place a tiny plate in front of him and fill it with a teaspoon full of soup.

Ali also had a tiny cup which his mother filled with a single drop of water.

Everything was fine when the family were at home, but the mother and father were
ashamed of their son, thinking that if anybody saw him they would tease the young boy.
So they kept him indoors, always hidden from view.

Many more years passed and eventually Ali celebrated his twentieth birthday.

He was still as little as a thumb, but his voice had grown very deep and very loud.

In fact, if anybody was ever to hear their son speak, they would think it was the voice of
a giant man.

Ali was a very sad young man because he had no friends and had to spend all of his
time hiding inside of his parent's house.

One day, Ali's father was getting ready to go to the market in the next town. The old
man planned on spending the night in a hotel because he would not be able to make
the journey there and back before nightfall.

Ali pleaded with his father to take him along on the journey, but his father looked very
anxious at the idea.

'We never took you out until this day and I am not sure that I can do it now,' he said.
'How can I protect you and hide you from other people?'

'It will be easy,' answered Ali, in his deep, booming voice. 'You can keep me in your
pocket and nobody will ever know I am there. You can make a little hole in the material
so I can breathe and so that I can see what is going on and enjoy all the new sights of
the world.'

Ali's father realised how excited Ali was at the idea of leaving the house, and because of
this he found it impossible to say no to his only son.

The old man made a very small hole in his shirt pocket and helped Ali to climb inside.

The mother handed over the bags for the journey and kissed them both and wished
them good luck. Then Ali and his father set off towards the market in the neighbouring
town.

After travelling all day, Ali and his father came to the hotel by the side of the road.

'We will get ourselves a room here for the night,' said the father, 'and tomorrow we will
go to the market early in the morning before returning back home.'

'I cannot believe I get to stay in a hotel!' exclaimed Ali.

The young man was very excited because he had seen so much on his journey already
and he had never slept anywhere apart from his home.

Ali's father paid for a room and took his bags up the stairs to prepare for dinner.

After the old man had unpacked and washed, and with Ali still hidden in his pocket, he
went down to the dining room in the hope that he might also sneak some food for his
little son.

Then something quite unexpected happened. Just as all of guests had seated
themselves for dinner, a group of thieves entered the hotel.

The mean-looking men, three in all, pointed guns and gave orders that every man and
woman should

out to hide their loot.’

The thieves lined up behind their leader. They were right in front of the steep rocky cliff.

‘How silly!’ Ali Baba thought. ‘There is nowhere to hide treasure here.’

At that moment, one of the riders spoke loudly.

'Open Sesame!' he cried.

Suddenly, a secret door in the rock opened. The forty riders entered a hidden cave.
They were going to hide the treasure they had stolen.

When they were all inside, the leader shouted, ‘Close Sesame!’
The secret door closed again with the thieves hidden safely inside.

Ali Baba waited, hidden in his treetop until the riders came out of the cave again. He
counted carefully to make sure that they were all out.

‘One … two … three … four,’ and many, many, many more until he reached thirty-nine.

Last of all came the leader. When he stood outside the cave, he again said, ‘Close
Sesame!’

The secret rock door closed.

Ali Baba peered through the leaves. He was amazed to see how perfectly the door fitted
into the rock.

The thieves put the empty saddlebags over their horses. Then they set off, one by one.

Ali Baba counted to make sure that they had all gone. ‘One … two … three … four,’ and
many, many, many more until he reached forty. Then he listened until he could no
longer hear any hooves clattering – he was safe!

Ali Baba climbed down the tree and walked up to the rocky cliff. He was curious to
discover if the magic door would open for him if he said the special word. Would he be
brave enough to try?

Ali Baba stood there. He looked at the rocky cliff. He thought about all the treasure in
the cave, and he thought about the forty thieves. He couldn’t hear anything at all.

At last, he decided, ‘I must be safe now. So I shall be brave and say the magic words
out loud.’

Then Ali Baba went close to the rocky cliff.

‘Open Sesame!’ he said. The door opened.

Ali Baba could see steps leading down. Little lamps of burning oil lit the stairway. He
was just about to descend the steps when he remembered. The leader of the thieves
had spoken two words to close the magic door.

Ali Baba decided that he should shut the magic door too. It would not be a good idea for
anyone else to see the entrance to the cave of treasure.

