Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
There once lived a poor tailor, who had a son
called Aladdin,
a careless, idle boy who would do nothing but
play all day long in
the streets with little idle boys like himself.
This so grieved the
father that he died; yet, in spite of his mother's
tears and prayers,
Aladdin did not mend his ways. One day, when
he was playing in the
streets as usual, a stranger asked him his age,
and if he was not
the son of Mustapha the tailor. "I am, sir,"
replied Aladdin;
"but he died a long while ago." On
this the stranger, who was
a famous African magician, fell on his neck and
kissed him saying:
"I am your uncle, and knew you from your
likeness to my brother.
Go to your mother and tell her I am coming."
Aladdin ran home
and told his mother of his newly found uncle.
"Indeed, child," she
said, "your father had a brother, but I always
thought he was dead."
However, she prepared supper, and bade Aladdin
seek his uncle,
who came laden with wine and fruit. He fell down
and kissed the
place where Mustapha used to sit, bidding Aladdin's
mother not to
be surprised at not having seen him before, as
he had been forty
years out of the country. He then turned to Aladdin,
and asked
him his trade, at which the boy hung his head,
while his mother
burst into tears. On learning that Aladdin was
idle and would
learn no trade, he offered to take a shop for
him and stock it with
merchandise. Next day he bought Aladdin a fine
suit of clothes and
took him all over the city, showing him the sights,
and brought him home
at nightfall to his mother, who was overjoyed
to see her son so fine.
Next day the magician led Aladdin into some beautiful
gardens a
long way outside the city gates. They sat down
by a fountain and
the magician pulled a cake from his girdle, which
he divided
between them. Then they journeyed onwards till
they almost reached
the mountains. Aladdin was so tired that he begged
to go back,
but the magician beguiled him with pleasant stories
and lead him
on in spite of himself. At last they came to
two mountains
divided by a narrow valley. "We will go
no farther," said
his uncle. "I will show you something wonderful;
only do you
gather up sticks while I kindle a fire."
When it was lit the
magician threw on it a powder he had about him,
at the same time
saying some magical words. The earth trembled
a little in front
of them, disclosing a square flat stone with a
brass ring in the
middle to raise it by. Aladdin tried to run away,
but the
magician caught him and gave him a blow that knocked
him down.
"What have I done, uncle?" he said piteously;
whereupon the
magician said more kindly: "Fear nothing,
but obey me. Beneath
this stone lies a treasure which is to be yours,
and no one else
may touch it, so you must to exactly as I tell
you." At the word
treasure Aladdin forgot his fears, and grasped
the ring as he was
told, saying the names of his father and grandfather.
The stone
came up quite easily, and some steps appeared.
"Go down," said
the magician; "at the foot of those steps
you will find an open
door leading into three large halls. Tuck up
your gown and go
through them without touching anything, or you
will die instantly.
These halls lead into a garden of fine fruit trees.
Walk on till
you come to niche in a terrace where stands a
lighted lamp. Pour
out the oil it contains, and bring it me."
He drew a ring from
his finger and gave it to Aladdin, bidding him
prosper.
Aladdin found everything as the magician had said,
gathered some
fruit off the trees, and, having got the lamp,
arrived at the
mouth of the cave. The magician cried out in
a great hurry:
"Make haste and give me the lamp."
This Aladdin refused to do until
he was out of the cave. The magician flew into
a terrible passion,
and throwing some more powder on to the fire,
he said something,
and the stone rolled back into its place.
The man left the country, which plainly showed
that he was no
uncle of Aladdin's but a cunning magician, who
had read in his
magic books of a wonderful lamp, which would make
him the most
powerful man in the world. Though he alone knew
where to find it,
he could only receive it from the hand of another.
He had picked
out the foolish Aladdin for this purpose, intending
to get the
lamp and kill him afterwards.
For two days Aladdin remained in the dark, crying
and lamenting.
At last he clasped his hands in prayer, and in
so doing rubbed
the ring, which the magician had forgotten to
take from him.
