to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. “Mother,”
said he, “have I an uncle?” “No, child,” replied his mother, “you have
no uncle by your father’s side or mine.” “I am just now come,” answered
Aladdin, “from a man who says he is my uncle by my father’s side,
assuring me that he is his brother. He cried and kissed me when I told
him my father was dead; and to shew you that what I tell you is truth,”
added he, pulling out the money, “see what he has given me; he charged
me to give his love to you, and to tell you, if he has any time
to-morrow, he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see at the same
time the house my father lived and died in.” “Indeed, child,” replied
the mother, “your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long
time, and I never heard of another.”
The mother and son talked no more then of the African magician; but the
next day Aladdin’s uncle found him playing in another part of the town
with other children, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of gold
into his hand, and said to him, “Carry this, child, to your mother, and
tell her that I will come and see her to-night, and bid her get us
something for supper; but first shew me the house where you live.”
After Aladdin had shewed the African magician the house, he carried the
two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told her of his
uncle’s intention, she went out and bought provisions; and considering
she wanted various vessels, she went and borrowed them of her
neighbours. She spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and at
night, when it was ready, she said to Aladdin, “Perhaps your uncle knows
not how to find our house, go and see for him, and bring him if you meet
with him.”
Though Aladdin had shewed the magician the house, he was very ready to
go, when somebody knocked at the door, which Aladdin immediately opened;
and the magician came in, loaded with wine and all sorts of fruits,
which he brought for a dessert.
After the African magician had given what he brought into Aladdin’s
hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to shew him the place
where his brother Mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so
done, he presently fell down and kissed it several times, crying out
with tears in his eyes, “My poor brother! How unhappy am I, not to have
come soon enough to give you one last embrace!” Aladdin’s mother desired
him to sit down in the same place, but he would not. “No,” said he, “I
shall take care how I do that; but give me leave to sit here over
against it, that if I am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the
master of a family so dear to me, I may at least have the pleasure of
seeing the place where he used to sit.” Aladdin’s mother pressed him no
farther, but left him at his liberty to sit where he pleased.
When the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to
enter into discourse with Aladdin’s mother. “My good sister,” said he,
“do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have
been married to my brother, Mustapha, of happy memory. I have been forty
years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my
late brother’s; and during that time have travelled into the Indies,
Persia, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, and have resided in the finest towns
of those countries, and afterwards crossed over into Africa, where I
made a longer stay. At last, as it is natural for a man, how distant
soever it may be, to remember his native country, relations and
acquaintance, I was very desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my
dear brother; and finding I had strength and courage enough to undertake
so long a journey, I immediately made the necessary preparations for it,
and set out. I will not tell you the length of time it took me, all the
obstacles I met with, and what fatigues I have endured, to come hither;
but nothing ever mortified and afflicted me so much as the hearing of my
brother’s death, for whom I always had a brotherly love and friendship.
I observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and
distinguished him from a number of children with whom he was at play; he
can tell you how I received the most melancholy news that ever reached
my ears. But God be praised for all things! It is a comfort to me to
find him again in a son, who has his most remarkable features.”
The African magician, perceiving that Aladdin’s mother began to weep at
the remembrance of her husband, changed the discourse, and turning
towards Aladdin, asked him his name. “I am called Aladdin,” said he.
“Well, Aladdin,” replied the magician, “what business do you follow? Are
you of any trade?”
At this question Aladdin hung down his head, and was not a little dashed
when his mother made answer, “Aladdin is an idle fellow; his father,
when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but could not
succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he
does nothing but idle away his time in the streets, as you saw him,
without considering he is no longer a child: and if you do not make him
ashamed of it, and make him leave it off, I despair of his ever coming
to any good. He knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees me
endeavour to get bread by spinning cotton every day; for my part, I am
resolved, one of these days, to turn him out of doors and let him
provide for himself.”
After these words, Aladdin’s mother burst out into tears; and the
magician said, “This is not well, nephew; you must think of helping
yourself, and getting your livelihood. There are a great many sorts of
trades: consider if you have not an inclination to some of them; perhaps
you did not like your father’s trade, and would prefer another! come, do
not disguise your sentiments from me; I will endeavour to help you.” But
finding that Aladdin returned no answer,—“If you have no mind,”
continued he, “to learn any trade, and prove an honest man, I will take
a shop for you, and furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens,
and set you to trade with them; and with the money you make with them,
lay in fresh goods, and then you will live after an honourable way.
