Arabian Nights

by Richard Burton

  Now his mother had been very sad since he had left her and had rejoiced when he entered the apartment. However, when he sank to the ground in a swoon before her eyes, she was extremely upset and rushed to sprinkle some water on his face. Then she obtained some scents from the neighbors that she had him sniff. When he came around a little, he asked her to bring him some food and told her, “It’s been three days since I’ve had anything to eat.”

  Thereupon she fetched him what she had on hand, set it before him, and said, “Come, my son, eat and refresh yourself. After you’ve rested, you can tell me what happened to you. At this point, I won’t ask you any questions, for you seem quite exhausted to me.”

  After Aladdin had finished eating and drinking and had recovered his spirits, he began scolding his mother for leaving him in the hands of the magician. “I want you to know, Mother,” he said, “that he intended to take my life. That man, who you said was my uncle, was a scoundrel, and if Almighty Allah had not rescued me from him, I would have been destroyed. Mother, the man was a sorcerer, liar, and hypocrite. I don’t think there’s a devil under the earth worse than he is. His only wish was to use me so he could obtain what he wanted, and then he planned to do away with me. His fondness for me was all show, and he wasn’t interested in my welfare at all. Listen to what he did.”

  Then Aladdin told her about everything that had happened and wept as he related his adventures to her. At one point during his story he took out the lamp from his breast pocket to show it to her along with the gems and jewels he had brought from the garden, still unaware of their great value. When he finally concluded his story, he heaped abuse on the magician with a burning heart and in great anger.

  “Truly,” his mother said, “that man is a dangerous criminal and hypocrite who murders people with his magic. Praise be to Allah, who saved you from the magician’s treachery. I honestly thought he was your uncle.”

  Then, since the boy had not slept a wink for three days and found himself nodding, he went to sleep, and his mother did likewise. Indeed, he did not awake until about noon on the second day, and as soon as he shook off his slumber, he asked his mother for some food. However, she replied, “My son, I have nothing in the house, since you ate everything there was the day before. Be patient and wait until I finish spinning some yarn. Then I’ll carry it to the market and buy some food for you with the money I earn from selling it.”

  “Mother,” said he, “keep your yarn. Don’t sell it. Just fetch me the lamp I brought with me. I’ll go and sell it and buy some food with the money I earn. I’m sure that it will bring in more money than what you can get for your yarn.”

  So Aladdin’s mother arose and fetched the lamp for her son. But while she was doing it, she saw that it was exceedingly dirty and said, “My son, here’s the lamp, but it is filthy. I think that it will sell for more if we wash and polish it.”

  Then, taking a handful of sand, she began to rub the lamp with it. However, all of a sudden, a gigantic jinnee appeared, and he was just as horrifying as he was huge.

  “Tell me what you want, mistress,” the jinnee cried. “I am your slave and beholden to anyone who holds the lamp. Not only am I your slave, but so are all the other slaves of the lamp.”

  Aladdin’s mother was so overcome with fright that she became tongue-tied and could not respond. Never in her life had she seen such an awesome figure, and she fell to the ground in a swoon. Now, Aladdin was standing at some distance, and he had already seen the jinnee of the ring that he had accidentally rubbed while he had been in the cave. Therefore, when he heard the slave talking to his mother, he rushed over and snatched the lamp from her hand.

  “Oh, slave of the lamp,” he said, “I am hungry, and I want you to fetch me something to eat. And let it be something delicious and sumptuous.”

  The jinnee disappeared for a split second and then returned with a vast silver tray loaded with twelve golden platters of different kinds of meat, delicious dainties, and bread whiter than snow. Moreover, there were two silver cups and many flasks of clear wine of the very best vintage. After setting all these things before Aladdin, he vanished from sight. Then Aladdin went and sprinkled rose water on his mother’s face and revived her with some pure and pungent perfumes.

  “Get up, Mother,” he said, “and let us eat this food that Allah Almighty has provided for us.”