Immediately an enormous and frightful genie rose
out of the earth,
saying: "What wouldst thou with me? I am
the Slave of the Ring,
and will obey thee in all things." Aladdin
fearlessly replied,
"Deliver me from this place!" whereupon
the earth opened, and he
found himself outside. As soon as his eyes could
bear the light
he went home, but fainted on the threshold. When
he came to
himself he told his mother what had passed, and
showed her the
lamp and the fruits he had gathered in the garden,
which were in
reality precious stones. He then asked for some
food. "Alas!
child," she said, "I have nothing in
the house, but I have spun a
little cotton and will go sell it." Aladdin
bade her keep her
cotton, for he would sell the lamp instead. As
it was very dirty,
she began to rub it, that it might fetch a higher
price.
Instantly a hideous genie appeared, and asked
what she would have.
She fainted away, but Aladdin, snatching the lamp,
said boldly:
"Fetch me something to eat!" The genie
returned with a silver
bowl, twelve silver plates containing rich meats,
two silver cups,
and two bottles of wine. Aladdin's mother, when
she came to herself,
said: "Whence comes this splendid feast?"
"Ask not, but eat,"
replied Aladdin. So they sat at breakfast till
it was dinner-time,
and Aladdin told his mother about the lamp. She
begged him to sell it,
and have nothing to do with devils. "No,"
said Aladdin, "since chance
hath made us aware of its virtues, we will use
it, and the ring likewise,
which I shall always wear on my finger."
When they had eaten all the
genie had brought, Aladdin sold one of the silver
plates, and so on
until none were left. He then had recourse to
the genie, who gave him
another set of plates, and thus they lived many
years.
One day Aladdin heard an order from the Sultan
proclaimed that
everyone was to stay at home and close his shutters
while the
Princess his daughter went to and from the bath.
Aladdin was
seized by a desire to see her face, which was
very difficult,
as she always went veiled. He hid himself behind
the door of
the bath, and peeped through a chink. The Princess
lifted her veil
as she went in, and looked so beautiful that Aladdin
fell in love
with her at first sight. He went home so changed
that his mother
was frightened. He told her he loved the Princess
so deeply he
could not live without her, and meant to ask her
in marriage of
her father. His mother, on hearing this, burst
out laughing, but
Aladdin at last prevailed upon her to go before
the Sultan and
carry his request. She fetched a napkin and laid
in it the magic
fruits from the enchanted garden, which sparkled
and shone like
the most beautiful jewels. She took these with
her to please the
Sultan, and set out, trusting in the lamp. The
Grand Vizier and
the lords of council had just gone in as she entered
the hall and
placed herself in front of the Sultan. He, however,
took no
notice of her. She went every day for a week,
and stood in the
same place. When the council broke up on the
sixth day the Sultan
said to his Vizier: "I see a certain woman
in the audience-chamber
every day carrying something in a napkin. Call
her next time,
that I may find out what she wants." Next
day, at a sign from
the vizier, she went up to the foot of the throne
and remained
kneeling until the Sultan said to her: "Rise,
good woman, and
tell me what you want." She hesitated, so
the Sultan sent away
all but the Vizier, and bade her speak freely,
promising to
forgive her beforehand for anything she might
say. She then told
him of her son's violent love for the Princess.
"I prayed him to
forget her," she said, "but in vain;
he threatened to do some
desperate deed if I refused to go and ask your
Majesty for the
hand of the Princess. Now I pray you to forgive
not me alone,
but my son Aladdin." The Sultan asked her
kindly what she had in
the napkin, whereupon she unfolded the jewels
and presented them.
He was thunderstruck, and turning to the vizier,
said: "What
sayest thou? Ought I not to bestow the Princess
on one who
values her at such a price?" The Vizier,
who wanted her for his
own son, begged the Sultan to withhold her for
three months, in
the course of which he hoped his son could contrive
to make him a
richer present. The Sultan granted this, and
told Aladdin's
mother that, though he consented to the marriage,
she must not
appear before him again for three months.
Aladdin waited patiently for nearly three months,
but after two
had elapsed, his mother, going into the city to
buy oil, found
everyone rejoicing, and asked what was going on.
"Do you not
know," was the answer, "that the son
of the Grand Vizier is to
marry the Sultan's daughter tonight?" Breathless
she ran and told
Aladdin, who was overwhelmed at first, but presently
bethought
him of the lamp. He rubbed it and the genie appeared,
saying:
"What is thy will?" Aladdin replied:
"The Sultan, as thou knowest,
has broken his promise to me, and the vizier's
son is to have
the Princess. My command is that to-night you
bring hither
the bride and bridegroom." "Master,
I obey," said the genie.
