{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57","id":"gutenberg_57","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57","summary":null,"tags":["Arabs -- Folklore","Category: Adventure","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Children's stories","Fairy tales","Folklore -- Arab countries"],"text":"Aladdin and the Magic Lamp\n\n\n\n\nThere once lived a poor tailor, who had a son called Aladdin, a\ncareless, idle boy who would do nothing but play all day long in the\nstreets with little idle boys like himself. This so grieved the father\nthat he died; yet, in spite of his mother\u2019s tears and prayers, Aladdin\ndid not mend his ways. One day, when he was playing in the streets as\nusual, a stranger asked him his age, and if he was not the son of\nMustapha the tailor. \u201cI am, sir,\u201d replied Aladdin; \u201cbut he died a long\nwhile ago.\u201d On this the stranger, who was a famous African magician,\nfell on his neck and kissed him saying: \u201cI am your uncle, and knew you\nfrom your likeness to my brother. Go to your mother and tell her I am\ncoming.\u201d Aladdin ran home and told his mother of his newly found uncle.\n\u201cIndeed, child,\u201d she said, \u201cyour father had a brother, but I always\nthought he was dead.\u201d However, she prepared supper, and bade Aladdin\nseek his uncle, who came laden with wine and fruit. He fell down and\nkissed the place where Mustapha used to sit, bidding Aladdin\u2019s mother\nnot to be surprised at not having seen him before, as he had been forty\nyears out of the country. He then turned to Aladdin, and asked him his\ntrade, at which the boy hung his head, while his mother burst into\ntears. On learning that Aladdin was idle and would learn no trade, he\noffered to take a shop for him and stock it with merchandise. Next day\nhe bought Aladdin a fine suit of clothes and took him all over the\ncity, showing him the sights, and brought him home at nightfall to his\nmother, who was overjoyed to see her son so fine.\n\nNext day the magician led Aladdin into some beautiful gardens a long\nway outside the city gates. They sat down by a fountain and the\nmagician pulled a cake from his girdle, which he divided between them.\nThen they journeyed onwards till they almost reached the mountains.\nAladdin was so tired that he begged to go back, but the magician\nbeguiled him with pleasant stories and lead him on in spite of himself.\nAt last they came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley. \u201cWe will\ngo no farther,\u201d said his uncle. \u201cI will show you something wonderful;\nonly do you gather up sticks while I kindle a fire.\u201d When it was lit\nthe magician threw on it a powder he had about him, at the same time\nsaying some magical words. The earth trembled a little in front of\nthem, disclosing a square flat stone with a brass ring in the middle to\nraise it by. Aladdin tried to run away, but the magician caught him and\ngave him a blow that knocked him down. \u201cWhat have I done, uncle?\u201d he\nsaid piteously; whereupon the magician said more kindly: \u201cFear nothing,\nbut obey me. Beneath this stone lies a treasure which is to be yours,\nand no one else may touch it, so you must do exactly as I tell you.\u201d At\nthe word treasure Aladdin forgot his fears, and grasped the ring as he\nwas told, saying the names of his father and grandfather. The stone\ncame up quite easily, and some steps appeared. \u201cGo down,\u201d said the\nmagician; \u201cat the foot of those steps you will find an open door\nleading into three large halls. Tuck up your gown and go through them\nwithout touching anything, or you will die instantly. These halls lead\ninto a garden of fine fruit trees. Walk on till you come to niche in a\nterrace where stands a lighted lamp. Pour out the oil it contains, and\nbring it me.\u201d He drew a ring from his finger and gave it to Aladdin,\nbidding him prosper.\n\nAladdin found everything as the magician had said, gathered some fruit\noff the trees, and, having got the lamp, arrived at the mouth of the\ncave. The magician cried out in a great hurry: \u201cMake haste and give me\nthe lamp.\u201d This Aladdin refused to do until he was out of the cave. The\nmagician flew into a terrible passion, and throwing some more powder on\nto the fire, he said something, and the stone rolled back into its\nplace.