Part 14
Aladdin gladly agreed to this plan. It was pleasant to be with his new uncle, and to hear him talk of all the grand things he intended to do.
The magician led the boy out of the city, talking pleasantly all the while, and on and on into the country, so far that at last the lad began to grow weary and to wonder when they would turn back.
In time they came to a lonely valley shut in by high hills, and here the stranger stopped. “My dear nephew, I wish to show you something here that is very curious,” said the false uncle. “But first gather together a few dry sticks and build a little fire.”
This Aladdin did.
When the fire was burning brightly the magician drew from under his robe a small box. He opened it, and taking from it a pinch of powder he threw it into the fire, at the same time saying some magic words.
Immediately there was a loud noise like a clap of thunder, and the ground opened before them, showing a great stone in which was a brass ring.
Aladdin was so frightened by these happenings that he would have run away, but the stranger caught him roughly by the arm.
“Stay where you are,” he cried. “I have brought you here to do a special thing for me, and if you refuse you shall not escape alive. If, however, you are obedient I will make you rich for life.”
“What do you wish of me?” asked Aladdin in a trembling voice.
“First lift this stone for me.”
Aladdin caught hold of the brass ring and tried to lift the stone, but it was too heavy for him, and the magician was obliged to help him. Together they dragged away the stone and showed an opening and a flight of stairs leading down into the earth.
“Now,” said the pretended uncle, “you must go down these steps and they will bring you into a palace divided into three halls. You will see in these halls great chests filled with gold and silver, but for your life do not touch them; do not even brush against the walls or touch them either, for if you do you will surely perish. Go straight through the halls and you will come to a garden; it is full of fruit-trees, and if you should wish to gather some of the fruit you may safely do so; no harm will come to you from so doing. At the farthest side of the garden is a wall; in this wall is a niche; in this niche is a small bronze lamp. Take it and empty out the oil and bring it to me.”
Aladdin had no wish to descend the stairs into the earth, but the stranger frightened him, and he dared not refuse. He started down, but the magician called him back. “Here! take this,” he said, and slipping a ring from his finger he placed it on Aladdin’s hand. “It will protect you from any dangers you may meet with.”
Aladdin now went on down the stairs, and at the foot of them he found the palace halls the stranger had told him of. Everywhere he saw chests of silver and gold, but he was careful to touch none of them. He walked on very warily and out into the garden. He found the lamp without any trouble, emptied out the oil, and thrust it into the sash that was twisted about his waist.
All about him were fruit-trees loaded with the most beautiful fruits he had ever seen. They were of all colors, and shone as though polished. Aladdin picked some of them, but instead of being juicy and delicious as he had expected, they were so hard he could neither bite nor break them. They seemed indeed to be made of glass, only much harder and brighter; they were so pretty the boy gathered a great quantity of them; he filled his pockets and sleeves and shirt with the fruit and then hurried back through the hall and up the steps. He saw his pretended uncle stooping over and watching for him impatiently.
“Did you get the lamp?” cried the magician eagerly.
“Yes, I have it here.”
The magician’s eyes sparkled with triumph. He reached down his hand. “Give it to me, quick, quick!” he cried.
“In a moment,” said Aladdin; “but my hands are full of fruit and it is in my waistband. First help me out, and then I will give it to you.”
“No, no! Give it to me now,” cried the magician sharply. He did not, indeed, intend to let Aladdin ever come out alive. He meant as soon as he had the lamp to push the stone back into place and fasten the lad in.
Aladdin did not guess this, but for some reason he felt suddenly afraid.
“I cannot give you the lamp,” he cried, “until you let me out.”
“Give it to me I tell you.”
“Not until you let me out.”
Suddenly the magician flew into a black rage. “Then stay where you are,” he cried fiercely.
He threw another pinch of powder into the fire which was still burning, and muttered a magic charm. At once the stone rose and dropped back into its place, and Aladdin found himself shut in, in darkness.
Filled with terror, he beat upon the stone, and called to the magician to let him out. But there was no answer. He put his shoulders under the stone and tried to lift it, but it would not stir. Aladdin sat down and wept bitter tears. He felt he was a prisoner forever. Suddenly he remembered the garden. Perhaps he could find some way out through it.
He made his way slowly down the steps, feeling his way through the darkness. As he did this he happened to rub the magician’s ring against the wall.
