The Story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Once upon a time there lived a poor tailor. He had a son Aladdin. This boy was very idle; he wanted to do nothing but play all day long. Soon his father fell sick and died.
One day Aladdin was sitting in the street and playing with his friends, a stranger came along. The stranger was a magician. And he asked Aladdin, “Boy, are you not the son of the tailor?”
Aladdin answered, “Yes, O my master, but my father is dead.”
The magician began to weep. Aladdin asked the stranger, “Did you know my father?”
The stranger replied, “My boy, your father was my brother! And now he is dead. O my son, where is your house, and where is your mother?”
Aladdin showed him the way to their house, and the sorcerer gave him some coins, “Take this money, give it to your mother and tell her that your uncle came.”
When the uncle saw the poor woman, he said, “I am your husband’s brother. Forty years ago I left this city and travelled around the world. I visited India and China, and Arabia, and Egypt. I studied magic there.”
The woman answered, “Indeed, my husband had a brother. But I always thought he was dead.”
“No, that’s not true, I’m alive! Please tell me about this boy.”
“This is my son, and he is very lazy. He doesn’t like to work; he wants to play all day long.”
“That’s a pity,” said the magician. “But tomorrow I will show him something useful.”
The next day the magician took Aladdin to the market and bought him a new dress. Then he led Aladdin from garden to garden till they came to a hill. Aladdin asked his uncle, “My uncle, where do we go? We came to the mountain. There are no more gardens ahead, so let us turn and go back to the city.”
But his uncle replied, “No, my son. This is the road, and it is not an end of the gardens.”
At last they came to two mountains. The stranger said, “Gather up thin dry sticks to make a fire.”
Aladdin collected small dry sticks. His uncle burnt an incense and said mysterious words. Aladdin tried to run away, but the magician caught him and gave him a blow.
The poor boy asked, “Why do you beat me?”
His uncle answered, “My son, obey me, and shortly you will forget all your troubles.”
Suddenly the earth opened. There appeared a square flat stone with a brass ring in the middle.
The wizard said to Aladdin, “If you do what I tell you, you will become richer than all the kings put together. There is a treasure buried here which is deposited in your name. No one else may touch it. Put your hand to the ring and raise the stone, only you have the power to open it. This treasure is immense. It is all for you and for me.”
So poor Aladdin said, “O my uncle, command me and I will obey you.”
And the wizard said to him, “You are like my own child! Go to that ring and lift it. And repeat your name and the names of your father and mother.”
So Aladdin said the names of his parents and lifted the stone. Before him lay twelve steps.
The wizard said to him, “Aladdin, descend carefully there. You will find a place divided into three large halls. In each hall you will see four golden jars. Don’t touch anything, or you will die. Leave them and go on to the fourth hall. You will find a door. Open the door, enter, and you will see a garden full of fruit trees. Then you will see a ladder of about fifty steps. Come to a niche in a terrace. There stands a lighted lamp. Bring it to me.”
He gave a ring to Aladdin, and said, “My son, this ring will guard you. You will become the richest man in the world!”
So Aladdin went down into the cave. He found the halls and the golden jars. Then he came to the garden and went through it till he found the ladder. He climbed the ladder, took the Lamp, and went down into the garden.
The trees were all covered with precious stones instead of fruit. Each tree was of a different kind and had different jewels, of all colours, green and white and yellow and red and other colours. Aladdin gathered pockets full of them and said, “I will gather these glass fruits and play with them at home.”
When he came to the steps, he was unable to climb them by himself, without help. And he called to the magician, “O my uncle, give me your hand and help me to get up.” The wizard replied, “Give me the Lamp, it is very heavy.”
But Aladdin answered, “No, the Lamp is not heavy at all. Give me only your hand, and when I am up, I will give you the Lamp.”
But the wizard wanted only the Lamp and became very angry. The wizard cried, “You silly boy! You will stay here for ever!” He said magical words and threw the stick into the fire. Immediately the earth closed again. Aladdin remained under the ground. The magician was just a stranger and no uncle of Aladdin. He read in his magic books about a wonderful Lamp. This Lamp could make him the most powerful man in the world. He heaped the earth over Aladdin. Then he went away.
