Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
In this episode, for the first time, we are told about the lamp that, from the title of the story, we know is a magic lamp.
The Maghrebi gives long instructions to Aladdin. I am surprised that he did not make Aladdin repeat them to make sure they are correctly understood. But apparently, Aladdin can follow these instructions to the letter and he reaches the lamp, which will be the source of wealth and glory in the future.
ON THE SEVENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
The Maghrebi said: "And you will thus be the master of the treasure, which we will share in all fairness, in two equal parts, one for you and one for me!"
At these words of the North African, Aladdin, this poor man, forgot both his fatigues and the blow received, and replied: “O my uncle, command me whatever you want, and I will obey you! And the Maghrebi took him in his arms and kissed him several times on the cheeks, and said to him: “O Aladdin, you are like a son to me and dearer to me! for I have no other parents on earth but you; and you will be my sole heir and my offspring, O my child! Because after all, it is for you, in short, that I am working at the moment and that I have come from so far away. And if I rushed you a little, you understand now that it was to make up your mind not to let your marvelous destiny await you in vain. So here's what you're going to do! Start first by going down with me to the bottom of the hole, and there you will take the bronze ring and lift the marble slab!" And, having thus spoken, he jumped first into the hole, and stretched out his hand to Aladdin, to help him go down. And Aladdin, once down, said to him: "But how am I to do, O my uncle, to lift such a heavy plate, when I am only a very young boy? If at least you wanted to help me, I would gladly do so!" The North African replied: “Oh no! Oh no! If unfortunately, I got my hands on it, you couldn't do anything more, and your name would be erased from the treasury forever! Try it yourself and you will see that you will lift the plaque with as much ease as if you were picking up a bird's feather! You will only have to pronounce, taking the ring, your name and your father's name and your grandfather's name! »
So Aladdin bent down and took the ring and pulled it to him saying, "I am Aladdin, son of the tailor Mustapha, son of the tailor Ali!" And he lifted the marble slab with great ease, and immediately set it aside. And he saw a vault which, by twelve steps of marble, descended towards a door with two leaves of red copper with large nails. And the North African said to him: “My son Aladdin, come down now into this vault. And when you are at the bottom of the twelfth step, you will enter through this copper door which will open by itself in front of you. And you will arrive under a large vault divided into three rooms communicating with each other. Now, in the first room, you will find four large bronze vats filled with liquid gold, in the second room four large silver vats filled with powdered gold, and in the third room four large gold vats filled with dinars of gold. But, you, pass without stopping! and lift your robe high and draw it tight around your waist, lest it touches the walls of the vats: for if you have the misfortune to touch with your fingers or even touch with the clothes one vat or its content, you will instantly be changed into a block of black stone. You will therefore enter the first room, and very quickly you will pass into the second from where, without stopping for a moment, you will enter the third, where you will find a studded door, similar to that of the entrance, which will immediately open before you. And you will cross it, and you will suddenly find yourself in a magnificent garden planted with trees bending under the weight of their fruits. But don't stop there either! You will cross it, walking straight ahead, and you will come to a staircase with columns, of thirty steps, which you will climb to reach a terrace. But when you're on this terrace, Aladdin, be careful! for you will see, just in front of you, a kind of open-air niche; and in this niche, you will find, on a bronze pedestal, a small copper lamp. And this lamp will be lit. But you, be careful, Aladdin! you will take this lamp, you will extinguish it, you will pour the oil from it on the ground, and you will quickly hide it in your bosom! And do not be afraid to dirty your dress, because this oil that you will have thrown away is not oil, but a completely different liquid which leaves no trace on the clothes. And you will come back to me, by the same path that you will have followed! And, on the way back, you can stop a little in the garden, if you please, and pick as many fruits as you like from this garden. And, once near me, you will give me the lamp, which is the goal and motive of our journey and will give us wealth and our glory in the future, oh my child!"
When the North African had thus spoken, he took off a ring that he had on his finger and put it on Aladdin's thumb, saying to him: "This ring, my son, will save you from all dangers and preserve you from all evil. So embolden your soul, and fill your chest with courage, for you are no longer a child, but a man! And, with the help of Allah, only good will happen to you! And we will be in wealth, thanks to the lamp, and in honor for life!" Then he added: “Only, once again, Aladdin, be very careful to lift your robe very high and pull it close to you! otherwise, you will be lost, and the treasure will be lost with you!"
Then he kissed him, patting her on the cheeks several times, and said, “Go safe! »
Then Aladdin, extremely emboldened, ran down the marble steps, and, lifting his robe over his belt, and holding it tight against him, he passed through the copper door, the two leaves of which had opened by themselves to his approach. And, without forgetting anything of the recommendations of the Maghrebi, he crossed with a thousand precautions the first, the second, and the third rooms, going around the vats filled with gold, arrived in front of the last door, crossed it, crossed the garden without stepping inside, stop, climbed the thirty steps of the columned staircase, climbed onto the terrace and went straight to the niche in front of him. And he saw, on the bronze pedestal, the lighted lamp.
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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