Aladdin And The Wonderful Lamp

Once upon a time there lived a poor tailor who had a son named Aladdin. Aladdin was a careless, lazy boy who did nothing but play ball in the streets all day with other lazy boys. This made his father so sad that he died. Even after his father's death, Aladdin did not change his ways, despite his mother's tears and prayers.

One day, while Aladdin was playing in the streets, a stranger stopped him and asked, "How old are you, boy? Are you not Mustapha the tailor's son?"

"Yes, sir," Aladdin replied. "But he died a long time ago."

The stranger was actually a famous African magician. He threw his arms around Aladdin and kissed him, saying, "I am your uncle. I recognized you because you look just like my brother. Go to your mother and tell her I am coming."

Aladdin ran home and told his mother about his newly found uncle. "Indeed, child," she said, "your father did have a brother, but I always thought he was dead."

She prepared supper and told Aladdin to go find his uncle. The magician came laden with wine and fruit. He fell down and kissed the spot where Mustapha used to sit, and asked Aladdin's mother not to be surprised that she had never seen him before, since he had been living abroad for forty years.

Then he turned to Aladdin and asked him what trade he had learned. Aladdin hung his head in shame, and his mother burst into tears. When the magician learned that Aladdin was idle and would learn no trade, he offered to set up a shop for him and stock it with goods.

The next day he bought Aladdin a fine suit of clothes and took him all over the city, showing him the sights. He brought him home at nightfall to his mother, who was overjoyed to see her son looking so fine.

The next day the magician led Aladdin into some beautiful gardens far outside the city gates. They sat down by a fountain, and the magician pulled a cake from his belt and divided it between them. Then they journeyed on until they almost reached the mountains.

Aladdin was so tired that he begged to go back, but the magician amused him with pleasant stories and led him on, even though Aladdin did not want to go. At last they came to two mountains separated by a narrow valley. "We will go no further," said the false uncle.

"I will show you something wonderful. First, gather some sticks while I light a fire."

When the fire was lit, the magician threw a powder on it and spoke some magical words. The earth trembled a little and opened up in front of them, revealing a flat stone with a brass ring in the middle. Aladdin tried to run away, but the magician caught him and hit him so hard that he fell down.

"What have I done, uncle?" Aladdin asked pitifully.

"Fear nothing," the magician said more kindly. "Just obey me. Beneath this stone lies a treasure that is meant for you. No one else may touch it, so you must do exactly as I say."

When Aladdin heard the word 'treasure', he forgot his fear. He grabbed the ring as he was told, saying the names of his father and grandfather. The stone came up easily, and stone steps appeared.

"Go down," said the magician. "At the bottom of the steps you will find an open door leading into three large halls. Tuck up your robe and walk through them without touching anything, or you will die instantly. These halls lead into a garden of beautiful fruit trees. Walk on until you come to a niche in a terrace where a lighted lamp stands. Pour out the oil it contains and bring the lamp to me."

The magician took a ring from his finger and gave it to Aladdin, wishing him good luck.

Aladdin found everything just as the magician had described. He gathered some fruit from the trees, took the lamp, and returned to the mouth of the cave. The magician called out impatiently, "Hurry up and give me the lamp!"

But Aladdin refused to hand it over until he was out of the cave. The magician flew into a terrible rage and threw more powder on the fire. He spoke some words, and the stone rolled back into its place, trapping Aladdin inside.

The magician left Persia forever, which clearly showed that he was not Aladdin's uncle at all, but a cunning magician who had read in his magic books about a wonderful lamp that would make him the most powerful man in the world. He knew where to find the lamp, but only someone else could take it from the cave. He had chosen the foolish Aladdin for this task, planning to take the lamp and then kill him.

For two days Aladdin remained in the dark, crying and lamenting. At last he clasped his hands in prayer and in doing so rubbed the ring that the magician had forgotten to take from him. Immediately a huge and frightening genie rose from the ground and said, "What do you wish? I am the Slave of the Ring and will obey you in all things."