Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Now we see the true soul of the sorcerer (the Maghrebi). Because he is so greedy, he suspects that Aladdin is also greedy and is trying to keep the lamp for himself. He does not see that Aladdin has become afraid of him after he had been slapped. And that is his downfall.
ON THE EIGHTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
And Aladdin saw, on the bronze pedestal, the lighted lamp. And he reached out his hand and took it. And he poured the contents on the ground, and, seeing that the lamp had immediately dried up, he quickly hid it in his bosom, without fear of soiling his robe. And he descended from the terrace and arrived again in the garden.
Then, freed from his worries, he paused for a moment on the bottom step of the stairs to look at the garden. And he began to consider these trees whose fruits he had not had time to notice when he arrived. And he saw, indeed, that the trees of this garden were bending under the weight of their fruits, which were extraordinary in shape, size, and color. And he saw that, unlike the trees in the orchards, each branch of each of the trees bore fruits of different colors Some were transparent white like crystal, cloudy white like camphor, or opaque white like virgin wax. And some were red, red like pomegranate seeds, or red like blood orange. And some were green, dark green, and soft green; others that were blue and purple, and yellow; and others that had colors and tints of infinite variety. And poor Aladdin didn't know that the white fruits were diamonds, pearls, and moonstones; that the red fruits were rubies, carbuncles, hyacinths, coral, and cornelians; that the greens were emeralds, beryls, jades, prases, and aquamarines; that the blues were sapphires, turquoise, and lapis lazulis; that the violets were amethysts, jaspers, and sardonyxes; that the yellows were topazes, amber, and agates; and that the others, of unknown colors, were opals, aventurines, chrysolites, cymophanes, hematites, tourmalines, peridots, jets, and chrysoprases! And the sun was falling with all its rays on the garden. And the trees, with all their fruits, blazed without being consumed.
So Aladdin approached one of these trees at the limit of pleasure and wanted to pick some fruit to eat. And he found then that they were not at all good to eat, and that they hardly resembled except by their forms oranges, figs, bananas, grapes, watermelons, apples, and all the other excellent fruits of China. And he was very disappointed when he touched them, and he did not find them at all to his liking. And he thought they were just balls of colored glass because in his life he had never had the opportunity to see precious stones. However, although very annoyed, he thought of picking some to give as gifts to the young boys, his former comrades, and also to his mother, that poor thing! And he took several of every color and filled his belt, his pockets, and the inside of his robe, between the robe and the shirt, and between the shirt and the skin; and he put so much in there that he looked like an ass laden on both sides. And, heavy with all this, he carefully lifted his robe, drawing it tightly around his waist, and, full of prudence and precaution, he lightly crossed the three rooms of the vats, and regained the staircase of the vault, at the entrance to which the Maghrebi was anxiously awaiting him.
Now, as soon as Aladdin had passed through the copper door, and had ascended the first step of the staircase, the Maghrebi, who was above the opening, near the very entrance to the vault, did not have the patience to wait until he had reached the top of the steps and left the vault completely; and he said to him, "Well, Aladdin, where is the lamp?" And Aladdin replied, "I have it there, in my bosom!" He said, "Hurry up and take it out and give it to me!" But Aladdin said to him, "How do you want me to give it to you right now, O my uncle, when it is in the midst of all the glass balls with which I have stuffed my clothes on all sides! Rather let me climb these stairs, and help me out of the hole; and I then I will unload all these balls, in a safe place, and not on these steps where they might roll and break! And, in this way, freed from this insurmountable embarrassment, I will be able to remove the lamp from my bosom and give it to you! Besides, it has already slipped behind my back, and violently hits my skin! and I would be delighted to be rid of it!" But the Maghrebi, furious at Aladdin's resistance and convinced that Aladdin was only making these difficulties because he wanted to keep the lamp for himself, cried to him in a frightening voice like that of a demon: "O son! do you want to give me this lamp right away or die?" And Aladdin, who hardly knew what to attribute this change in his uncle, terrified to see him in such a fury, and fearing to receive a second slap more violent than the first, said to himself: “By Allah! I better avoid it! And I'll go back into the vault until he's calmed down! And he turned his back, and, lifting his robe, he cautiously went back into the cellar.
At this sight, the North African uttered a cry of rage and, on the verge of fury, he stamped and convulsed, tearing his beard, in his despair and his impossibility of running behind Aladdin in this vault which was forbidden to him. by magical powers. And he exclaimed: “Ah! Damn Aladdin, you're going to be punished as you deserve!" And he ran to the fire, which was not yet extinguished, and he threw a little of the incense powder he had on him, muttering a magic formula. And immediately the marble slab which served to close the entrance to the vault rose up of its own accord and returned to its original place, exactly stopping up the hole in the stairway; and the earth quaked and closed again, and the floor became as clean as before it opened. And Aladdin found himself locked in the underground. However, the Maghrebi was, as has already been said, a distinguished magician from the depths of the Maghreb, and not the uncle or the relative from near or far of the young Aladdin. And he was indeed born in Africa, which is the land and the stock of the worst quality magicians and wizards.
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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