But as for Aladdin, he began to call his uncle. He shouted, and no one answered him. Then he understood that the stranger was no uncle at all. So Aladdin began to weep.
Then he began to look for an exit. The doors were shut. But he noticed the ring! The false uncle gave him a ring and said, “This ring will guard you from all danger.”
So Aladdin rubbed the ring. Immediately a Jinn appeared before him and cried, “Here I am, your slave, between your hands. Ask what you want, for I see the ring of my master.”
When Aladdin saw the Jinn, he was very afraid. But the Jinn said, “Ask what you want, I am your servant, for the ring is on your hand.”
Aladdin said, “Deliver me from this place!” And the earth opened, and he found himself outside .
Aladdin came back home. He told his mother what happened and showed her the Lamp and the fruits.
Aladdin said to his mother, “Ah, my mother, that false uncle wanted to kill me! He is a sorcerer, a liar.”
In the morning his mother said to him, “We don’t have anything to eat.”
Aladdin replied, “Mother, give me the Lamp. I think we can sell it.”
She brought the Lamp. But it was very dirty, so she said, “We need to clean and polish it.”
She took a handful of sand and began to rub the lamp. Instantly a great Jinn appeared. “I am the Slave of the Lamp. What do you want?” The mother was very afraid and could not say a word.
Aladdin said, “O Slave of the Lamp, I am hungry. Bring me something to eat!” The Jinn brought him a magnificent tray, made of pure silver. On the tray there were twelve golden dishes of various delicious foods and two silver cups of clear water.
So they began to eat. After that Aladdin said, “The false uncle didn’t want gold or silver. He ordered me to bring him the Lamp. He knew its great value. But he tried to kill me, and he went away, so now this Lamp is mine. It will make us rich.”
When they ate all the food, Aladdin sold one of the golden plates. Then the Jinn gave him another set of plates. Thus they lived happily for many years.
And he learned that the “fruits” which he gathered in the Treasury were not of glass or crystal. These things were precious stones. And he knew that he was very rich.
One day Aladdin heard an order from the Sultan, “Let all the people close their stores and shops and stay home! The daughter of the Sultan will go to and from the bath.”
When Aladdin heard this order, he said, “All the people talk of her beauty. I want to see her face!” But this was very difficult because she always went veiled.
So Aladdin began to think about how to see the face of the daughter of the Sultan. It seemed best to him to stand behind the door of the bath so as to see her face when she came in. He went to the bath before her and stood behind the door. When the daughter of the Sultan appeared, she lifted her veil, and Aladdin saw her face. It was like a sun or a pearl of great price. He fell in love with her at first sight.
He returned to his mother. His mother spoke to him, but he did not reply and did not eat. So she asked, “O my son, what happened to you? Are you sick?”
Then Aladdin turned to his mother and said to her, “O my mother, I am well and not sick at all. But I saw the daughter of the Sultan. I fell in love with her. I want to marry her!”
When his mother heard his words, she feared, “O my son! You are mad. She is the Sultan’s daughter.”
Aladdin answered, “No, I’m not mad. I will win the lovely princess! I cannot live without her. I will marry her.”
His mother said to him, “But who will tell Sultan about it? You can not tell him yourself. You must find a right person.”
Aladdin answered, “I have you! Please ask the Sultan about his daughter.”
His mother said, “Cast away this thought and think whose son you are. You are the child of a poor tailor. And I am very poor, too. So how can you ask about marriage to a daughter of the Sultan?”
But at last she agreed to go.
His mother took a napkin and laid in it the magic fruits from the magical garden. They shone like the most beautiful jewels. She entered the palace hall. But the Sultan did not notice her.
She went every day and stood in the same place.
On the sixth day the Sultan said to his vizir, “Every day I see a woman. She carries something in a napkin. Who is she? Call her next time, I will see what she wants.”
Next day the Sultan said to her, “Good woman, tell me what you want.”
She told him about her son’s love for the princess.