Aladdin then went to his chamber, where, sure
enough, at
midnight the genie transported the bed containing
the vizier's
son and the Princess. "Take this new-married
man," he said, "and
put him outside in the cold, and return at daybreak."
Whereupon
the genie took the vizier's son out of bed, leaving
Aladdin with
the Princess. "Fear nothing," Aladdin
said to her; "you are my
wife, promised to me by your unjust father, and
no harm will come
to you." The Princess was too frightened
to speak, and passed
the most miserable night of her life, while Aladdin
lay down
beside her and slept soundly. At the appointed
hour the genie
fetched in the shivering bridegroom, laid him
in his place,
and transported the bed back to the palace.
Presently the Sultan came to wish his daughter
good-morning.
The unhappy Vizier's son jumped up and hid himself,
while the
Princess would not say a word and was very sorrowful.
The Sultan
sent her mother to her, who said: "How comes
it, child, that you
will not speak to your father? What has happened?"
The Princess
sighed deeply, and at last told her mother how,
during the night,
the bed had been carried into some strange house,
and what had
passed there. Her mother did not believe her in
the least,
but bade her rise and consider it an idle dream.
The following night exactly the same thing happened,
and next
morning, on the Princess's refusing to speak,
the Sultan
threatened to cut off her head. She then confessed
all, bidding
him ask the Vizier's son if it were not so. The
Sultan told the
Vizier to ask his son, who owned the truth, adding
that, dearly
as he loved the Princess, he had rather die than
go through
another such fearful night, and wished to be separated
from her.
His wish was granted, and there was an end of
feasting and rejoicing.
When the three months were over, Aladdin sent
his mother to
remind the Sultan of his promise. She stood in
the same place as
before, and the Sultan, who had forgotten Aladdin,
at once
remembered him, and sent for her. On seeing her
poverty the
Sultan felt less inclined than ever to keep his
word, and asked
his Vizier's advice, who counselled him to set
so high a value on
the Princess that no man living would come up
to it. The Sultan
than turned to Aladdin's mother, saying: "Good
woman, a sultan
must remember his promises, and I will remember
mine, but your
son must first send me forty basins of gold brimful
of jewels,
carried by forty black slaves, led by as many
white ones,
splendidly dressed. Tell him that I await his
answer." The
mother of Aladdin bowed low and went home, thinking
all was lost.
She gave Aladdin the message adding, "He
may wait long enough for
your answer!" "Not so long, mother,
as you think," her son replied.
"I would do a great deal more than that for
the Princess."
He summoned the genie, and in a few moments the
eighty slaves arrived,
and filled up the small house and garden. Aladdin
made them to set
out to the palace, two by two, followed by his
mother. They were so
richly dressed, with such splendid jewels, that
everyone crowded
to see them and the basins of gold they carried
on their heads.
They entered the palace, and, after kneeling before
the Sultan,
stood in a half-circle round the throne with their
arms crossed,
while Aladdin's mother presented them to the Sultan.
He hesitated
no longer, but said: "Good woman, return
and tell your son that I
wait for him with open arms." She lost no
time in telling Aladdin,
bidding him make haste. But Aladdin first called
the genie.
"I want a scented bath," he said, "a
richly embroidered habit,
a horse surpassing the Sultan's, and twenty slaves
to attend me.
Besides this, six slaves, beautifully dressed,
to wait on my mother;
and lastly, ten thousand pieces of gold in ten
purses." No sooner said
then done. Aladdin mounted his horse and passed
through the streets,
the slaves strewing gold as they went. Those
who had played with
him in his childhood knew him not, he had grown
so handsome.
When the sultan saw him he came down from his
throne, embraced him,
and led him into a hall where a feast was spread,
intending
to marry him to the Princess that very day. But
Aladdin refused,
saying, "I must build a palace fit for her,"
and took his leave.
