One day, as he was looking for wild figs
in a grove some way from the town, Aladdin
met a mysterious stranger. This smartly
dressed dark-eyed man with a trim black
beard and a splendid sapphire in his
turban, asked Aladdin an unusual question:
"Come here, boy," he ordered. "How would
you like to earn a silver penny?" "A silver
penny!" exclaimed Aladdin. "Sir, I'd do
anything for that kind of payment."

"I'm not going to ask you to do much. Just
go down that manhole. I'm much too big to
squeeze through myself. If you do as I ask,
you'll have your reward."

The stranger helped Aladdin lift the
manhole cover, for it was very heavy. Slim
and agile as he was, the boy easily went
down. His feet touched stone and he
carefully made his way down some steps .
. . and found himself in a large chamber.
It seemed to sparkle, though dimly lit by
the flickering light of an old oil lamp.
When Aladdin's eyes became used to the
gloom, he saw a wonderful sight: trees
dripping with glittering jewels, pots of
gold and caskets full of priceless gems.
Thousands of precious objects lay
scattered about. It was a treasure trove!
Unable to believe his eyes, Aladdin was
standing dazed when he heard a shout
behind him.

"The lamp! Put out the flame and bring
me the lamp!" Surprised and suspicious,
for why should the stranger, out of all
such a treasure want only an old lamp,
Aladdin wondered. Perhaps he was a wizard.
He decided to be on his guard. Picking up
the lamp, he retraced his steps up to the
entrance.

"Give me the lamp," urged the wizard
impatiently. "Hand it over," he began
to shout, thrusting out his arm to grab it,
but Aladdin cautiously drew back. "Let me
out first . . ." "Too bad for you," snapped
the stranger, slamming down the manhole
cover, never noticing that, as he did so,
a ring slid off his finger. A terrified
Aladdin was left in pitch darkness,
wondering what the wizard would do next.
Then he trod on the ring. Aimlessly putting
it on his finger, he twisted it round and
round. Suddenly the room was flooded with
a rosy light and a great genie with clasped
hands appeared on a cloud.

"At your command, sire," said the genie.
Now astounded, Aladdin could only stammer:
"I want to go home!" In a flash he was back
in his own home, though the door was
tightly shut.

"How did you get in?" called his mother
from the kitchen stove, the minute she
set eyes on him.

Excitedly, her son told her of his
adventures. "Where's the silver coin?"
his mother asked.

Aladdin clapped a hand to his brow. For
all he had brought home was the old oil
lamp "Oh, mother! I'm so sorry. This is
all I've got."

"Well, let's hope it works. It's so
dirty . . ." and the widow began to rub
the lamp.

Suddenly out shot another genie, in a
cloud of smoke. "You've set me free, after
centuries! I was a prisoner in the lamp,
waiting to be freed by someone rubbing it.
Now, I'm your obedient servant. Tell me
your wishes." And the genie bowed
respectfully, awaiting Aladdin's orders.

The boy and his mother gaped wordlessly
at this incredible apparition, then the
genie said with a hint of impatience in
his voice. "I'm here at your command. Tell
me what you want. Anything you like!"
Aladdin gulped, then said: "Bring us . .
. bring . . ." His mother not having yet
begun to cook the dinner, went on to
say: ". . . a lovely big meal."

From that day on, the widow and her son
had everything they could wish for: food,
clothes and a fine home, for the genie of
the lamp granted them everything they asked
him. Aladdin grew into a tall handsome young
man and his mother felt that he ought to
find himself a wife, sooner or later.

One day, as he left the market, Aladdin
happened to see the Sultan's daughter
Halima in her sedan chair being carried
through the streets. He only caught a fleeting
glimpse of the princess, but it was enough
for him to want to marry her. Aladdin told
his mother and she quickly said:

"I'll ask the Sultan for his daughter's hand.
He'll never be able to refuse. Wait and see!"
And indeed, the Sultan was easily persuaded
by a casket full of big diamonds to admit
the widow to the palace. However, when he
learned why she had come, he told the widow
that her son must bring proof of his
power and riches. This was mostly the
Chamberlain's idea, for he himself was
eager to marry the beautiful black-eyed
Sultan's daughter.

"If Aladdin wants to marry Halima,' said
the Sultan, "he must send me forty slaves
tomorrow. Every slave must bring a box
of precious stones. And forty Arab warriors
must escort the treasure."

