Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

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 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.
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