How many thieves died of boiling oil (not any Disney version, please!)?

BRY2K

In the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, a slave girl kills thirty-seven thieves by pouring boiling oil into the oil jars in which they are hiding. (This too Disney-esque an answer, Baloo?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_to_death Aug 19 08, 2:31 PM

zbeckabee

Soon the thieves came back. They brought nineteen mules. Each mule was carrying two big oil jars made of leather. "Well done, men!" said the captain. He now told his thirty-seven thieves to hide themselves in the thirty-seven empty oil jars. The captain disguised himself as an oil merchant. He drove his nineteen mules into town and went to Ali Baba's house. Ali Baba and his oldest son were sitting outside, enjoying the cool evening air. [Later that evening] -- Morgiana disguised her voice. She wanted to sound like the captain. She whispered, "Not yet!" Morgiana went from jar to jar. Thirty-seven times she heard a man's voice saying, "Is it time?" And thirty-seven times she whispered, "Not yet!" When she came to the thirty-eighth jar, she found that it was full of oil. She filled her lamp and went back into the kitchen. "I must act quickly," she thought. "Or we'll all be killed!" Now Morgiana took a big pot. She went into the courtyard and filled it with oil. She boiled the oil in that big pot on the stove. Then she took the boiling oil into the courtyard. She went from jar to jar. She lifted the lid of each jar just a bit. Into each jar she poured some boiling oil. Then she closed the lid again. In this way she killed all the thieves on the spot. http://www.4to40.com/story/index.asp?id=181 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Baba_and_the_Forty_Thieves#Adaptations Aug 19 08, 5:06 PM

Baloo55th

Nice work both of you. 37, of course, as two have already been killed by their own comrades, and the leader of the band wasn't in a jar. Aug 20 08, 11:21 AM