Aladdin's mother went sadly home. The
genie of the magic lamp had already worked
wonders, but nothing like this. Aladdin
however,when he heard the news, was not
at all dismayed. He picked up the lamp,
rubbed it harder than ever and told the
genie what he required. The genie simply
clapped his hands three times. Forty
slaves magically appeared, carrying the
gemstones, together with their escort of
forty Arab warriors.

When he saw all this the next day, the
Sultan was taken aback. He never imagined
such wealth could exist. Just as he was
about to accept Aladdin as his daughter's
bridegroom, the envious Chamberlain broke
in with a question.

"Where wlll they live?" he asked. The
Sultan pondered for a moment, then
allowing greed to get the better of him,
he told Aladdin to build a great,
splendid palace for Halima. Aladdin went
straight home and, in what was once a
wilderness, the genie built him a palace.
The last obstacle had been overcome. The
wedding tbok place with great celebrations
and the Sultan was especially happy at
finding such a rich and powerful son-in-law.

News of Aladdin's sudden fortune and
wealth spread like wildfire, until....
one day, a strange merchant stopped
beneath the palace window.

"Old lamps for new," he called to the
princess,standing on the balcony. Now,
Aladdin had always kep this secret to
himself. Only his mother knew it and
she had never told a soul. Halima, alas,
had been kept in the dark. And so, now,
wanting to give Alladin a surprise as
well as make a good bargain, she fetched
the old oil lamp she had seen Aladdin
tuck away, and gave it to the merchant
in exchange for a new one. The merchant
quickly began to rub it . . . and the
genie was now at the service of the wizard
who had got his magic lamp back.

In a second he whisked away all Aladdin's
possessions and magically sent the palace
and the princess to an unknown land.
Aladdin and the Sultan were at their
wits' end. Nobody knew what had happened.
Only Aladdin knew it had something to do
with the magic lamp. But as he wept over
the lost genie of the lamp, he remembered
the genie of the ring from the wizard's
finger. Slipping the ring on his finger,
Aladdin twisted it round and round.
"Take me to the place where the wizard
has hidden my wife," he ordered the
genie. In a flash, he found himself
inside his own palace, and peeping from
behind a curtain, he saw the wizard and
the princess,now his servant.

"Psst! Psst!" hissed Aladdin.

"Aladdin! It's you . . .!"

"Ssh. Don't let him hear you.

Take this powder and put it into his tea.
Trust me." The powder quickly took
effect and the wizard fell into a deep
sleep.

Aladdin hunted for the lamp high and low,
but it was nowere to be seen. But it had
to be there. How, otherwise, had the
wizard moved the palace?

As Aladdin gazed at his sleeping enemy,
he thought of peering underneath the
pillow. "The lamp! At last,"
sighed Aladdin, hastily rubbing it.

"Welcome back, Master!" exclaimed the
genie. "Why did you leave me at another's
service for so long?"

"Welcome," replied Aladdin. "I'm glad to
see you again. I've certainly missed you!
It's just as well I have you by me again."

"At your command," smiled the genie.

"First, put this wicked wizard in chains
and take him far away where he'll never be
found again." The genie grinned with
pleasure, nodded his head, and the wizard vanished.
Halima clutched Aladdin in fear: "What's
going on? Who is that genie?"
"Don't worry, everything is all right,"
Aladdin reassured her, as he told his
wife the whole story of how he had met
the wizard and found the magic lamp that
had enabled him to marry her. Everything
went back to normal and the happy pair
hugged each other tenderly.

"Can we return to our own kingdom?" the
princess asked timidly, thinking of her
father, so far away. Aladdin glanced at
her with a smile.

"The magic that brought you here will
take you back, but with me at your side,
forever."

The Sultan was almost ill with worry. His
daughter had disappeared along with the
palace, and then his son-in-law had
vanished too. Nobody knew where they were,
not even the wise men hastily called to
the palace to divine what had happened.
The jealous Chamberlain kept on repeating:

"I told you Aladdin's fortune couldn't last."
Everyone had lost all hope of ever seeing
the missing pair again, when far away,
Aladdin rubbed the magic lamp and said
to the genie,

"Take my wife, myself and the palace back
to our own land, as fast as you can."
"In a flash, Sire," replied the genie. At
the snap of a finger, the palace rose into
the air and sped over the Sultan's kingdom,
above the heads of his astonished subjects.
It gently floated down to earth and landed
on its old site. Aladdin and Halima rushed
to embrace the Sultan.