Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Page 5

  ‘Tell me what to do, uncle,’ he cried, ‘and I will obey you.’

  The magician went up to him and kissed him. ‘Nephew,’ he said, ‘you are dearer to me than a son. To see you a fine rich man is my utmost wish. Come, take hold of that ring and lift it.’

  ‘But, uncle,’ Aladdin replied, ‘I am not strong enough to lift it alone. Come and help me.’

  ‘No, my boy,’ said the magician. ‘If I help you we will gain nothing and all our labors will be lost. Try by yourself and you will find you can lift it with the greatest ease. Just take hold of the ring, and as you raise it pronounce your name, and your father’s and mother’s.’

  Aladdin summoned up all his strength and did as the magician had told him. The slab moved easily under his hand; he set it aside, and down below he saw a vaulted cave with a stairway of a dozen steps leading to the entrance.

  ‘Now be careful, Aladdin,’ the magician cried. ‘Do exactly as I tell you, and omit nothing. Go down into the cave, and at the bottom you will find a great hall divided into four rooms. In each room you will see four gold coffers and other precious things of gold and silver. Walk straight on and take care not to touch the coffers or the walls, even with the skirt of your gown; for if you do you will at once be changed into black stone. When you reach the fourth room you will find another door, which opens onto a beautiful garden shaded with fruit trees. Pronounce the names you spoke over the slab and make your way through it. After walking some fifty yards you will come to a staircase of about thirty steps, leading up to a terrace. On the terrace you will find a lamp. Take down the lamp, pour out the oil in it, and put it away in the breast of your robe. Do not worry about your clothes, for the oil is no ordinary oil. On your way back you may pause among the trees and pluck off whatever fruit you fancy.’

  When he had finished speaking, the magician drew a ring from his finger and put it on one of Aladdin’s.

  ‘This ring, my boy,’ he said, ‘will deliver you from all dangers, so long as you do what I have told you. Be bold and resolute, and fear nothing. You are now a man, and not a child any more. In a few moments you will be the richest man alive.’

  Aladdin jumped down into the cave and found the four rooms with the four gold coffers in each. Bearing in mind the magician’s instructions, he cautiously made his way through them and came out into the garden. From there he climbed up the staircase to the terrace, took down the lamp, poured out the oil, and put the lamp into the breast of his robe. Then he returned to the garden and stopped for the first time to admire the trees and the singing birds that perched upon the branches. The trees were laden with fruit of every shape and hue: white, red, green, yellow, and other colors. Now, Aladdin was too young to realize that these were pearls and diamonds, emeralds and rubies, and jewels such as no king ever possessed. He took them for colored glass of little value, and yet was so delighted with their brilliance that he gathered a great quantity of them and stuffed them into his pockets and the folds of his belt and gown. When he had loaded himself with as much as he could carry, he hurried back through the four rooms without touching the gold coffers and quickly climbed the staircase at the cavern’s mouth. But because of his heavy load he could not climb the last step, which was higher than the others.

  ‘Uncle,’ he shouted, ‘give me your hand and help me up.’

  ‘My dear boy,’ the magician replied, ‘you will do better first to give me the lamp. It is in your way.’

  The magician, whose only concern was to get hold of the lamp, persisted in his demand. Aladdin, on the other hand, had so burdened himself that he could not get at it, and was therefore unable to give it to him. Provoked by the obstinate refusal of the boy, who, he thought, wanted the lamp for himself, the magician flew into a terrible rage. He ran to the blazing fire, threw more incense upon it, and howled a magic charm. At once the marble slab moved into its place and the earth closed over the cave, leaving Aladdin underground.

  Now, as I told you before, the old man was really a stranger and no uncle of Aladdin’s. He was an evil magician from the darkest part of Morocco, an African skilled in the renowned black arts of his native land. From his earliest days he had given himself up to sorcery and witchcraft, so that after forty years’ continuous study he discovered that near one of the remotest cities of China there was a vast treasure, the like of which no king had ever amassed. He had also learned that the treasure included an enchanted lamp that could make him richer and more powerful than any monarch in the world, and that it could be brought out only by a boy of humble birth called Aladdin, a native of that city. Convinced of his discovery, he set out for China and, after a long and arduous journey, sought out Aladdin and reached the place where the treasure was buried. But all his efforts having failed, he imprisoned the boy underground, so that neither he nor the lamp should ever come up out of the earth. Then the magician abandoned his quest and journeyed back to Africa with a heavy heart. So much for him.

