There once lived a poor tailor, who had a son called
Aladdin, a careless, idle boy who would do nothing but play ball 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 presently 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.
The 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. They then journeyed onward 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 led him on in spite of himself. At last
they came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley. “We will go no farther,”
said the false 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 and opened 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 do 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 until you come to a
niche in a terrace where stands a lighted lamp. Pour out the oil it contains,
and bring it to 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 magician left Persia for ever, 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 afterward.
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 and 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 for 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 that 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 till 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 frankly, 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 would 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
every one 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
to-night?” 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 shall 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 refusal to speak, the Sultan threatened to
cut off her head. She then confessed all, bidding him to 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 to 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 could come up to it. The Sultan then
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 set
out to the palace, two and two, followed by his mother. They were so richly
dressed, with such splendid jewels in their girdles, 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 than 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 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 by 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 honor. At night the Princess said good-by 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 modest and 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 honor and wealth. He knew that the poor tailor’s son could
only have accomplished this by means of the lamp, and traveled night and day
until he reached the capital of China, bent on Aladdin’s ruin. As he passed
through the town he heard people talking everywhere about a marvellous palace.
“Forgive my ignorance,” he asked, “what is this palace you speak of?” “Have you
not heard of Prince Aladdin’s palace,” was the reply, “the greatest wonder of
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 copper 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
toward 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 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 thither,” and showed him from
the window the place where his palace had stood. Aladdin was so amazed that he
could not say a word. “Where is my 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 and 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 so doing he rubbed the magic ring he still wore. The
genie he had seen in the cave appeared, and asked his will. “Save my life,
genie,” said Aladdin, “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 owing 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 for ever 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
she 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 afterward.” 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 round his neck; but Aladdin put her away, bidding her leave him, as he had
more to do. He then 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 only felt two little shocks, and little thought
she was at home again.
The Sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning
for his lost daughter, happened to 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 to be.
The African magician had a younger brother, who was,
if possible, more wicked and more cunning than himself. He traveled 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, colored his face like hers, put on her veil, and
murdered her, that she might tell no tales. Then he went toward 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 of 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 humor. He begged to know what was amiss, and she told him that all her
pleasure in the hall was spoiled for the 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.