At once a horrible genie appeared before him, as black as pitch, but with eyes that shone like a red fire, and lightened up the darkness.
“What wouldst thou have?” asked this terrible being. “I and the other slaves of the ring upon thy finger stand ready to serve thee.”
Aladdin was astonished beyond measure, but he made shift to say, “If you are able, take me away from here and back to my mother’s house.”
“To hear is to obey,” answered the genie.
At once Aladdin felt himself caught up and carried through the air swifter than the wind, and almost before he could draw breath he was back in his mother’s house, and the genie had disappeared.
His mother could hardly believe her eyes when Aladdin appeared so suddenly before her.
“My dear son, where did you come from, and where is your uncle?” she asked.
As soon as Aladdin could get his breath he told her the whole story. His mother listened and wondered. “Without doubt,” said she, “this man is not your uncle at all, but a magician who wished to use you for some wicked purpose.”
To this Aladdin agreed, but he was so hungry that he begged his mother to get him something to eat before they talked further.
His mother began to weep. “Alas!” said she, “I have not a morsel of food in the house, and no money with which to buy any.”
Aladdin remembered the lamp which was still in his waist-band. He drew it out. “Look!” said he. “This lamp must be worth something since the magician was so anxious to have it. Take it to some shop, or to one of the neighbors, and perhaps they will pay you enough for it for us to buy some rice.”
This seemed to the mother a wise plan. “I will do as you say,” said she, “but first I will brighten the lamp, for it is very black and dirty.”
She took some sand and water to polish it, but scarcely had she begun to rub it when a genie, even more terrible looking than the genie of the ring, appeared before them.
“What dost thou wish?” he asked in a voice of thunder. “I and the other slaves of the lamp stand ready to serve thee in all things.”
The widow was so terrified at the sight of the genie, and at the sound of his voice, that she fell down on her face and lay there. But Aladdin caught the lamp from her hand.
“If you would serve me bring us something to eat,” he cried.
“To hear is to obey,” answered the genie. At once he disappeared, but scarcely was he gone before he appeared again with a great silver tray and a number of silver dishes and cups full of all sorts of delicious things to eat and drink. The genie set it upon a table. “Hast thou any further commands?” he asked in a voice of thunder.
“Not at present,” answered Aladdin.
At once the genie disappeared.
Aladdin called to his mother, and when she looked up and saw the genie had gone she was able to raise herself from the floor, though she still shook and trembled. She and her son sat down and ate and drank to their hearts’ content, and there was enough food left over to serve them another day. Aladdin then took the silver tray and the dishes out to a merchant he knew and sold them for a good price; so in this way he had money to spend.
After this Aladdin and his mother lived very comfortably. Whenever they were hungry Aladdin had only to rub the lamp and command the genie to bring them food, and it was served to them immediately. It was always brought to them in silver dishes and upon a silver tray, and as Aladdin could sell these for a good price he and his mother lacked for nothing.
Aladdin now began to go about among the merchants of the city and talk with them, and before long he learned to his surprise that the fruits he had brought with him from the garden were not glass at all, but jewels, and jewels so rare and magnificent that they were not to be equaled anywhere.
Now the Sultan of that country had one daughter, the Princess Buddir al Baddoor, and she was the most beautiful princess in the world.
No man was ever allowed to see her face. When she rode through the city to the public baths the Sultan commanded that all the houses should be closed and that the people should stay indoors and not look out, upon pain of death.
Now Aladdin was very curious, as well as bold. One day when the Princess was to pass through the city he hid himself near the door of the baths without anyone knowing it.
The Princess came riding down the street with all her guards and ladies-in-waiting about her, and just as she reached the door near which Aladdin was hiding she dropped her veil, and he saw her face. At once he was filled with a violent love for her. It seemed to him he could not live unless he could have the Princess for a wife.
When he returned home his mother noticed that he was very thoughtful. She did not know what had happened to him. At last she asked, “My son, what ails you? Why are you so thoughtful and silent.”
“My mother,” answered Aladdin, “I have seen the Princess Buddir al Baddoor, and unless I can marry her I no longer wish to live.”
When the widow heard these words she thought her son must be crazy.
“How can you think of such a thing?” she cried. “Have you forgotten that your father was nothing but a tailor? How can a tailor’s son hope to marry a princess?”