Consult your own inclination, and tell me freely what you think of it;
you shall always find me ready to keep my word.”
This proposal greatly flattered Aladdin, who mortally hated work, and
had sense enough to know that such sort of shops were very much esteemed
and frequented, and the owners honoured and respected. He told the
magician he had a greater inclination to that business than to any
other, and that he should be very much obliged to him all his life for
his kindness. “Since this profession is agreeable to you,” said the
African magician, “I will carry you along with me to-morrow, and clothe
you as richly and handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and
after that we will think of opening a shop as I mean.”
Aladdin’s mother, who never till then could believe that the magician
was her husband’s brother, no longer doubted it after his promises of
kindness to her son. She thanked him for his good intentions; and after
having exhorted Aladdin to render himself worthy of his uncle’s favour
by his good behaviour, served up supper, at which they talked of several
indifferent matters; and then the magician, who saw that the night was
pretty far advanced, took his leave of the mother and son, and retired.
He came again the next day, as he promised, and took Aladdin along with
him to a great merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different
ages and ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. He asked to see
some that suited Aladdin in size; and after choosing a suit which he
liked best, and rejecting others which he did not think handsome enough,
he bid Aladdin choose those he preferred. Aladdin, charmed with the
liberality of his new uncle, made choice of one, and the magician
immediately bought it, and all things proper to it, and paid for it
without haggling.
When Aladdin found himself so handsomely equipped from top to toe, he
returned his uncle all imaginable thanks; who, on the other hand,
promised never to forsake him, but always to take him along with him;
which he did to the most frequented places in the city, and particularly
where the capital merchants kept their shops. When he brought him into
the street where they sold the richest stuffs, and finest linens, he
said to Aladdin, “As you are soon to be a merchant as well as these, it
is proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them.”
Then he shewed him the largest and finest mosques, and carried him to
the khans or inns where the merchants and travellers lodged, and
afterwards to the sultan’s palace, where he had free access; and at last
brought him to his own khan, where, meeting with some merchants he had
got acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to bring
them and his pretended nephew acquainted.
This treat lasted till night, when Aladdin would have taken his leave of
his uncle to go home, but the magician would not let him go by himself,
but conducted him safe to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him so
finely dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand
blessings upon the magician for being at so great an expense upon her
child. “Generous relation,” said she, “I know not how to thank you for
your liberality. I know that my son is not deserving of your favours;
and was he never so grateful, and answered your good intentions, he
would be unworthy of them. For my part,” added she, “I thank you with
all my soul, and wish you may live long enough to be a witness of my
son’s gratitude, which he cannot better shew than by regulating his
conduct by your good advice.”
“Aladdin,” replied the magician, “is a good boy, and minds well enough,
and I believe we shall do very well; but I am sorry for one thing, which
is, that I cannot perform to-morrow what I promised, because it is
Friday, and the shops will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or
furnish one, but let it alone till Saturday. But I will call on him
to-morrow, and take him to walk in the gardens, where people of the best
fashion generally walk. Perhaps he has never seen these amusements, he
has only hitherto been among children; but now he must see men.” Then
the African magician took his leave of the mother and the son, and
retired. Aladdin, who was overjoyed to be so well clothed, anticipated
the pleasure of walking in the gardens which lay about the town. He had
never been out of the town nor seen the environs, which were very
beautiful and pleasant.
Aladdin rose early the next morning and dressed himself, to be ready
against his uncle calling on him! and after he had waited some time, he
began to be impatient, and stood watching for him at the door: but as
soon as he perceived him coming, he told his mother, took his leave of
her, and ran to meet him.
The magician caressed Aladdin when he came to him. “Come along, my dear
child,” said he, “and I will shew you fine things.” Then he led him out
at one of the gates of the city, to some large fine houses, or rather
palaces, to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody
might go. At every house he came to, he asked Aladdin if he did not
think it fine: and Aladdin was ready to answer when any one presented
itself, crying out, “Here is a finer house, uncle, than any we have seen
yet.” By this artifice the cunning magician got Aladdin a pretty way
into the country; and as he had a mind to carry him farther, to execute
his design, he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens by
a fountain of clear water, which discharged itself by a lion’s mouth of
bronze into a great basin, pretending to be tired, the better to rest
Aladdin. “Come, nephew,” said he, “you must be weary as well as me; let
us rest ourselves, and we shall be better able to walk.”