  As for Aladdin, when the earth closed over him, he realized he had been deceived, and that the magician was no uncle of his. Giving up all hope of escape, he went down weeping to the bottom of the stairs and groped his way in the dark to the garden; but the door, which had been opened by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. He returned to the entrance of the cave in despair and threw himself on the steps. There he sat for three long days without food or drink, and almost abandoned all hope of living. He wept and sobbed, wrung his hands, and prayed for God’s help with all his heart. While he was wringing his hands together he happened to rub the ring that the magician had given him as a protection.

  At once a great black jinnee appeared before him.

  ‘I am here, master, I am here,’ the jinnee cried. ‘Your slave is ready to serve you. Ask what you will and it shall be done. For I am the slave of him who wears my master’s ring.’

  The sight of this monstrous figure struck terror into Aladdin’s heart. But, as he recalled the magician’s words, his hopes revived and he summoned up all his courage.

  ‘Slave of the ring,’ he cried, ‘I order you to carry me up to the earth’s surface.’

  The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the earth was rent asunder and he found himself above ground on the very spot where the marble slab had been. It was some time before his eyes could bear the light after being so long in total darkness; but at length he looked about him and was amazed to see no sign of the cave or entrance. He would not have recognized the place but for the black cinders left by the magician’s fire. In the distance he saw the city shimmering amid its gardens and hastened joyfully toward it, greatly relieved at his escape. He reached home worn out with hunger and fatigue, and dropped down fainting before his mother, who, for her part, had been grieving bitterly. The poor woman did all she could to restore her son; she sprinkled water over his face and gave him fragrant herbs to smell. As soon as he came to he asked for something to eat.

  ‘Mother, I am very hungry,’ he said. ‘I have had nothing to eat or drink these three days.’

  His mother brought him all the food that she could find in the house, and when he had eaten and recovered his strength a little he said, ‘You must know, Mother, that the man whom we supposed to be my uncle is a magician, a wicked imposter, a cruel fiend. He made me those promises only to destroy me. To think how we were deceived by his fine words! Listen, Mother, to what he did…’

  And with that, Aladdin proceeded to tell his mother of his adventure with the magician from beginning to end.

  When she had heard his story, Aladdin’s mother shook her head.

  ‘I might have known from the very start that the old wretch was a liar and a fraud. Praise be to God, who has delivered you from his hands.’

  She went on comforting him in this way until Aladdin, who had not slept a wink for three days, was overcome by sleep. He did not wake till nearly noon the following day, and as soon as he opened his eyes he asked for food.

  ‘Alas, my boy,’ his mother sighed, ‘I have not a cru
st of bread to give you; yesterday you ate all the food I had. But be patient a little. I have some cotton here that I have spun. I will go and sell it to buy you something to eat.’

  ‘Leave your cotton for the time, Mother,’ Aladdin answered, ‘and give me the lamp I brought. I will sell it in the market, for it is sure to fetch a better price than your spinning.’

  Aladdin’s mother brought him the lamp and, noticing that it was dirty, said, ‘If we clean and polish it, it might fetch a little more.’

  She mixed a little sand in water and began to clean the lamp. But no sooner had she rubbed the surface than a tall and fearsome jinnee appeared before her.

  ‘What is your wish, mistress?’ said the jinnee. ‘I am your slave and the slave of him who holds the lamp. I and the other slaves of the lamp will do your bidding.’

  The poor woman, who was not used to such apparitions, was so terrified that she could not answer; her tongue became knotted in her mouth and she fell fainting to the ground. Now, Aladdin had seen the jinnee of the ring in the cave, and when he heard this jinnee speaking to his mother he ran quickly to her aid and snatched the lamp out of her hands.

  ‘Slave of the lamp,’ he said, ‘I am hungry. Bring me some good things to eat.’