  But when she saw the vast silver tray, she was astounded and asked, “Who is this generous benefactor that has decided to help against our hunger and poverty? We are truly obliged to him. I think it may even be the sultan, who most likely heard about our dire need and misery and sent us this tray of food.”

  “Mother,” Aladdin said, “this is no time for asking questions. Arise, and let us eat, for we are both famished.”

  Accordingly, they sat down to the tray and began eating, and Aladdin’s mother tasted meat that she had never had the pleasure of tasting before. Indeed, they devoured the food in front of them with an appetite fit for kings. Neither one of them knew how valuable the tray was, for never in their born days had they seen the likes of it. As soon as they had finished the meal (leaving just enough for supper and the next day), they got up and washed their hands and chatted for a while. Then the mother turned to her son and said, “Tell me, Aladdin, now that we’ve eaten, what you did with the jinnee. You no longer have the excuse of saying, ‘I’m hungry.’”

  So Aladdin told her all that had taken place between him and the slave while she had been unconscious on the ground. His story caused her to be very surprised, and she said, “It’s true that the jinnees do appear to humans, but I myself never saw one before this. He’s probably the same one who rescued you while you were in the cave.”

  “It’s not the same one, Mother,” Aladdin replied. “The ifrit you saw is the slave of the lamp. The other was the slave of the ring and had a different shape.”

  When his mother heard these words, she cried, “You mean that accursed one who appeared before me and almost killed me is attached to the lamp?”

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Then, I beg you, my son,” she said, “by the milk with which I suckled you, throw away the lamp and the ring! They can only cause us a great deal of terror, and I couldn’t bear to look at that jinnee a second time. Moreover, it is unlawful to have relations with them. Remember that the Prophet warned us against them, and may Allah bless and preserve him!”

  “I shall take your concern to heart, Mother,” Aladdin responded, “but it’s impossible for me to part with the lamp or the ring. You yourself have seen how well the slave provided for us when we were famished. Moreover, that liar, the magician, sent me down into the cave not for the silver or the gold that filled the four apartments. Rather he wanted the lamp and nothing else, because he had learned about its priceless value. If he hadn’t been sure about this, he would not have gone to so much trouble and suffered so much hardship, nor would he have traveled from his own country to ours in search of it. Indeed, he wouldn’t have buried me in the cave after he had given up hope of obtaining the lamp from me. Therefore, we must keep this lamp and make certain not to disclose its secret powers to anyone. It is now the means of our livelihood and will make us rich. The same is true about the ring, which I shall never withdraw from my finger, since without it I would not be with you here today. Indeed, I would have died with the treasures in the cave. So how could you possibly ask me to remove it from my finger? And who knows what troubles and predicaments I may have in the future? I may need this ring to save my life again. However, since I know how you feel, I’ll hide the lamp from your sight so that you’ll never have to lay your eyes on it again.”

  When his mother heard his words and thought about them, she knew that he was right and said, “Do as you wish, my son. As far as I am concerned, I don’t ever want anything to do with them, nor do I ever want to see that frightful sight again.”

  And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night ar
rived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,

  Aladdin and his mother continued eating the food that the jinnee had brought them the next two days until it was all gone. Then Aladdin took one of the platters that the slave had brought upon the tray to the bazaar in order to sell it. He was still unaware that it was made of the finest gold imaginable, and he approached a Jew, who was shrewder than the devil himself to offer it for sale. When the Jew caught sight of it, he took the boy aside so that nobody might see him, and he examined the platter until he was certain that it was made of gold. However, since he did not know whether Aladdin realized its actual value or was naive, he asked him, “How much do you want for this platter?”

  “You know what it’s worth,” replied the boy.

  The Jew debated with himself as to how much he should offer, because Aladdin had given him a cunning reply. At first he thought of a small sum, but at the same time, he feared that the boy might be expecting a considerable amount. So he said to himself, “I had better make him a halfway decent offer even though he might be an ignoramus.” So he pulled out a dinar from his pocket, and when Aladdin eyed the gold coin, he hastily took it from the Jew’s palm and went his way. Thereupon the Jew realized that the boy had no idea of the platter’s worth and regretted that he had not given him a copper carat instead of a gold dinar. In the meantime, Aladdin went straight to the baker’s shop, where he bought bread and changed the ducat. Then he went to his mother and gave her the scones and the change from the ducat.