After they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a
handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided on purpose, and
laid them on the edge of the basin. He broke a cake in two, gave one
half to Aladdin, and ate the other himself; and in regard to the fruit,
he left him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. During this
short repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping company with
children, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their
conversation; “for,” said he, “you will soon be at man’s estate, and you
cannot too early begin to imitate their conversation.” When they had
eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk through
the gardens, which were separated from one another only by small
ditches, which only marked out the limits without interrupting the
communication; so great was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in
each other. By this means, the African magician drew Aladdin insensibly
beyond the gardens, and crossed the country, till they almost came to
the mountains.
Aladdin, who had never been so far in his life before, began to find
himself much tired with so long a walk, and said to the magician, “Where
are we going, uncle? We have left the gardens a great way behind us, and
I see nothing but mountains; if we go much farther, I do not know
whether I shall be able to reach the town again.” “Never fear, nephew,”
said the false uncle; “I will shew you another garden, which surpasses
all we have yet seen; it is not far off, it is but a little step; and
when we come there, you will say that you would have been sorry to have
been so nigh it, and not seen it.” Aladdin was soon persuaded; and the
magician, to make the way seem shorter and less fatiguing, told him a
great many stories.
At last they came between two mountains of moderate height and equal
size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the magician
intended to bring Aladdin, to put into execution a design that had
brought him from Africa to China. “We will go no farther now,” said he
to Aladdin: “I will shew you here some very extraordinary things, and
what nobody ever saw before; which, when you have seen, you will thank
me for; but while I strike fire, do you gather up all the loose sticks
you can see, to kindle a fire with.”
Aladdin found there so many dried sticks, that before the magician had
lighted a match, he had gathered up a great heap. The magician presently
set them on fire, and when they were all in a blaze, the magician threw
in some incense he had about him, which raised a great cloud of smoke,
which he dispersed on each side, by pronouncing several magical words
which Aladdin did not understand.
At the same time, the earth trembled a little, and opened just before
the magician and Aladdin, and discovered a stone about half a yard
square, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into the middle of
it, to raise it up by. Aladdin was so frightened at what he saw, that he
would have run away; but as he was to be serviceable to the magician, he
caught hold of him, scolded him, and gave him such a box on the ear,
that he knocked him down, and had like to have beat his teeth down his
throat. Poor Aladdin got up again trembling, and with tears in his eyes,
said to the magician, “What have I done, uncle, to be treated after this
severe manner?” “I have my reasons for it,” replied the magician: “I am
your uncle, and supply the place of your father, and you ought to make
no reply. But, child,” added he, softening, “do not be afraid of
anything, for I shall not ask anything of you, but that you obey me
punctually, if you would reap the advantages which I intended you
should.” These fair promises calmed Aladdin’s fears and resentment; and
when the magician saw that he was come to himself, he said to him, “You
see what I have done by virtue of my incense, and the words I
pronounced. Know, then, that under this stone there is hid a treasure
which is destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the
greatest monarch in the world; this is so true, that no other person but
yourself is permitted to touch this stone, and to pull it up and go in;
for I am forbid ever to touch it, or set foot in this treasure when it
is opened; so you must, without fail, punctually execute what I tell
you, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and me.”
Aladdin, amazed at all he saw and heard the magician say of the
treasure, which was to make him happy for ever, forgot what was past,
and rising up, said to the magician, “Well, uncle, what is to be done?
Command me, I am ready to obey you.” “I am overjoyed, child,” said the
African magician, embracing him, “to see you take the resolution; come,
take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone.” “Indeed, uncle,” replied
Aladdin, “I am not strong enough to lift it; you must help me.” “You
have no occasion for my assistance,” answered the magician; “if I help
you, we shall be able to do nothing: you must lift it up yourself: take
hold of the ring, only pronounce the names of your father and
grandfather, then lift it up, and you will find it will come easily.”
Aladdin did as the magician bade him, and raised the stone with a great
deal of ease, and laid it on one side.
When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about three or
four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower.
“Observe, my son,” said the African magician, “what I am going to say to
you: go down into that cave, and when you are at the bottom of those
steps, you will find a door open, which will lead you into a large
vaulted place, divided into three great halls, in each of which you will
see four large brass vessels placed on each side, full of gold and
silver, but take care you do not meddle with them. Before you go into
the first hall, be sure to tuck up your gown, and wrap it well about
you, and then go through the second into the third without stopping.