The Sultan asked her kindly what she had in the napkin. She unfolded the jewels and presented them to him.
The Sultan was very amazed. The vizir wanted the princess for his own son. So he begged the Sultan to withhold the woman for three months. During that time his son could make a richer present.
The Sultan told Aladdin’s mother, “I will think about it. But you must not appear before me again for three months. After that your son can marry my daughter.”
Aladdin waited patiently for nearly two months. But one day he heard the news: the son of the grand-vizir was going to marry the Sultan’s daughter.
Aladdin rubbed the Lamp. The Jinn appeared and asked, “What is your will?”
Aladdin replied, “The Sultan broke his promise to me. The vizir’s son is going to marry the princess. My command is: tonight you must bring here the bride and bridegroom.”
“Master, I obey,” said the Jinn.
Aladdin went to his room, where the Jinn transported the bed with the vizir’s son and the princess.
“Take this newly-married man,” said Aladdin, “put him outside in the cold and return in the morning.”
“Fear nothing,” Aladdin said to the princess. “You are my wife. Your father promised you to me. No harm will come to you.”
The princess was very afraid. She passed the most miserable night of her life. Aladdin lay down beside her and slept very well.
In the morning the Jinn returned the bridegroom. He laid him in his place and transported the bed back to the palace.
The Sultan came to say his daughter good-morning. The unhappy vizir’s son jumped up and hid himself. The princess could not say a word.
The Sultan asked, “What happened?”
The princess told how during the night the bed travelled to a strange house. The Sultan did not believe her. He considered it an idle dream.
The following night exactly the same thing happened. The vizir’s son was very afraid and said, “Your Majesty, I don’t want to marry anymore. Please let me go.”
The Sultan was very surprised but cancelled the wedding.
When the three months were over, Aladdin sent his mother to remind the Sultan of his promise.
The Sultan did not want to see Aladdin. So he asked the vizir’s advice. The vizir said to him, “Just demand more jewels!”
The Sultan then turned to Aladdin’s mother and said, “Good woman, I remember my promises. But your son must first send me forty basins of jewels carried by forty slaves. Tell him that I wait for his answer.”
The mother of Aladdin went home. She thought that all was lost.
“Please calm,” her son said, “I will do that for the princess—and even more!”
He called the Jinn. In a few moments the eighty slaves arrived. Each was carrying two basins of wonderful jewels.
Aladdin sent them to the palace. The slaves entered the palace and stood before the Sultan.
The Sultan was very glad and said, “Good woman, tell your son that I wait for him with open arms.”
She came back home joyfully. But Aladdin first called the Jinn.
“I want a beautiful dress,” he said, “a white horse, and twenty slaves. And ten thousand pieces of gold in ten purses.” The Jinn answered, “No problem, my Master.”
Aladdin mounted his horse and passed through the streets. The slaves were strewing gold.
When the Sultan saw Aladdin, he came down from his throne and led him into a hall. He wanted to marry him to the princess that very day.
But Aladdin refused, and said, “I must build a palace for her.”
At home he said to the Jinn, “Build me a palace of the finest marble, with jasper, agate, and other precious stones.”
The Jinn finished the palace by next day.
The Sultan sent musicians with trumpets and cymbals to meet them. The air resounded with music and cheers.
At night the princess said good-bye to her father. She was charmed at the sight of Aladdin.
The next day Aladdin invited the Sultan to see the palace.
Aladdin became the captain of the Sultan’s armies. He won several battles for him but remained modest and courteous. They lived in peace and content for several years.
But far away in Africa the magician remembered Aladdin. He discovered that Aladdin escaped from the cave, married a princess and was living in great honour and wealth!
He decided to steal the Lamp. He travelled night and day till he reached the capital. When he was passing through the town, the people everywhere were talking about a marvellous palace.
“Forgive my ignorance,” he asked, “what is this palace you speak of?”
“Did you not hear about Prince Aladdin’s palace,” was the reply, “the greatest wonder of the world?”
The magician saw the palace and became half mad with rage.
He bought a dozen copper lamps and put them into a basket. Then he went to the palace, crying, “New lamps for old!”