  “Mother,” he said, “take this money and buy whatever we need.”

  So she arose, walked to the bazaar, and brought back whatever they needed for the household. Afterward they had a fine meal and were refreshed. And whenever the food ran out, Aladdin would take another platter and carry it to the accursed Jew, who bought each and every one of them at the pitiful price of a dinar. He would even have tried to lower this price to next to nothing, but seeing how he had paid a dinar for the first platter, he feared to offer a lesser sum in case the boy might go to one of his rivals and he would lose his huge profits.

  When all the golden platters had been sold, the silver tray was the only thing that remained. Because it was so large and heavy, Aladdin brought the Jew to his house and produced the article. When the buyer saw its size, he gave Aladdin ten dinars and went his way. Thereafter, the boy and his mother lived off this money for a while until it was fully spent. Consequently, Aladdin took out the lamp and rubbed it, and immediately the slave made his appearance once again.

  “Ask, my lord, for whatever you want,” the jinnee said. “I am your slave and the thrall of whoever possesses the lamp.”

  “Since I am famished, I want you to bring me a tray of food like the one you brought me before,” the boy said.

  In the wink of an eye the slave produced a similar tray carrying twelve platters of the most sumptuous food with pure white bread and various bottles of fine wine. Now, Aladdin’s mother had gone out when she knew that he was about to rub the lamp so that she would not have to see the jinnee again. But after a while, when she returned and saw the tray covered with the gold platters and smelled the savory meat, she was astonished and pleased.

  “Look, Mother!” cried Aladdin. “You wanted me to throw away the lamp, but look at its virtues.”

  “My son, may Allah reward the jinnee,” she replied, “but I never want to see him again.”

  Then the boy sat down with his mother, and they ate and drank until they were satisfied. Then they put away the rest of the food for the next day. As soon as the food had been consumed again, Aladdin arose, hid a platter beneath his garments, and went off with the intention of selling it to the Jew. However, by chance, he passed the shop of an old jeweler, an honest and pious man who feared Allah. When the sheikh saw the boy, he asked him, “What are you doing here, my son? I’ve seen you pass by here many times. Moreover, I’ve seen you making deals with a Jewish man and exchanging various articles with him. It seems to me that you have something for sale and are looking for a buyer. But you probably don’t know, my boy, that the Jews do not respect the laws of the Moslems and are always cheating them, especially this accursed Jew with whom you’ve been bartering. If you indeed have something to sell, you just have to show it to me. Never fear, by Allah, I’ll pay you the true price.”

  Thereupon Aladdin took out the platter and gave it to the old goldsmith, who weighed it on his scales and asked the lad, “Did you sell something similar to this to the Jew?”

  “Yes,” Aladdin answered, “and others as well.”

  “What price did he pay you?”

  “One dinar.”

  “What a thief that man is to rob Almighty Allah’s servants in this way!” the goldsmith exclaimed. Then, looking at the boy, he remarked, “My son, that tricky Jew has cheated you! In truth, he’s made a laughingstock out of you. This platter is pure gold, and it’s worth seventy dinars. If you agree to this price, you may have the money.”

  Accordingly, the sheikh counted out seventy gold pieces, which Aladdin accepted and at the same time thanked him for exposing the Jew’s treachery. And after this, whenever he needed to sell another platter, he would bring it to the goldsmith and so he and his mother were soon in better circumstances. Nevertheless, they did not stop living in their customary way as middle-class folk, for they did not squander or waste their money. Moreover, Aladdin had now changed his ways: he no longer associated with the scamps and vagabonds of the neighborhood, and he began to meet good honest men. He went to the market street every day, where he conversed with the merchants, both great and small, asking them about their trade and learning the price of investments and so forth. Likewise, he frequented the bazaars of the goldsmiths and jewelers, where he would sit and enjoy himself by examining their precious stones and noting how jewels were bought and sold. Soon he became aware that the fruit with which he had filled his pockets in the subterranean garden was neither glass nor crystal, but made up of rich and rare gems. Indeed, it dawned on him that he had acquired immense wealth that surpassed that of actual kings. This discovery became even more evident when he examined all the precious stones in the jewelers’ quarter and found that their biggest gem could not even match his smallest.