“Nevertheless that is what I intend to do,” said Aladdin. He then urged and entreated his mother to go to the palace and ask the Sultan to give the Princess to him. The widow was very loth to do this, but she loved her son so tenderly that at last she consented.
“But have you forgotten,” said she, “that no one can come before the Sultan without bringing him a present?”
“I have not forgotten,” said Aladdin, “and I mean to send the Sultan such a gift as he has never seen before.”
He then fetched from the cupboard a porcelain dish, and he also brought out the fruits he had brought from the garden. He arranged the fruits in the dish in a pyramid according to their colors, and when he had done this his mother was amazed at their beauty. They shone so brightly that it dazzled the eyes to look at them. “Now I will tell you,” said Aladdin, “that these fruits are jewels so rare and magnificent that not the greatest ruler on earth has any that can equal them.”
The widow was amazed when she heard this. She could hardly believe it, and it was with fear and trembling that she set out at length for the Sultan’s palace. She carried the dish of jewels with her, covered over with a fine napkin.
When she reached the palace she went into the audience chamber with the rest of the crowd who had come to bring their cases before the Sultan. She sat down near the wall and stayed there all day, but she found no chance to speak to the Sultan or to offer her gift. And so it was day after day. Every morning she came to the audience chamber with the jewels, and every evening she returned home without having spoken to him.
But it so chanced the Sultan noticed how she came day after day with the covered dish in her hands, and he grew curious as to who she was and what she wanted. At last he spoke to his Grand Vizier about her, and commanded that she should be brought before him.
This was done, but the poor woman was so frightened by the honor done her that she stood there trembling and unable to say a word.
The Sultan saw her terror and spoke to her gently. “My good woman,” said he, “do not be afraid. Tell me why you have come here day after day. Is there something you wish to ask of me?”
“There is indeed something that I wish to ask, and yet I dare not,” said the widow.
The Sultan, however, encouraged her. “Speak,” said he. “Do not be afraid. Tell me what you wish.”
“My son,” said the widow, “wishes to marry the Princess Buddir al Baddoor, and I have come here to ask you to give her to him as a wife; and my son also sends this small present, which he begs you to accept.”
When this widow, so poor and meanly dressed, said that her son wished to marry the Princess the Sultan could hardly keep from laughing; but when she uncovered the dish of jewels he was amazed. He took up one after another and examined it with admiration. He turned to the Vizier, who stood beside him: “Never in all my life before,” said he, “have I seen such beautiful jewels. Truly a man who can send me such a gift as this is worthy to have a princess for a wife. Do you not agree with me?”
When the Grand Vizier heard this he was troubled. He had indeed hoped that his own son might marry the Princess. Now he said, “Your Majesty, these jewels are indeed very wonderful; but we know nothing of the man who sent them. He may be only some beggarly rogue who has stolen them.”
“That is true,” said the Sultan. He thought for a moment, still turning the jewels with his fingers. Then he said to the woman, “I am indeed very much pleased with the gift your son has sent me. Go back and tell him I am inclined to give him the Princess for a wife, but first he must send me forty basins of massy gold filled with the same sort of jewels as these. If he can do this I will gladly have him for a son-in-law.”
The widow returned home and told her son what the Sultan had said. Aladdin was overjoyed when he heard the message. He now felt sure that before long he would be married to the Princess. He took the lamp and rubbed it, and at once the genie appeared.
“What dost thou wish?” asked the genie. “I and the other slaves of the lamp are ready to serve thee in all things.”
“I wish,” said Aladdin, “for forty basins of massy gold, filled with jewels such as I gathered in the garden. I also wish for forty black slaves, magnificently dressed, to carry the basins, and forty white slaves, also magnificently dressed and mounted on fine horses, to ride before them and behind.”
“To hear is to obey,” answered the genie.
At once he disappeared, but almost in a moment of time a long procession of slaves appeared in the street where Aladdin lived and gathered before his house. There were forty black slaves, magnificently dressed, and each bearing on his head a golden basin filled with jewels even more magnificent than those Aladdin had gathered for himself, and there were also forty white slaves, mounted on horses, to ride before them and behind.
When Aladdin saw these slaves and the jewels they bore his eyes sparkled with joy. He at once commanded them to march to the palace and present the jewels to the Sultan, and the widow herself hastened away, so as to reach the palace at the same time that they did.