Once home, he said to the genie: "Build
me a palace of the finest
marble, set with jasper, agate, and other precious
stones. In the
middle you shall build me a large hall with a
dome, its four walls
of massy gold and silver, each side having six
windows, whose lattices,
all except one which is to be left unfinished,
must be set with diamonds
and rubies. There must be stables and horses
and grooms and slaves;
go and see about it!"
The palace was finished the next day, and the
genie carried him
there and showed him all his orders faithfully
carried out, even
to the laying of a velvet carpet from Aladdin's
palace to the Sultan's.
Aladdin's mother then dressed herself carefully,
and walked to the
palace with her slaves, while he followed her
on horseback.
The Sultan sent musicians with trumpets and cymbals
to
meet them, so that the air resounded with music
and cheers.
She was taken to the Princess, who saluted her
and treated her with
great honour. At night the princess said good-bye
to her father,
and set out on the carpet for Aladdin's palace,
with his mother
at her side, and followed by the hundred slaves.
She was charmed
at the sight of Aladdin, who ran to receive her.
"Princess," he
said, "blame your beauty for my boldness
if I have displeased you."
She told him that, having seen him, she willingly
obeyed
her father in this matter. After the wedding
had taken place,
Aladdin led her into the hall, where a feast was
spread, and she
supped with him, after which they danced till
midnight.
Next day Aladdin invited the Sultan to see the
palace. On
entering the hall with the four-and-twenty windows
with their
rubies, diamonds and emeralds, he cried, "It
is a world's wonder!
There is only one thing that surprises me. Was
it by accident
that one window was left unfinished?" "No,
sir, by design,"
returned Aladdin. "I wished your Majesty
to have the glory of
finishing this palace." The Sultan was pleased,
and sent for the
best jewelers in the city. He showed them the
unfinished window,
and bade them fit it up like the others. "Sir,"
replied their
spokesman, "we cannot find jewels enough."
The Sultan had his own
fetched, which they soon used, but to no purpose,
for in a month's
time the work was not half done. Aladdin knowing
that their task
was vain, bade them undo their work and carry
the jewels back, and
the genie finished the window at his command.
The Sultan was
surprised to receive his jewels again, and visited
Aladdin, who
showed him the window finished. The Sultan embraced
him, the
envious vizier meanwhile hinting that it was the
work of enchantment.
Aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his
gentle bearing.
He was made captain of the Sultan's armies, and
won several
battles for him, but remained as courteous as
before, and lived
thus in peace and content for several years.
But far away in Africa the magician remembered
Aladdin, and by
his magic arts discovered that Aladdin, instead
of perishing
miserably in the cave, had escaped, and had married
a princess,
with whom he was living in great honour and wealth.
He knew that
the poor tailor's son could only have accomplished
this by means
of the lamp, and travelled night and day till
he reached the
capital of China, bent on Aladdin's ruin. As
he passed through
the town he heard people talking everywhere about
a marvelous
palace. "Forgive my ignorance," he
asked, "what is the palace you
speak of?" Have you not heard of Prince
Aladdin's palace," was
the reply, "the greatest wonder in the world?
I will direct you
if you have a mind to see it." The magician
thanked him who spoke,
and having seen the palace knew that it had been
raised by the Genie
of the Lamp, and became half mad with rage. He
determined to get
hold of the lamp, and again plunge Aladdin into
the deepest poverty.
Unluckily, Aladdin had gone a-hunting for eight
days, which gave
the magician plenty of time. He bought a dozen
lamps, put them
into a basket, and went to the palace, crying:
"New lamps for old!"
followed by a jeering crowd. The Princess, sitting
in the hall of
four-and-twenty windows, sent a slave to find
out what the noise
was about, who came back laughing, so that the
Princess scolded her.
"Madam," replied the slave, "who
can help laughing to see an old fool
offering to exchange fine new lamps for old ones?"
Another slave,
hearing this, said, "There is an old one
on the cornice there which
he can have." Now this was the magic lamp,
which Aladdin had left there,
as he could not take it out hunting with him.
The Princess, not knowing
its value, laughingly bade the slave take it and
make the exchange.
She went and said to the magician: "Give
me a new lamp for this."