  Several years went by, and Aladdin kept frequenting the bazaars, where he became known and loved by most of the folk there. He bought and sold, traded the dear and the cheap, until one day, after rising at dawn and heading for the jewelers’ bazaar as was his custom, he heard the town crier announcing something important in the streets: “By command of our magnificent master, the king of the time and the lord of the age and the tide, let all the people close their shops and stores and retire behind the doors of their houses. The Lady Badar al-Budur, the sultan’s daughter, desires to visit the Hammam. Whoever does not respect this order will be punished by death and his blood will be upon his own head.”

  And Scheherazade noticed that dawn was approaching and stopped telling her story. When the next night arrived, however, she received the king’s permission to continue her tale and said,

  Since the Badar al-Budur’s beauty and loveliness were the talk of the entire town, Aladdin began thinking of some way to catch a glimpse of the princess. At last, he decided that it would be best if he took a place behind the Hammam door, where he might see her face as she entered. With this plan in mind, he went straight to the baths before she was expected and stood behind the entrance, a place where none of the people happened to be looking. Now, when the sultan’s daughter had made the rounds of the city and its main streets and had amused herself by sightseeing, she finally reached the Hammam, and upon entering, she raised her veil, and her face glittered like a bright sun or a pure white pearl.

  After Aladdin saw how lovely she was, he muttered to himself, “Truly, she is a tribute to the Almighty Maker who has adorned her with such amazing beauty and loveliness.” From the moment he saw her, he fell helplessly in love with her. His thoughts were distraught. H
is gaze was dazed. His entire heart was gripped by her. Later, when he returned home to his mother, he was in a state of ecstasy. His mother asked him why he was so delirious, but he would not respond. After she prepared the morning meal, he continued to act very strangely, and she asked again, “My son, what’s happened to you? Tell me, is anything wrong? Let me know if something bad has happened to you, for it’s not like you to remain silent when I speak to you.”

  Thereupon, Aladdin, who used to think that all women resembled his mother, and who did not know what “beauty” and “loveliness” meant, even though he had heard about the charms of the sultan’s daughter, turned to his mother and shouted, “Let me be!”

  However, she continued to plead with him at least to sit down and eat. So he did as she requested but hardly touched the food. After that he lay down on his bed and spent the night in deep thought until the next day. His condition remained the same that day, and his mother was distressed because she was not able to learn what was bothering her son. Since she thought he might be sick, she approached him and said, “My son, if you are feeling pain or something else, let me know so that I can go and fetch a doctor. In fact, the sultan summoned a doctor from the land of the Arabs, who has already arrived, and it is said that he is extremely skillful. If you want, I’ll go and bring him to you.”

  “I’m feeling well, Mother,” Aladdin replied. “I’m not in the least bit sick. The only thing is that until yesterday, I had always thought that all women resembled you. However, I’ve seen the Lady Badar al-Budur, the sultan’s daughter, as she was going to the baths. And now I know differently.” And he related to her everything that had happened to him and added, “You’ve probably heard the crier announce that no man was to open his shop or stand in the street so that the Lady Badar al-Budur could retire to the Hammam without anyone seeing her. But now you know that I have seen her as she is, for she raised her veil at the door. And when I caught sight of her and saw the noble work of the Creator, I became ecstatic and fell deeply in love with her. In fact, I’m now determined to win her hand, and I can’t sleep a wink without trembling and thinking about her. Therefore, I intend to ask the sultan for permission to marry her in lawful wedlock.”