Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
A poor young man, a cave of treasure, and a lamp with a mighty spirit inside
Page 1
In a great and ancient city of the East, among domes and minarets and winding streets, there lived a poor young man named Aladdin. His father the tailor had died, and Aladdin and his mother lived very simply, getting by as best they could. Aladdin was good-hearted and clever, though a little idle, and he loved nothing better than to wander the bustling bazaar — past the spice-sellers and the carpet-merchants, the brass-workers and the fruit-stalls — dreaming of the fine life he might one day lead. He had no idea at all, on that ordinary sunlit morning, that a stranger from a far-off land was watching him closely through the crowd, and that his whole life was about to change for ever.
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The watching stranger was in truth a powerful sorcerer from a distant land, who had learned by his magic arts that only a certain poor youth named Aladdin could fetch a wonderful magic lamp hidden in an enchanted cave. So the sorcerer came up to Aladdin with a warm smile and many kind words, claiming to be his long-lost uncle, newly returned from his travels. He gave Aladdin gifts and money, charmed his trusting mother, and soon won the young man's complete confidence. Then, one day, the false uncle invited Aladdin to come with him on a journey beyond the city walls, promising to show him something truly marvellous — and the unsuspecting young man happily agreed to go.
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Far outside the city, in a lonely rocky valley, the sorcerer worked a spell, and the ground trembled and split open to reveal a flat stone with a brass ring, and beneath it a stairway leading down into the earth. The sorcerer told Aladdin that below lay a cave full of treasure, and that he alone was fated to enter it. Aladdin must pass through halls of gold and gardens of jewels without touching a thing, the sorcerer warned, and bring back only a certain plain old lamp that he would find there. He slipped a magic ring onto Aladdin's finger to protect him, and sent the wondering young man down the glowing stair into the enchanted cave below.
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Aladdin found the cave just as the sorcerer had said — vast halls heaped with gold, and gardens where the trees bore fruit of glittering jewels. He took the plain old lamp, and could not resist filling his pockets with a few of the dazzling gems besides. But when he climbed back to the entrance, the sorcerer demanded the lamp first, and when Aladdin — his arms full — asked to be helped out before handing it over, the angry sorcerer sealed the cave shut, trapping him inside! In the dark, in despair, Aladdin happened to rub the magic ring the sorcerer had given him — and at once a mighty spirit rose up out of it, glowing and grand, and asked what its master wished. Aladdin wished only to be home, and in an instant the ring-spirit carried him safely back to his mother.
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Safe at home, Aladdin and his mother were still very poor, and one day, hoping to sell the plain old lamp for a few coins, his mother began to polish it clean. The moment she rubbed it, there was a great swirl of smoke, and up rose an even mightier spirit than the one in the ring — the grand Spirit of the Lamp, who bowed low and declared himself the slave of whoever held the lamp, ready to grant any wish at all. Aladdin's mother nearly fainted with fright, but clever Aladdin saw at once what a treasure had fallen into his hands. First he wished only for a fine meal, which appeared on golden dishes — and from that day, with the help of the wonderful lamp, the fortunes of the poor tailor's son began to rise beyond all imagining.
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With the lamp-spirit's help, Aladdin and his mother wanted for nothing, and Aladdin grew into a fine and generous young man, respected throughout the city. One day the Sultan's beautiful daughter, the Princess Badroulbadour, passed through the streets in a grand procession, and Aladdin caught just a glimpse of her gentle, lovely face. From that moment he could think of nothing else, and he resolved, bold as he was, to win her hand. He sent his astonished mother to the Sultan's court bearing a dazzling gift — a bowl heaped with the jewels he had carried from the cave — and the Sultan, amazed at such riches, agreed to consider the unknown suitor who could command such wealth.
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The Sultan agreed that Aladdin might marry the princess — if he could prove himself worthy. So Aladdin called upon the Spirit of the Lamp and wished for a palace grander than the Sultan's own. Overnight, on an empty plot across from the royal palace, the spirit raised a dazzling marble palace with windows of jewels, gardens of fountains, and servants and treasures beyond counting. The whole city woke in amazement to see it gleaming in the dawn. The Sultan was overjoyed and astonished, and so Aladdin, the poor tailor's son, was married to the gentle Princess Badroulbadour in the greatest celebration the kingdom had ever seen, and the two of them came to love each other truly and dearly.
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But far away, the wicked sorcerer learned by his arts that Aladdin had not died in the cave after all, but had risen to great fortune by the power of the lamp — and he burned with fury and greed. In disguise as a humble peddler, he came to Aladdin's city crying, 'New lamps for old! New lamps for old!' through the streets. The Princess, not knowing the plain old lamp's secret, thought it a fine bargain to trade the shabby old thing for a shiny new one, and so, by this clever trick, the sorcerer got the wonderful lamp into his own hands at last. At once he commanded its spirit to carry Aladdin's whole palace — princess and all — far away to his own distant land.
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Aladdin was heartbroken to find his palace and his beloved princess gone — but he still wore the sorcerer's old magic ring, and the ring-spirit carried him across the world to the far land where the palace now stood. There, with the help of the brave princess, Aladdin made a clever plan: she welcomed the gloating sorcerer kindly, lulled his suspicion, and gave him a cup of specially-prepared drink that sent him into a deep, deep sleep. While the sorcerer slumbered, Aladdin slipped in, snatched the wonderful lamp from inside his robe, and summoned its mighty spirit once more. With the lamp safely back in his own hands, the long reign of the wicked sorcerer was over at last.
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With the wonderful lamp safely his once more, Aladdin wished the whole palace — and the princess, and himself — carried straight back home to their own city. In an instant the great marble palace reappeared in its rightful place, gleaming beside the Sultan's, and the overjoyed Sultan welcomed his daughter and her husband home with feasting and celebration that lasted many days. The wicked sorcerer, undone by his own greed, was gone for good and troubled them no more. And Aladdin, the poor tailor's son who had risen so high, ruled wisely and kindly beside his beloved princess for many long and happy years — proof that a good heart and a quick wit, even more than a magic lamp, can carry a person a very long way indeed.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
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