Above all things, have a care that you do not touch the walls, so much
as with your clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. At the end
of the third hall, you will find a door, which leads into a garden
planted with fine trees loaded with fruit; walk directly across the
garden by a path which will lead you to five steps that will bring you
upon a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche
a lighted lamp. Take the lamp down, and put it out; when you have thrown
away the wick, and poured out the liquor, put it in your breast, and
bring it to me. Do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your
clothes, for it is not oil, and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is
thrown out. If you have a mind to any of the fruit of the garden, you
may gather as much as you please.”
After these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it
upon one of Aladdin’s telling him that it was a preservative against all
evil, while he observed what he had prescribed to him. After this
instruction, he said, “Go down boldly, child, and we shall both be rich
all our lives.”
Aladdin jumped into the cave, went down the steps, and found the three
halls just as the African magician had described them. He went through
them with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire, if he
failed to observe all that he was told very carefully; crossed the
garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out
the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician told him, put it in his
bosom. But as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly
dry, he stopped in the garden, to observe the fruit, which he only had a
glimpse of in crossing it. All the trees were loaded with extraordinary
fruit, of different colours on each tree: some bore fruit entirely
white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and
others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow; in
short, there was fruit of all colours. The white were pearls; the clear
and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, ballas
rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple,
amethysts; and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires; and so of the
rest. All these fruits were so large and beautiful, that nothing was
ever seen like them. Aladdin was altogether ignorant of their value; and
would have preferred figs and grapes, or any other fruits, before them;
and though he took them only for coloured glass of little value, yet he
was so pleased with the variety of the colours, and the beauty and
extraordinary size of the fruit, that he had a mind to gather some of
every sort; and accordingly filled his two pockets, and the two new
purses his uncle had bought for him with the clothes which he gave him;
and as he could not put them in his pockets, he fastened them to his
girdle. Some he wrapped up in the skirts of his gown, which was of silk,
large and wrapping, and crammed his breast as full as it could hold.
Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the value
of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, and made
all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon
arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African magician awaited him
with the utmost impatience. As soon as Aladdin saw him, he cried out,
“Pray, uncle, lend me your hand to help me out.” “Give me the lamp
first,” replied the magician; “it will be troublesome to you.” “Indeed,
uncle,” answered Aladdin, “I cannot now; it is not troublesome to me;
but I will as soon as I am up.” The African magician was so obstinate,
that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and Aladdin,
who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit, that he could not
well get at it, refused to give him it till he was out of the cave. The
African magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal of the lad, flew
into a terrible passion, and threw a little of his incense into the
fire, which he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two
magical words, but the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave
moved into its place, with the earth over it, in the same manner as it
lay at the arrival of the magician and Aladdin.
This action of the African magician’s plainly shewed him to be neither
Aladdin’s uncle, nor Mustapha, the tailor’s brother, but a true African,
a native of that part of the world. For as Africa is a country whose
inhabitants delight most in magic of any other in the whole world, he
had applied himself to it from his youth; and after about forty years’
experience in enchantments, works of geomancy, fumigations, and reading
of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful
lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful than any
monarch in the world, if he could obtain it; and by a late operation of
geomancy, he found out that this lamp lay concealed in a subterraneous
place in the midst of China, in the situation, with all the
circumstances, already described. Fully persuaded of the truth of this
discovery, he set out from the farthest part of Africa, and, after a
long and fatiguing journey, came to the town nearest to this treasure.
But though he had a certain knowledge of the place where the lamp was,
he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter the subterraneous
place where it was, but must receive it from the hands of another
person. For this reason, he addressed himself to Aladdin, whom he looked
upon as a young lad of no consequence, and fit to serve his purpose;
resolving, as soon as he got the lamp into his hands, to sacrifice poor
Aladdin to his avarice and wickedness, by making the fumigation
mentioned before, and saying those two magical words, the effect of
which was to remove the stone into its place again, that he might have
no witness of the transaction.
The blow he gave Aladdin, and the authority he assumed over him, was
only to use him to fear him, and to make him obey him more readily, and
give him the lamp as soon as he asked for it. But his too great
precipitation in executing his wicked intention on poor Aladdin, and his
fear lest somebody should come that way during their dispute, and
discover what he wished to keep secret, produced an effect quite
contrary to what he proposed to himself.
When the African magician saw that all his great hopes were frustrated
for ever, he returned that same day for Africa; but went quite round the
town, and at some distance from it, for fear lest some persons who had
seen him walk out with the boy, seeing him come back without him, should
entertain any jealousy of him, and stop him.