  The jinnee vanished, and in a twinkling reappeared, carrying upon his head a priceless tray of solid silver that held twelve dishes of the choicest meats, together with a pair of silver goblets, two flasks of clear old wine, and bread as white as snow. All these he set down before Aladdin and disappeared again.

  Seeing that his mother still lay unconscious on the floor, Aladdin sprinkled rose water over her face and gave her fragrant scents to smell.

  ‘Get up, Mother,’ he said, when she came to. ‘Let us sit down and eat.’

  Seeing the massive silver tray and the food upon it, she asked in amazement, ‘Who may this generous benefactor be who has discovered our poverty and hunger? We are surely grateful to him for his kindness. Is it the Sultan himself who has heard of our wretched plight and sent us this tray?’

  ‘Mother,’ Aladdin replied, ‘this is no time to ask questions. Get up and let us eat. We are starving.’

  They sat at the tray and fell to heartily. Aladdin’s mother had never in all her life tasted such delicate food, which was worthy of a king’s table. Nor did they know whether the tray was valuable or not, for they had never seen such things before. They ate until they were satisfied; yet enough was left over for supper and the next day. Then they got up, washed their hands, and sat chatting.

  ‘Now, my child,’ said Aladdin’s mother, ‘tell me what you did with the jinnee.’

  Aladdin told his mother what had passed between him and the jinnee from the time she fainted.

  ‘I have heard,’ said the astonished woman, ‘that these creatures do appear to men, but I never saw any before this. He must be the same jinnee who rescued you in the cavern.’

  ‘No, Mother,’ Aladdin answered. ‘That was a different jinnee. The jinnee that appeared to you was the jinnee of the lamp.’

  ‘How is that, my child?’ she asked.

  ‘This jinnee was of a different shape,’ replied Aladdin. ‘The other was the slave of the ring; the one you saw belonged to the lamp that you were holding.’

  ‘My child,’ she cried, ‘I beg you to throw away both the lamp and the ring. I am terrified of those beings, and could not bear to see them again. Besides, it is unlawful for us to have any dealings with them.’

  ‘I would gladly obey you in anything, Mother,’ Aladdin replied, ‘but I cannot afford to lose the lamp or the ring. You have yourself seen how useful the lamp was to us when we were hungry. And remember: when I went down into the cave, that imposter of a magician did not ask me for gold and silver, although the four rooms of the treasure house were full of them. He told me to fetch him the lamp and nothing else; for he must have known its great value. That is why we must keep this lamp and take good care of it, for in having it we will never again be poor or hungry. Also, we must never show it to anyone. As for the ring – I could not bear to lose that, either. But for its jinnee, I would have died under the earth, inside the treasure house. Who knows what troubles and dangers the future holds for me? This ring will surely save my life. Still, I will hide the lamp away if you like, so that you need never set eyes on it again.’

  ‘Very well, my boy,’ said his mother, finding his arguments reasonable enough. ‘Do as you please. For my part, I will have nothing to do with them, nor do I wish ever to see that fearsome sight again.’

  For two days they went on eating the food the jinnee had brought them; and when it was finished, Aladdin took one of the dishes from the magic tray and went to sell it in the market. There he was approached by a crafty old silversmith. Aladdin, who did not know that it was solid silver, offered him the plate; and when the silversmith saw it, he drew the boy aside so that no one else should see it. He examined the dish with care and found that it was made of the purest silver, but did not know whether Aladdin was aware of its true value.

  ‘How much do you want for it, sir?’ asked the silversmith.

  ‘You should know how much it is worth,’ Aladdin answered. Hearing the boy’s businesslike reply, the silversmith was at a loss. He was at first tempted to offer him very little, but feared that Aladdin might know its value. Then he was inclined to give him a substantial sum. At last he took out one piece of gold from his pocket and offered it to him. When Aladdin saw the piece of gold he took it and ran off in great joy, so that the old man, realizing that the boy had no idea of its value, bitterly regretted that he had not given him less.

  Aladdin hurried away to the baker’s and bought some bread; then he ran home and gave the bread and the change to his mother. ‘Mother,’ he said, ‘go and buy what we need.’