\n\nThe man left the country, which plainly showed that he was no uncle of\nAladdin\u2019s but a cunning magician, who had read in his magic books of a\nwonderful lamp, which would make him the most powerful man in the\nworld. Though he alone knew where to find it, he could only receive it\nfrom the hand of another. He had picked out the foolish Aladdin for\nthis purpose, intending to get the lamp and kill him afterwards.\n\nFor two days Aladdin remained in the dark, crying and lamenting. At\nlast he clasped his hands in prayer, and in so doing rubbed the ring,\nwhich the magician had forgotten to take from him. Immediately an\nenormous and frightful genie rose out of the earth, saying: \u201cWhat\nwouldst thou with me? I am the Slave of the Ring, and will obey thee in\nall things.\u201d Aladdin fearlessly replied, \u201cDeliver me from this place!\u201d\nwhereupon the earth opened, and he found himself outside. As soon as\nhis eyes could bear the light he went home, but fainted on the\nthreshold. When he came to himself he told his mother what had passed,\nand showed her the lamp and the fruits he had gathered in the garden,\nwhich were in reality precious stones. He then asked for some food.\n\u201cAlas! child,\u201d she said, \u201cI have nothing in the house, but I have spun\na little cotton and will go sell it.\u201d Aladdin bade her keep her cotton,\nfor he would sell the lamp instead. As it was very dirty, she began to\nrub it, that it might fetch a higher price. Instantly a hideous genie\nappeared, and asked what she would have. She fainted away, but Aladdin,\nsnatching the lamp, said boldly: \u201cFetch me something to eat!\u201d The genie\nreturned with a silver bowl, twelve silver plates containing rich\nmeats, two silver cups, and two bottles of wine. Aladdin\u2019s mother, when\nshe came to herself, said: \u201cWhence comes this splendid feast?\u201d \u201cAsk\nnot, but eat,\u201d replied Aladdin. So they sat at breakfast till it was\ndinner-time, and Aladdin told his mother about the lamp. She begged him\nto sell it, and have nothing to do with devils. \u201cNo,\u201d said Aladdin,\n\u201csince chance hath made us aware of its virtues, we will use it, and\nthe ring likewise, which I shall always wear on my finger.\u201d When they\nhad eaten all the genie had brought, Aladdin sold one of the silver\nplates, and so on until none were left. He then had recourse to the\ngenie, who gave him another set of plates, and thus they lived many\nyears.\n\nOne day Aladdin heard an order from the Sultan proclaimed that everyone\nwas to stay at home and close his shutters while the Princess his\ndaughter went to and from the bath. Aladdin was seized by a desire to\nsee her face, which was very difficult, as she always went veiled. He\nhid himself behind the door of the bath, and peeped through a chink.\nThe Princess lifted her veil as she went in, and looked so beautiful\nthat Aladdin fell in love with her at first sight. He went home so\nchanged that his mother was frightened. He told her he loved the\nPrincess so deeply he could not live without her, and meant to ask her\nin marriage of her father. His mother, on hearing this, burst out\nlaughing, but Aladdin at last prevailed upon her to go before the\nSultan and carry his request. She fetched a napkin and laid in it the\nmagic fruits from the enchanted garden, which sparkled and shone like\nthe most beautiful jewels. She took these with her to please the\nSultan, and set out, trusting in the lamp. The Grand Vizier and the\nlords of council had just gone in as she entered the hall and placed\nherself in front of the Sultan. He, however, took no notice of her. She\nwent every day for a week, and stood in the same place. When the\ncouncil broke up on the sixth day the Sultan said to his Vizier: \u201cI see\na certain woman in the audience-chamber every day carrying something in\na napkin. Call her next time, that I may find out what she wants.\u201d Next\nday, at a sign from the vizier, she went up to the foot of the throne\nand remained kneeling until the Sultan said to her: \u201cRise, good woman,\nand tell me what you want.