The slaves set out through the city; a great crowd followed them, shouting and rejoicing, for never had such a sight been seen there before.
The Sultan heard the sound of huzzahing and wondered what was the reason for it. But when the slaves entered the palace bearing their basins of jewels he himself was filled with wonder and admiration. He turned to his Vizier. “Surely,” said he, “anyone who can send me such a gift as this is worthy of the Princess Buddir al Baddoor;” and though the Vizier could hardly hide his envy he was obliged to agree with his master.
When Aladdin heard that the Sultan had consented to his marriage with the Princess he could hardly contain his joy. He at once rubbed the lamp, and when the genie appeared he commanded him to bring him the most magnificent clothes, such as were suitable for a Sultan’s son to wear, also a handsome horse for him to ride upon, and a troop of horsemen, handsomely dressed to ride with him.
All this the genie did, and after Aladdin had bathed in a scented bath, and had dressed himself in his magnificent garments he was so handsome and noble-looking that his old friends would not have known him.
He rode away to the palace, and there the Sultan received him with the greatest respect and honor. He would have married Aladdin to his daughter at once, but this Aladdin did not wish.
“Your Majesty,” said he, “greatly as I long to see the Princess Buddir al Baddoor I wish first to provide a palace for us to live in when we are married. For this purpose I beg of your Majesty to give me a plot of ground where I can build it.”
The Sultan was surprised and disappointed when he heard this. He thought it would take years to build a palace, and he could not understand how Aladdin could want to wait that long before marrying the Princess. However, he gave him the ground he asked for.
Aladdin then returned home and rubbed the lamp. At once the genie appeared before him, and asked him what were his commands.
“I command you,” said Aladdin, “to build me immediately a castle twice as handsome as that of the Sultan. I wish it to be furnished throughout in the most magnificent manner, and I also wish for a proper number of servants and guards to take charge of it. There must also be gardens around it with fountains and trees and flowers, and stables full of handsome horses, and above all there must be a treasure-house filled with gold and silver and precious stones.”
“To hear is to obey,” answered the genie; and at once he disappeared.
The next morning, when the Sultan awoke and looked from the window, he could hardly believe his eyes. He stared, and rubbed his eyes, and looked again. There, upon the bare piece of ground he had given to Aladdin, stood a great palace glittering with gold and silver and precious stones. It was far more magnificent than his own, and it had been built in one single night.
The Sultan at once sent for Aladdin, and when he came the Sultan made the tailor’s son sit beside him, and talked with him as an equal. “My dear Aladdin,” said he, “you are indeed a very wonderful man, and it is only fitting that the most beautiful princess in the world should be your wife, and you shall be as dear to me as though you were my own son.”
That very day Aladdin and the Princess were married, and went to live in the magic palace, and as they loved each other dearly nothing could equal their happiness. Aladdin felt so secure in his good fortune that he never even thought of the magician or wondered whether he might some day come to claim the lamp.
The magician had indeed left China soon after his adventure with Aladdin. He journeyed back and forth over the earth in many places, and at last in his wanderings he came again to the city where he had met Aladdin. There he heard much talk of how a poor lad had married the daughter of the Sultan, and of the magnificent palace he had built. The magician never thought that Aladdin might be that poor lad, for he supposed he had perished in the hidden garden.
At last the magician became curious to see the palace that everyone was talking about, and he hired a horse and rode out to where it stood. As soon as he saw it he knew at once that it had been built by the genie of the lamp. He hastened home and got out his magic books, and from them learned that Aladdin was still alive, and that it was he who owned the palace and had become the Sultan’s son-in-law.
When the magician learned this he was filled with rage and at once began to plot and plan as to how he could get the lamp for himself, and destroy Aladdin.
In order to carry out this purpose he bought a number of fine new lamps and disguised himself in poor, mean clothing. He waited until one time when Aladdin had gone hunting with the Sultan, and then he started out through the city with his tray of lamps, calling, “New lamps for old! New lamps for old!”
Many people heard his cry and came hurrying out of their houses with old broken lamps, and offered them to the magician to exchange. He took them willingly, and for all of these old lamps he gave in return fine new ones. The people thought he must be crazy. A great crowd followed him, shouting and laughing.