  His mother went down to the market and bought all the food they needed; and the two ate until they had had enough. Whenever the money ran out, Aladdin would go to the market and sell another dish to the silversmith, and thus the old rogue bought all the plates for very little. Even then he would have wished to give him less; but having rashly paid him one piece of gold on the first occasion, he feared that the boy would go and sell elsewhere. When the twelve dishes were all gone, Aladdin decided to sell the silver tray. As this was large and heavy, he fetched the old merchant to the house and showed it to him. The silversmith, seeing its tremendous size, gave him ten pieces. And with this money Aladdin and his mother were able to provide for their needs several days longer.

  When the gold was finished Aladdin took out the lamp and rubbed it, and the jinnee appeared before him. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘ask what you will. I am your slave and the slave of him who holds the lamp.’

  ‘I order you,’ said Aladdin, ‘to bring me a tray of food like the one you brought before. I am hungry.’

  The jinnee vanished, and in the twinkling of an eye returned with a tray exactly like the first one, holding twelve splendid dishes full of delicate meats, two flasks of wine, and a fine, clean loaf. Having been warned beforehand, Aladdin’s mother had left the house so that she would not see the jinnee; but when she returned and saw the tray with the silver dishes, and smelled the rich aroma, she marveled greatly and rejoiced.

  ‘Look, Mother!’ Aladdin cried. ‘You told me to throw the lamp away. Now see how valuable it is.’

  ‘You are right, my son,’ she replied. ‘Still, I do not want ever to see that jinnee again.’

  She sat down with her son and the two ate and drank together. What was left over they stored for the following day. When this was finished, Aladdin took one of the dishes under his robe and went off to search for the silversmith. It chanced, however, that while he was walking through the market he passed by the shop of an honest goldsmith, well known for his integrity and fair dealing. The old sheikh stopped Aladdin and greeted him.

  ‘What brings you here, my son?’ he asked. ‘I have often seen you pass this way and do business with a certain silversmith. I have watched you give
him some articles, and perhaps you have something with you now that you intend to sell to him. You do not seem to realize, my child, that this man is a scoundrel and a cheat. What an easy prey he must have found you! If you have something to sell, show it to me and I will pay you the proper price for it: not a copper less.’

  Aladdin showed him the plate, and the goldsmith took it and weighed it in his scales.

  ‘Have you been selling him plates like this one?’ asked the old man.

  ‘Yes,’ Aladdin replied.

  ‘How much have you been getting for them?’

  ‘One piece of gold for each,’ Aladdin answered.

  ‘What a rascal,’ exclaimed the goldsmith, ‘to rob honest folk in this way! You must know, my boy, that this man has swindled you and made a real fool of you. This dish is made of the purest silver and is worth no less than seventy pieces. If you are willing to accept this price, take it.’

  The goldsmith counted out seventy pieces, and Aladdin took the gold and thanked the old man for his kindness. In due course he sold him the other dishes, at the same honest price. The youth and his mother grew very rich, yet they continued to live modestly, avoiding extravagance and foolish waste.

  Aladdin had now given up his idle ways and bad companions and passed all his time in the markets of the city, speaking with persons of distinction and merchants great and small. He also visited the bazaars of the goldsmiths and jewelers, where he would sit and watch the jewels being bought and sold. As the months passed by, he came to realize that the varied fruits he had brought back from the treasure house were not colored glass or crystal but gems beyond the wealth of kings. He examined all the jewels in the market, but found none to be compared with the smallest of his own. Thus he went on visiting jewelers’ shops, so that he might become acquainted with the people and learn from them the affairs of trade. He asked them questions about buying and selling, taking and giving, and in time came to know what was cheap and what was costly.

  It so chanced that one morning, while he was on his way to the jewelers’ market, he heard a herald crying in the streets, ‘By command of our Royal Master, the Sultan! Let all people close their shops and retire at once behind the doors of their houses; for the Princess Badr-al-Budur, the Sultan’s daughter, desires this day to visit the baths. If anyone disregards this order he shall be punished by instant death.’