\u201d She hesitated, so the Sultan sent away all\nbut the Vizier, and bade her speak freely, promising to forgive her\nbeforehand for anything she might say. She then told him of her son\u2019s\nviolent love for the Princess. \u201cI prayed him to forget her,\u201d she said,\n\u201cbut in vain; he threatened to do some desperate deed if I refused to\ngo and ask your Majesty for the hand of the Princess. Now I pray you to\nforgive not me alone, but my son Aladdin.\u201d The Sultan asked her kindly\nwhat she had in the napkin, whereupon she unfolded the jewels and\npresented them. He was thunderstruck, and turning to the vizier, said:\n\u201cWhat sayest thou? Ought I not to bestow the Princess on one who values\nher at such a price?\u201d The Vizier, who wanted her for his own son,\nbegged the Sultan to withhold her for three months, in the course of\nwhich he hoped his son could contrive to make him a richer present. The\nSultan granted this, and told Aladdin\u2019s mother that, though he\nconsented to the marriage, she must not appear before him again for\nthree months.\n\nAladdin waited patiently for nearly three months, but after two had\nelapsed, his mother, going into the city to buy oil, found everyone\nrejoicing, and asked what was going on. \u201cDo you not know,\u201d was the\nanswer, \u201cthat the son of the Grand Vizier is to marry the Sultan\u2019s\ndaughter tonight?\u201d Breathless she ran and told Aladdin, who was\noverwhelmed at first, but presently bethought him of the lamp. He\nrubbed it and the genie appeared, saying: \u201cWhat is thy will?\u201d Aladdin\nreplied: \u201cThe Sultan, as thou knowest, has broken his promise to me,\nand the vizier\u2019s son is to have the Princess. My command is that\nto-night you bring hither the bride and bridegroom.\u201d \u201cMaster, I obey,\u201d\nsaid the genie. Aladdin then went to his chamber, where, sure enough,\nat midnight the genie transported the bed containing the vizier\u2019s son\nand the Princess. \u201cTake this new-married man,\u201d he said, \u201cand put him\noutside in the cold, and return at daybreak.\u201d Whereupon the genie took\nthe vizier\u2019s son out of bed, leaving Aladdin with the Princess. \u201cFear\nnothing,\u201d Aladdin said to her; \u201cyou are my wife, promised to me by your\nunjust father, and no harm will come to you.\u201d The Princess was too\nfrightened to speak, and passed the most miserable night of her life,\nwhile Aladdin lay down beside her and slept soundly. At the appointed\nhour the genie fetched in the shivering bridegroom, laid him in his\nplace, and transported the bed back to the palace.\n\nPresently the Sultan came to wish his daughter good-morning. The\nunhappy Vizier\u2019s son jumped up and hid himself, while the Princess\nwould not say a word and was very sorrowful. The Sultan sent her mother\nto her, who said: \u201cHow comes it, child, that you will not speak to your\nfather? What has happened?\u201d The Princess sighed deeply, and at last\ntold her mother how, during the night, the bed had been carried into\nsome strange house, and what had passed there. Her mother did not\nbelieve her in the least, but bade her rise and consider it an idle\ndream.\n\nThe following night exactly the same thing happened, and next morning,\non the Princess\u2019s refusing to speak, the Sultan threatened to cut off\nher head. She then confessed all, bidding him ask the Vizier\u2019s son if\nit were not so. The Sultan told the Vizier to ask his son, who owned\nthe truth, adding that, dearly as he loved the Princess, he had rather\ndie than go through another such fearful night, and wished to be\nseparated from her. His wish was granted, and there was an end of\nfeasting and rejoicing.\n\nWhen the three months were over, Aladdin sent his mother to remind the\nSultan of his promise. She stood in the same place as before, and the\nSultan, who had forgotten Aladdin, at once remembered him, and sent for\nher. On seeing her poverty the Sultan felt less inclined than ever to\nkeep his word, and asked his Vizier\u2019s advice, who counselled him to set\nso high a value on the Princess that no man living would come up to it.\nThe Sultan than turned to Aladdin\u2019s mother, saying: \u201cGood woman, a\nsultan must remember his promises, and I will remember mine, but your\nson must first send me forty basins of gold brimful of jewels, carried\nby forty black slaves, led by as many white ones, splendidly dressed.