Some critics believe that this story was added to One Thousand and One Nights by one of its European translators, Antoine Galland, an 18th-century French orientalist who may have heard it in oral form from a Middle Eastern story-teller from Aleppo, in modern day Syria. In any case, the first known text of the story is Galland's French version. Richard F. Burton, however, claimed it to be part of the original One Thousand and One Nights.

I am not sure if the author was ever identified or not:) I think this fable may have just been passed down for generations and generations and it has always been told by somebody's grandmother to their kids and them to their kids and so on and so forth. Because i have a project to do and need to write a paragraph on the author....................... i think i should prob choose a different fable.

Written by Syed Mastan Shah Ghamgeen.

Some Middle Eastern story-teller from Aleppo, in modern day Syria name not known to any one

Ali-- Baba-- still remains a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali-- Baba-- and the Forty Thieves. Some believe that this story was added to One Thousand and One Nights by one of its European translators, Antoine Galland, an 18th-century French orientalist who may have heard it in oral format from a Middle Eastern story-teller from Aleppo region. There is to this day no way of correctly identifying the originator of the story as these storey's were considered "camp fire" stories" often told to pass away some hours. Each story as in the case of many were added to and embellished as each story teller saw appropriate to keep his audience on the edge of their seats