He snatched it and bade the slave take her choice,
amid the jeers
of the crowd. Little he cared, but left off crying
his lamps,
and went out of the city gates to a lonely place,
where he remained till
nightfall, when he pulled out the lamp and rubbed
it. The genie
appeared, and at the magician's command carried
him, together with
the palace and the Princess in it, to a lonely
place in Africa.
Next morning the Sultan looked out of the window
towards Aladdin's
palace and rubbed his eyes, for it was gone.
He sent for the
Vizier and asked what had become of the palace.
The Vizier looked
out too, and was lost in astonishment. He again
put it down to
enchantment, and this time the Sultan believed
him, and sent
thirty men on horseback to fetch Aladdin back
in chains. They met
him riding home, bound him, and forced him to
go with them on foot.
The people, however, who loved him, followed,
armed, to see
that he came to no harm. He was carried before
the Sultan, who
ordered the executioner to cut off his head.
The executioner made
Aladdin kneel down, bandaged his eyes, and raised
his scimitar to
strike. At that instant the Vizier, who saw that
the crowd had
forced their way into the courtyard and were scaling
the walls
to rescue Aladdin, called to the executioner to
stay his hand.
The people, indeed, looked so threatening that
the Sultan gave
way and ordered Aladdin to be unbound, and pardoned
him in the
sight of the crowd. Aladdin now begged to know
what he had done.
"False wretch!" said the Sultan, "come
hither," and showed him from
the window the place where his palace had stood.
Aladdin was so
amazed he could not say a word. "Where is
your palace and my
daughter?" demanded the Sultan. "For
the first I am not so deeply
concerned, but my daughter I must have, and you
must find her or
lose your head." Aladdin begged for forty
days in which to find
her, promising if he failed to return at suffer
death at the
Sultan's pleasure. His prayer was granted, and
he went forth
sadly from the Sultan's presence.
For three days he wandered about like a madman,
asking everyone
what had become of his palace, but they only laughed
and pitied him.
He came to the banks of a river, and knelt down
to say his prayers
before throwing himself in. In doing so he rubbed
the ring he
still wore. The genie he had seen in the cave
appeared, and
asked his will. "Save my life, genie,"
said Aladdin, "and bring
my palace back." That is not in my power,"
said the genie;
"I am only the Slave of the Ring; you must
ask him of the lamp."
"Even so," said Aladdin, "but thou
canst take me to the palace,
and set me down under my dear wife's window."
He at once found
himself in Africa, under the window of the Princess,
and fell
asleep out of sheer weariness.
He was awakened by the singing of the birds, and
his heart was lighter.
He saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owning
to the loss of the lamp,
and vainly wondered who had robbed him of it.
That morning the Princess rose earlier than she
had done since
she had been carried into Africa by the magician,
whose company
she was forced to endure once a day. She, however,
treated him
so harshly that he dared not live there altogether.
As she
was dressing, one of her women looked out and
saw Aladdin.
The Princess ran and opened the window, and at
the noise she made,
Aladdin looked up. She called to him to come
to her, and great
was the joy of these lovers at seeing each other
again. After he
had kissed her Aladdin said: "I beg of you,
Princess, in God's
name, before we speak of anything else, for your
own sake and
mine, tell me what has become of an old lamp I
left on the cornice
in the hall of four-and-twenty windows when I
went a-hunting."
"Alas," she said, "I am the innocent
cause of our sorrows," and
told him of the exchange of the lamp. "Now
I know," cried
Aladdin, "that we have to thank the African
magician for this!
Where is the lamp?" "He carries it
about with him," said the
Princess. "I know, for he pulled it out
of his breast to show me.
He wishes me to break my faith with you and marry
him, saying that
you were beheaded by my father's command. He
is forever speaking
ill of you, but I only reply by my tears. If
I persist, I doubt
not but he will use violence." Aladdin comforted
her, and left
her for a while. He changed clothes with the
first person he met
in the town, and having bought a certain powder
returned to the
Princess, who let him in by a little side door.
"Put on your
most beautiful dress," he said to her, "and
receive the magician
with smiles, leading him to believe that you have
forgotten me.