\nTell him that I await his answer.\u201d The mother of Aladdin bowed low and\nwent home, thinking all was lost. She gave Aladdin the message adding,\n\u201cHe may wait long enough for your answer!\u201d \u201cNot so long, mother, as you\nthink,\u201d her son replied. \u201cI would do a great deal more than that for\nthe Princess.\u201d He summoned the genie, and in a few moments the eighty\nslaves arrived, and filled up the small house and garden. Aladdin made\nthem to set out to the palace, two by two, followed by his mother. They\nwere so richly dressed, with such splendid jewels, that everyone\ncrowded to see them and the basins of gold they carried on their heads.\nThey entered the palace, and, after kneeling before the Sultan, stood\nin a half-circle round the throne with their arms crossed, while\nAladdin\u2019s mother presented them to the Sultan. He hesitated no longer,\nbut said: \u201cGood woman, return and tell your son that I wait for him\nwith open arms.\u201d She lost no time in telling Aladdin, bidding him make\nhaste. But Aladdin first called the genie. \u201cI want a scented bath,\u201d he\nsaid, \u201ca richly embroidered habit, a horse surpassing the Sultan\u2019s, and\ntwenty slaves to attend me. Besides this, six slaves, beautifully\ndressed, to wait on my mother; and lastly, ten thousand pieces of gold\nin ten purses.\u201d No sooner said then done. Aladdin mounted his horse and\npassed through the streets, the slaves strewing gold as they went.\nThose who had played with him in his childhood knew him not, he had\ngrown so handsome. When the sultan saw him he came down from his\nthrone, embraced him, and led him into a hall where a feast was spread,\nintending to marry him to the Princess that very day. But Aladdin\nrefused, saying, \u201cI must build a palace fit for her,\u201d and took his\nleave. Once home, he said to the genie: \u201cBuild me a palace of the\nfinest marble, set with jasper, agate, and other precious stones. In\nthe middle you shall build me a large hall with a dome, its four walls\nof massy gold and silver, each side having six windows, whose lattices,\nall except one which is to be left unfinished, must be set with\ndiamonds and rubies. There must be stables and horses and grooms and\nslaves; go and see about it!\u201d\n\nThe palace was finished the next day, and the genie carried him there\nand showed him all his orders faithfully carried out, even to the\nlaying of a velvet carpet from Aladdin\u2019s palace to the Sultan\u2019s.\nAladdin\u2019s mother then dressed herself carefully, and walked to the\npalace with her slaves, while he followed her on horseback. The Sultan\nsent musicians with trumpets and cymbals to meet them, so that the air\nresounded with music and cheers. She was taken to the Princess, who\nsaluted her and treated her with great honour. At night the princess\nsaid good-bye to her father, and set out on the carpet for Aladdin\u2019s\npalace, with his mother at her side, and followed by the hundred\nslaves. She was charmed at the sight of Aladdin, who ran to receive\nher. \u201cPrincess,\u201d he said, \u201cblame your beauty for my boldness if I have\ndispleased you.\u201d She told him that, having seen him, she willingly\nobeyed her father in this matter. After the wedding had taken place,\nAladdin led her into the hall, where a feast was spread, and she supped\nwith him, after which they danced till midnight.\n\nNext day Aladdin invited the Sultan to see the palace. On entering the\nhall with the four-and-twenty windows with their rubies, diamonds and\nemeralds, he cried, \u201cIt is a world\u2019s wonder! There is only one thing\nthat surprises me. Was it by accident that one window was left\nunfinished?\u201d \u201cNo, sir, by design,\u201d returned Aladdin. \u201cI wished your\nMajesty to have the glory of finishing this palace.\u201d The Sultan was\npleased, and sent for the best jewelers in the city. He showed them the\nunfinished window, and bade them fit it up like the others. \u201cSir,\u201d\nreplied their spokesman, \u201cwe cannot find jewels enough.\u201d The Sultan had\nhis own fetched, which they soon used, but to no purpose, for in a\nmonth\u2019s time the work was not half done. Aladdin knowing that their\ntask was vain, bade them undo their work and carry the jewels back, and\nthe genie finished the window at his command. The Sultan was surprised\nto receive his jewels again, and visited Aladdin, who showed him the\nwindow finished. The Sultan embraced him, the envious vizier meanwhile\nhinting that it was the work of enchantment.