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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. T
hey 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.
The End
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