Aladdin was not at the palace at the moment. The princess sent a slave to find out what the noise was about.
“Your Majesty,” replied the slave, “an old fool offers to exchange fine new lamps for old ones.”
Another slave said, “We have a very old lamp, let’s change it.”
But this was the magic Lamp, which Aladdin left there. The princess did not know its value. She went and said to the magician, “Give me a new lamp for this.”
The wizard immediately exchanged the lamps. After that the wizard went away and rubbed the Lamp. The Jinn appeared. The magician ordered the Jinn to carry him, together with the palace and the princess, to a lonely place in Africa.
The next morning the Sultan did not see the Aladdin’s palace: it disappeared! He sent thirty men on horseback to fetch Aladdin in chains.
“Where is my palace and my daughter?” asked the Sultan.
Aladdin could not say a word.
“I must have my daughter back! And you must find her or lose your head.”
Aladdin begged for forty days to find her. For three days he asked everyone what became of his palace. Nobody knew the answer.
He came to the banks of a river and rubbed the magic ring he still wore. Another Jinn appeared.
“Save my life, Jinn,” said Aladdin, “and bring my palace back.”
“That is not in my power,” said the Jinn. “I am only the Slave of the Ring. You must ask the Slave of the Lamp.”
“But you,” said Aladdin, “can take me to the palace and set me down under my wife’s window.”
He at once found himself in Africa, under the window of the princess. That morning the princess rose earlier than usual. As she was dressing, one of her women saw Aladdin. The princess ran and opened the window. They were very happy to see each other again.
“Please forgive me,” said the princess. “I didn’t know anything about the Lamp. So I gave it to the wizard. He is very evil, and he wants to marry me.”
Aladdin asked, “Where is the Lamp?”
“The wizard carries it with him,” answered the princess.
Aladdin left her for a while. He changed clothes, bought some poison, and returned to the princess.
“I will tell you what to do,” said Aladdin. “Add this poison to the wizard’s drink. But don’t let him notice that!” And Aladdin went away.
The princess listened carefully to Aladdin. When the magician came, the princess said, “I realized that Aladdin is dead. All my tears will not bring him back to me. So I am ready to marry you.”
The magician ran away to put on his wedding dress. The princess put the poison in his cup.
When the wizard returned, he emptied his cup and fell back lifeless.
The princess then opened the door to Aladdin. He went to the dead magician and took the Lamp. Then he bade the Jinn carry the palace back.
Very soon they were at home again.
But this was not the end of the story.
The African magician had a younger brother, who was even more wicked and more cunning. He travelled to the palace to avenge his brother’s death. On his way he killed a holy woman that cured people by her touch . He took her clothes and put on her veil.
Then he went towards the palace of Aladdin. All the people thought he was a holy woman and wanted to touch his hand.
The princess heard the noise and asked what the matter was . The slave said it was the holy woman. The princess sent for her.
“Please stay with us for ever,” said the princess.
The princess showed the false holy woman the palace and asked her what she thought of it.
“It is truly beautiful,” said the wizard. “But you need one thing.”
“And what is that?” asked the princess.
“A roc’s egg,” replied he, “it is the nicest wonder of the world.”
After this the princess could think of nothing but a roc’s egg. When Aladdin returned from hunting, the princess looked very unhappy. She told him about a roc’s egg.
Aladdin rubbed the Lamp and commanded the Jinn to bring a roc’s egg.
“Is it not enough that I did everything for you?” cried the Jinn. “You command me to bring a roc’s egg! It’s impossible! This request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman—whom he killed. Take care of yourself, for he wants to kill you.”
The Jinn disappeared.
Aladdin went back to the princess. He looked as if he had a terrible headache. He requested that the holy woman lay her hands on his head.
But when the magician came near, Aladdin took his dagger and pierced him to the heart.
“What did you do?” cried the princess. “You killed the holy woman!”
“Not so,” replied Aladdin, “but a wicked magician!”
After that Aladdin and his wife lived in peace.
When the Sultan died, Aladdin ruled for many years. He did justice among the people, and all the people loved him.