\n\nAladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. He was\nmade captain of the Sultan\u2019s armies, and won several battles for him,\nbut remained as courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and\ncontent for several years.\n\nBut far away in Africa the magician remembered Aladdin, and by his\nmagic arts discovered that Aladdin, instead of perishing miserably in\nthe cave, had escaped, and had married a princess, with whom he was\nliving in great honour and wealth. He knew that the poor tailor\u2019s son\ncould only have accomplished this by means of the lamp, and travelled\nnight and day till he reached the capital of China, bent on Aladdin\u2019s\nruin. As he passed through the town he heard people talking everywhere\nabout a marvelous palace. \u201cForgive my ignorance,\u201d he asked, \u201cwhat is\nthe palace you speak of?\u201d \u201cHave you not heard of Prince Aladdin\u2019s\npalace,\u201d was the reply, \u201cthe greatest wonder in the world? I will\ndirect you if you have a mind to see it.\u201d The magician thanked him who\nspoke, and having seen the palace knew that it had been raised by the\nGenie of the Lamp, and became half mad with rage. He determined to get\nhold of the lamp, and again plunge Aladdin into the deepest poverty.\n\nUnluckily, Aladdin had gone a-hunting for eight days, which gave the\nmagician plenty of time. He bought a dozen lamps, put them into a\nbasket, and went to the palace, crying: \u201cNew lamps for old!\u201d followed\nby a jeering crowd. The Princess, sitting in the hall of\nfour-and-twenty windows, sent a slave to find out what the noise was\nabout, who came back laughing, so that the Princess scolded her.\n\u201cMadam,\u201d replied the slave, \u201cwho can help laughing to see an old fool\noffering to exchange fine new lamps for old ones?\u201d Another slave,\nhearing this, said, \u201cThere is an old one on the cornice there which he\ncan have.\u201d Now this was the magic lamp, which Aladdin had left there,\nas he could not take it out hunting with him. The Princess, not knowing\nits value, laughingly bade the slave take it and make the exchange. She\nwent and said to the magician: \u201cGive me a new lamp for this.\u201d He\nsnatched it and bade the slave take her choice, amid the jeers of the\ncrowd. Little he cared, but left off crying his lamps, and went out of\nthe city gates to a lonely place, where he remained till nightfall,\nwhen he pulled out the lamp and rubbed it. The genie appeared, and at\nthe magician\u2019s command carried him, together with the palace and the\nPrincess in it, to a lonely place in Africa.\n\nNext morning the Sultan looked out of the window towards Aladdin\u2019s\npalace and rubbed his eyes, for it was gone. He sent for the Vizier and\nasked what had become of the palace. The Vizier looked out too, and was\nlost in astonishment. He again put it down to enchantment, and this\ntime the Sultan believed him, and sent thirty men on horseback to fetch\nAladdin back in chains. They met him riding home, bound him, and forced\nhim to go with them on foot. The people, however, who loved him,\nfollowed, armed, to see that he came to no harm. He was carried before\nthe Sultan, who ordered the executioner to cut off his head. The\nexecutioner made Aladdin kneel down, bandaged his eyes, and raised his\nscimitar to strike. At that instant the Vizier, who saw that the crowd\nhad forced their way into the courtyard and were scaling the walls to\nrescue Aladdin, called to the executioner to stay his hand. The people,\nindeed, looked so threatening that the Sultan gave way and ordered\nAladdin to be unbound, and pardoned him in the sight of the crowd.\nAladdin now begged to know what he had done. \u201cFalse wretch!\u201d said the\nSultan, \u201ccome hither,\u201d and showed him from the window the place where\nhis palace had stood. Aladdin was so amazed he could not say a word.\n\u201cWhere is your palace and my daughter?\u201d demanded the Sultan. \u201cFor the\nfirst I am not so deeply concerned, but my daughter I must have, and\nyou must find her or lose your head.