In each flat below, the two answer words differ by only a single letter.

1)
Ali Baba and his men
Roamed the desert way back when
Until they found a hidden spring.
They set up camp and named him king.
And so we see, an _ _ _ _ _ is
The _ _ _ _ _ of the whole darn thing.

2)
A bumper sticker (this is true)
Said, "I'm an _ _ _ _ _ cat _ _ _ _."
Are you?
Would you befriend a stray or two?

Answers:

1. OASIS - BASIS
2. ALLEY - ALLY

Credits:
The Enigma
NPL Magazine
July, 2018 
1. LEXMAN
2. NEXT LINGO