When Mustafa, a poor tailor, died, his wife was left to care for her lazy son, Aladdin. He did nothing but play in the streets. A stranger watched him and one day, posing as Aladdin’s uncle, he wept and hugged him and gave him costly gifts. Aladdin and his mother were puzzled, for they had never heard of his uncle! The man was actually an evil sorcerer from Africa. He took Aladdin to a mountain where he lit a fire and threw magic powder into it. A large stone door with a ring on it came out and the sorcerer made Aladdin open it. He told him to go down past three rooms and fetch him an old lamp from the garden. But when Aladdin returned with the lamp, and asked his uncle to pull him out before giving it to him, the sorcerer was furious. He pushed the stone, shutting Aladdin in the pit!
The Magical Lamp
Aladdin wept and prayed in the dark till he accidentally rubbed the lamp. Smoke filled the pit and a figure arose, saying, “I am here to serve you, master, for you own the lamp!” The Genie helped Aladdin escape from there and go home. After he had told his mother everything, the Genie laid out a feast. Soon, they became prosperous. One day, Aladdin saw the Sultan’s beautiful daughter and he fell in love with her. He sent his mother with jewels to the Sultan to seek his daughter’s hand in marriage. She did as he asked. The Sultan consulted his Vazir, who wanted his own son to marry the Princess. He advised the Sultan to wait for three months. The Sultan, according to his Vazir’s advice, asked the woman to wait for three months and then tell him if her son still wished to marry the Princess.
Before three months were over, however, the Vazir’s son married the Princess. Aladdin was angry at the deception. He asked the Genie to fetch the Princess and her bridegroom that night. Aladdin sent the bridegroom out into the cold, while he told the Princess about the deception. At dawn, he sent them back, but repeated this the next night. They told the Sultan, but the Vazir’s son wanted to go back home! Once again, the Sultan sought the Vazir’s advice, and demanded jewels from Aladdin, carried by eighty servants for his daughter. With the Genie’s help, Aladdin sent them to the Sultan. Then, he rode down the streets, richly dressed and throwing gold coins to the people. The Sultan gave his daughter in marriage to Aladdin, who had a splendid golden palace inlaid with gems. Soon, everyone grew to love and respect him and he became the commander of the Sultan’s army.
The sorcerer had learnt of Aladdin’s escape and that he was now rich and married to the Princess. He returned in disguise as an old merchant, exchanging new lamps for old ones. Aladdin’s wife, who didn’t know about the magical lamp, exchanged it for a new one. The sorcerer used the Genie to transport the Princess and the palace to Africa. The Sultan was furious at finding his daughter missing and the palace gone. He was stopped from punishing Aladdin by the people who loved him. Aladdin prayed to the Genie with his magical Ring and reached his wife. She was very happy and told him that the lamp was hidden in the sorcerer’s robe. Aladdin told her how to trick the sorcerer so that she might kill him. Then, taking the lamp with its Genie, he returned home with his wife and the palace, where they lived happily ever after.
