ALIBABA AND 40 THIEVES

Aired:Jul. 18 1971

Once upon a time there was a small kingdom named Alibaba. The present king is a low-class scoundrel who has used up all the kingdom’s treasures.All that remains is an old oil lamp. Rubbing it by accident one day a genie appears before the king. He vows to do the King’s bidding, but confesses that he is deathly afraid of cats. King Alibaba orders his soldiers to round up all the cats in the Kingdom and imprison them in the "open sesame" cave.Al Huck, who carries a small rat on his shoulder named Kajiru, tires of the King’s many terrible actions. One day he helps stray cats escape and is sought by the king’s soldiers.Dora, leader of the stray cats tells Al Huck not to run away. "Your ancestor was the leader of the forty thieves before. This is your chance to topple the wicked king from his throne", he says. Kajiru and his rat friends also plead with him to stay and flight as his ancestors once served the Huck family.One night Al Huck, the cats and rats meet. Kajiru brings an old carpet. Showing it to the group he tells them, "This is a magic carpet. It was the only treasure my ancestors could keep from being taken by king Alibaba".Al Huck and Kajiru take off for the king’s castle, but the carpet has engine trouble and they are caught by the genie.In the meantime, the cats turn themselves into birds through self-hypnosis and fly over the walls into the castle. They turn back into cats and the genie flees in fear. The cats then attack the soldiers and after a fierce battle Al Huck and the cats defeat the wicked king and his soldiers and peaceful days return to the kingdom of Alibaba.