‘Close Sesame!’ he cried, and the magic door slid shut.

After that, Ali Baba crept down the stone steps until he reached the treasure cave. He
gazed all around in amazement. There were thousands of sparkling jewels in great
heaps: diamonds, rubies, emeralds and every other sort of precious gem. Then there
was gold! Ali Baba’s eyes grew wide in wonder when he saw the vast piles of gold
coins.
However, Ali Baba was not greedy. He didn’t want the diamonds, or the rubies or the
emeralds. Although Ali Baba was a poor man, he had no desire to take all the gold
coins. He wanted just one little gold coin. It would be enough to buy food for himself and
his family.

So Ali Baba took one small coin and ran back up the stone steps. At the top, he took a
deep breath.

'Open Sesame!' he gasped.

Immediately the magic door opened. With a sigh of relief, Ali Baba hurried outside. Then
he turned and called out the magic words.

‘Close Sesame!’

The door slid shut. Ali Baba was safe.

However, there was something Ali Baba did not know. His brother, Kassim, had also
come to find firewood. Kassim had seen Ali Baba come out of the cave and speak some
magic words. He had seen the magic rock door close.

‘Oh, Ali Baba! My brother! What is this magic that I have just seen?’

Ali Baba told his brother everything. He warned Kassim that the forty thieves might
return any minute. So they both gathered up armfuls of firewood, and they hurried
home, each to their own house.

Ali Baba was pleased to have his one small gold coin. His wife was also pleased to
have one small gold coin. However, in the house next door, Kassim was not pleased.
He was greedy. Kassim told his wife all

t she had enough firewood to cook the stew for dinner.

One day, Ali Baba went further than usual to hunt for fallen branches beneath the trees
that grew beside the rocky cliffs near the high hills.

Suddenly, he heard a great clatter of hooves on the rocky path. He was afraid. He
climbed the nearest tree and hid among the leaves.

He was well hidden but was able to peer between the leaves. He was astonished to see
a long line of men on horseback, riding one behind the other.

Ali Baba counted them as they rode beneath the tree where he hid.

‘One … two … three … four,’ and many, many more, until he had counted forty.

Finally, the forty riders reached a cliff face. They dismounted and removed the
saddlebags from their horses’ backs. Ali Baba noticed that the bags were bulging.
‘Perhaps the bags are full of treasure,’ thought

ves an eleven year old boy called Adem.

No, no. His name is not Adam. It is ‘Adem’. That’s right, there is an ‘e’ instead of an ‘a’
just before the last letter ‘m’. Adem is a Turkish name. Both Adam and Adem mean ‘the
first man in the world.’

Adem is a curious boy who loves reading. He reads all kinds of story books. He
also reads The Guinness Book of World Records. This is his favourite.

The young boy loves to talk about the things he reads in the book of records. If Adem
were here now, he would already be talking about Sultan Kosen of Turkey who is eight
foot and one inch tall. Sultan Kosen is the tallest living man in the Guinness world book
of records!

Hey look! Here is Adem coming out from school with his two best friends, Ben
and Jonathan. Adem is the one with dark hair, olive skin and beautiful blue eyes.
You cannot miss him because Ben and Jonathan are both blond boys with fair skin.

Adem’s father is Turkish and his mother is English. He got his looks from his father, but
his eyes are the same colour as his mother’s.

Adem hears someone say ‘Merhaba’. He turns around and waves at his Turkish friend,
Metin. Then Adem replies by saying, ‘Merhaba!’ This word means hello in Turkish. The
first Turkish word Adem ever learnt to say was ‘Baba’. It means Dad.

One day, when Adem was a little boy, he asked his Baba, ‘Am I English or Turkish, or
am I half of each?’

His Baba thought about this question for a moment, then answered, ‘You are not half of
anything, my son. You are both full Turkish and full English.’

Adem liked this answer very much.

Adem gives a high five to Ben and Jonathan and then approaches us and walks beside
us along the pavement. He smiles up at us. ‘Did you know that in June 2003 a Turkish
man called Muhammed Rashid entered the Guinness Book of World Records with
his moustache that was over five feet long! That is a very long moustache,’ says Adem,
his smile becoming even bigger. ‘My Baba has a big moustach