Invite him to sup with you, and say you wish to
taste the wine of
his country. He will go for some, and while he
is gone I will tell
you what to do." She listened carefully
to Aladdin and when he
left her, arrayed herself gaily for the first
time since she left
China. She put on a girdle and head-dress of
diamonds and seeing
in a glass that she was more beautiful than ever,
received the
magician, saying, to his great amazement: "I
have made up my mind
that Aladdin is dead, and that all my tears will
not bring him
back to me, so I am resolved to mourn no more,
and have therefore
invited you to sup with me; but I am tired of
the wines of China,
and would fain taste those of Africa." The
magician flew to his
cellar, and the Princess put the powder Aladdin
had given her in
her cup. When he returned she asked him to drink
her health in
the wine of Africa, handing him her cup in exchange
for his, as a
sign she was reconciled to him. Before drinking
the magician made
her a speech in praise of her beauty, but the
Princess cut him
short, saying: "Let us drink first, and
you shall say what you
will afterwards." She set her cup to her
lips and kept it there,
while the magician drained his to the dregs and
fell back lifeless.
The Princess then opened the door to Aladdin,
and flung her arms
around his neck; but Aladdin went to the dead
magician, took the
lamp out of his vest, and bade the genie carry
the palace and all
in it back to China. This was done, and the Princess
in her chamber
felt only two little shocks, and little thought
she was home again.
The Sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning
for his lost
daughter, happened too look up, and rubbed his
eyes, for there
stood the palace as before! He hastened thither,
and Aladdin
received him in the hall of the four-and-twenty
windows, with the
Princess at his side. Aladdin told him what had
happened, and
showed him the dead body of the magician, that
he might believe.
A ten days' feast was proclaimed, and it seemed
as if Aladdin might
now live the rest of his life in peace; but it
was not meant to be.
The African magician had a younger brother, who
was, if possible,
more wicked and more cunning than himself. He
travelled to China
to avenge his brother's death, and went to visit
a pious woman
called Fatima, thinking she might be of use to
him. He entered
her cell and clapped a dagger to her breast, telling
her to rise
and do his bidding on pain of death. He changed
clothes with her,
coloured his face like hers, put on her veil,
and murdered her,
that she might tell no tales. Then he went towards
the palace of
Aladdin, and all the people, thinking he was the
holy woman,
gathered round him, kissing his hands and begging
his blessing.
When he got to the palace there was such a noise
going on round
him that the Princess bade her slave look out
the window and ask
what was the matter. The slave said it was the
holy woman, curing
people by her touch of their ailments, whereupon
the Princess,
who had long desired to see Fatima, sent for her.
On coming to
the Princess the magician offered up a prayer
for her health and
prosperity. When he had done the Princess made
him sit by her,
and begged him to stay with her always. The false
Fatima, who
wished for nothing better, consented, but kept
his veil down for
fear of discovery. The princess showed him the
hall, and asked
him what he thought of it. "It is truly
beautiful," said the
false Fatima. "In my mind it wants but one
thing." And what is
that?" said the Princess. "If only
a roc's egg," replied he,
"were hung up from the middle of this dome,
it would be the
wonder of the world."
After this the Princess could think of nothing
but the roc's egg,
and when Aladdin returned from hunting he found
her in a very ill
humour. He begged to know what was amiss, and
she told him that
all her pleasure in the hall was spoilt or want
of a roc's egg
hanging from the dome. "If that is all,"
replied Aladdin, "you
shall soon be happy." He left her and rubbed
the lamp, and when
the genie appeared commanded him to bring a roc's
egg. The genie
gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the
hall shook.
"Wretch!" he cried, "is it not
enough that I have done everything
for you, but you must command me to bring my master
and hang him
up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife
and your palace
deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request
does not come
from you, but from the brother of the African
magician, whom you
destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised
as the holy woman,
whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish
into your wife's head.
Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you."
So saying, the
genie disappeared.
Aladdin went back to the Princess, saying his
head ached,
and requesting that the holy Fatima should be
fetched to
lay her hands on it. But when the magician came
near,
Aladdin, seizing his dagger, pierced him to the
heart.
"What have you done?" cried the Princess.
"You have
killed the holy woman!" "Not so,"
replied Aladdin,
"but a wicked magician," and told her
of how she had
been deceived.
After this Aladdin and his wife lived in peace.
He succeeded the Sultan when he died, and reigned
for many years, leaving behind him a long line
of kings.
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