\u201d Aladdin begged for forty days in\nwhich to find her, promising if he failed to return to suffer death at\nthe Sultan\u2019s pleasure. His prayer was granted, and he went forth sadly\nfrom the Sultan\u2019s presence.\n\nFor three days he wandered about like a madman, asking everyone what\nhad become of his palace, but they only laughed and pitied him. He came\nto the banks of a river, and knelt down to say his prayers before\nthrowing himself in. In doing so he rubbed the ring he still wore. The\ngenie he had seen in the cave appeared, and asked his will. \u201cSave my\nlife, genie,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cand bring my palace back.\u201d \u201cThat is not in\nmy power,\u201d said the genie; \u201cI am only the Slave of the Ring; you must\nask him of the lamp.\u201d \u201cEven so,\u201d said Aladdin, \u201cbut thou canst take me\nto the palace, and set me down under my dear wife\u2019s window.\u201d He at once\nfound himself in Africa, under the window of the Princess, and fell\nasleep out of sheer weariness.\n\nHe was awakened by the singing of the birds, and his heart was lighter.\nHe saw plainly that all his misfortunes were owning to the loss of the\nlamp, and vainly wondered who had robbed him of it.\n\nThat morning the Princess rose earlier than she had done since she had\nbeen carried into Africa by the magician, whose company she was forced\nto endure once a day. She, however, treated him so harshly that he\ndared not live there altogether. As she was dressing, one of her women\nlooked out and saw Aladdin. The Princess ran and opened the window, and\nat the noise she made, Aladdin looked up. She called to him to come to\nher, and great was the joy of these lovers at seeing each other again.\nAfter he had kissed her Aladdin said: \u201cI beg of you, Princess, in God\u2019s\nname, before we speak of anything else, for your own sake and mine,\ntell me what has become of an old lamp I left on the cornice in the\nhall of four-and-twenty windows when I went a-hunting.\u201d \u201cAlas,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cI am the innocent cause of our sorrows,\u201d and told him of the\nexchange of the lamp. \u201cNow I know,\u201d cried Aladdin, \u201cthat we have to\nthank the African magician for this! Where is the lamp?\u201d \u201cHe carries it\nabout with him,\u201d said the Princess. \u201cI know, for he pulled it out of\nhis breast to show me. He wishes me to break my faith with you and\nmarry him, saying that you were beheaded by my father\u2019s command. He is\nforever speaking ill of you, but I only reply by my tears. If I\npersist, I doubt not but he will use violence.\u201d Aladdin comforted her,\nand left her for a while. He changed clothes with the first person he\nmet in the town, and having bought a certain powder returned to the\nPrincess, who let him in by a little side door. \u201cPut on your most\nbeautiful dress,\u201d he said to her, \u201cand receive the magician with\nsmiles, leading him to believe that you have forgotten me. Invite him\nto sup with you, and say you wish to taste the wine of his country. He\nwill go for some, and while he is gone I will tell you what to do.\u201d She\nlistened carefully to Aladdin and when he left her, arrayed herself\ngaily for the first time since she left China. She put on a girdle and\nhead-dress of diamonds and seeing in a glass that she was more\nbeautiful than ever, received the magician, saying, to his great\namazement: \u201cI have made up my mind that Aladdin is dead, and that all\nmy tears will not bring him back to me, so I am resolved to mourn no\nmore, and have therefore invited you to sup with me; but I am tired of\nthe wines of China, and would fain taste those of Africa.\u201d The magician\nflew to his cellar, and the Princess put the powder Aladdin had given\nher in her cup. When he returned she asked him to drink her health in\nthe wine of Africa, handing him her cup in exchange for his, as a sign\nshe was reconciled to him. Before drinking the magician made her a\nspeech in praise of her beauty, but the Princess cut him short, saying:\n\u201cLet us drink first, and you shall say what you will afterwards.\u201d She\nset her cup to her lips and kept it there, while the magician drained\nhis to the dregs and fell back lifeless. The Princess then opened the\ndoor to Aladdin, and flung her arms around his neck; but Aladdin went\nto the dead magician, took the lamp out of his vest, and bade the genie\ncarry the palace and all in it back to China. This was done, and the\nPrincess in her chamber felt only two little shocks, and little thought\nshe was home again.\n\nThe Sultan, who was sitting in his closet, mourning for his lost\ndaughter, happened to look up, and rubbed his eyes, for there stood the\npalace as before! He hastened thither, and Aladdin received him in the\nhall of the four-and-twenty windows, with the Princess at his side.\nAladdin told him what had happened, and showed him the dead body of the\nmagician, that he might believe. A ten days\u2019 feast was proclaimed, and\nit seemed as if Aladdin might now live the rest of his life in peace;\nbut it was not meant to be.\n\nThe African magician had a younger brother, who was, if possible, more\nwicked and more cunning than himself. He travelled to China to avenge\nhis brother\u2019s death, and went to visit a pious woman called Fatima,\nthinking she might be of use to him. He entered her cell and clapped a\ndagger to her breast, telling her to rise and do his bidding on pain of\ndeath. He changed clothes with her, coloured his face like hers, put on\nher veil, and murdered her, that she might tell no tales. Then he went\ntowards the palace of Aladdin, and all the people, thinking he was the\nholy woman, gathered round him, kissing his hands and begging his\nblessing. When he got to the palace there was such a noise going on\nround him that the Princess bade her slave look out the window and ask\nwhat was the matter. The slave said it was the holy woman, curing\npeople by her touch of their ailments, whereupon the Princess, who had\nlong desired to see Fatima, sent for her. On coming to the Princess the\nmagician offered up a prayer for her health and prosperity. When he had\ndone the Princess made him sit by her, and begged him to stay with her\nalways. The false Fatima, who wished for nothing better, consented, but\nkept his veil down for fear of discovery. The princess showed him the\nhall, and asked him what he thought of it. \u201cIt is truly beautiful,\u201d\nsaid the false Fatima. \u201cIn my mind it wants but one thing.\u201d \u201cAnd what\nis that?\u201d said the Princess. \u201cIf only a roc\u2019s egg,\u201d replied he, \u201cwere\nhung up from the middle of this dome, it would be the wonder of the\nworld.\u201d\n\nAfter this the Princess could think of nothing but the roc\u2019s egg, and\nwhen Aladdin returned from hunting he found her in a very ill humour.\nHe begged to know what was amiss, and she told him that all her\npleasure in the hall was spoilt for want of a roc\u2019s egg hanging from\nthe dome. \u201cIf that is all,\u201d replied Aladdin, \u201cyou shall soon be happy.\u201d\nHe left her and rubbed the lamp, and when the genie appeared commanded\nhim to bring a roc\u2019s egg. The genie gave such a loud and terrible\nshriek that the hall shook.\n\n\u201cWretch!\u201d he cried, \u201cis it not enough that I have done everything for\nyou, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the\nmidst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be\nburnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from\nthe brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in\nyour palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was\nwho put that wish into your wife\u2019s head. Take care of yourself, for he\nmeans to kill you.\u201d So saying, the genie disappeared.\n\nAladdin went back to the Princess, saying his head ached, and\nrequesting that the holy Fatima should be fetched to lay her hands on\nit. But when the magician came near, Aladdin, seizing his dagger,\npierced him to the heart. \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d cried the Princess.\n\u201cYou have killed the holy woman!\u201d \u201cNot so,\u201d replied Aladdin, \u201cbut a\nwicked magician,\u201d and told her of how she had been deceived.\n\nAfter this Aladdin and his wife lived in peace. He succeeded the Sultan\nwhen he died, and reigned for many years, leaving behind him a long\nline of kings.","title":"Aladdin and the Magic Lamp","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":5266}