The Children's Hour Volume V Part 19

The lords, who had courted Aladdin in his better days, paid him no heed as he left the palace in extreme shame. For three days he wandered about the city, exciting the pity of all he met by asking if they had seen his palace, or could tell where it was. On the third day he wandered into the country. As he approached a river he slipped and fell down a bank. Clutching at a rock to save himself, he rubbed his ring, and instantly the genie whom he had seen in the cave appeared before him. "What wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on their finger,--both I and the other slaves of the ring."

Aladdin had never thought of help from this quarter, and said with delight,--

"Genie, show me where the palace I caused to be built now stands, or bring it back where it first stood."

"Your command," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power; I am only the slave of the ring, and not of the lamp."

"I command thee, then," replied Aladdin, "by the power of the ring, to bear me to the spot where my palace stands, wherever it may be."

These words were no sooner out of his mouth than he found himself in the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, not far from a city, and directly above him was the window of his wife's chamber.

Just then one of her household happened to look out and see him, and told the good news to the Princess Buddir al Buddoor. She could not believe it to be true, and hastening to the window opened it herself with a noise which made Aladdin look up. Seeing the princess, he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy, and in a moment he had entered by a private door and was in her arms.

After shedding tears of joy, they sat down, and Aladdin said, "I beg of you, princess, to tell me what is become of an old lamp which stood upon a shelf in my robing chamber."

"Alas!" answered the princess, "I was afraid our misfortune might be owing to that lamp; and what grieves me most is that I have been the cause of it. I was foolish enough to change the old lamp for a new one, and the next morning I found myself in this unknown country, which I am told is Africa."

"Princess," said Aladdin, stopping her, "you have told me all by telling me we are in Africa. Now, only tell me where the old lamp is."

"The African magician," answered the princess, "carries it carefully wrapped up in his bosom. This I know, because one day he pulled it out before me, and showed it to me in triumph."

Aladdin quickly formed and carried out a plan to leave the palace, disguise himself, buy of a druggist a certain powder which he named, and return to the princess. He told her what she must do to help his purposes. When the magician should come to the palace, she must a.s.sume a friendly manner and ask him to sup with her. "Before he leaves,"

said Aladdin, "ask him to exchange cups with you. This he will gladly do, and you must give him the cup containing this powder. On drinking it he will instantly fall asleep, and we shall obtain the lamp, whose slaves will do our bidding, and bear us and the palace back to the capital of China."

It was not long before the magician came to the palace, and the princess did exactly as Aladdin had bidden her. When, at the end of the evening, she offered her guest the drugged cup, he drank it, out of honor to her, to the last drop, and fell back lifeless on the sofa.

Aladdin was quickly called and said, "Princess, retire, and let me be left alone while I try to take you back to China as speedily as you were brought thence." On the dead body of the magician he found the lamp, carefully wrapped and hidden in his garments. Aladdin rubbed it, and the genie stood before him.

"Genie," said Aladdin, "I command thee to bear this palace instantly back to the place whence it was brought hither." The genie bowed his head and departed. In a moment the palace was again in China, and its removal was felt only by two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short s.p.a.ce of time.

Early the next day the Sultan was looking from his window and mourning his daughter's fate. He could not believe his eyes when first he saw her palace standing in its old place. But as he looked more closely he was convinced, and joy came to his heart instead of the grief that had filled it. At once he ordered a horse and was on his way, when Aladdin, looking from the hall of twenty-four windows, saw him coming, and hastened to help him dismount. He was brought at once to the princess, and both wept tears of joy. When the strange events had been partly explained, he said to Aladdin,--

"My son, be not displeased at the harshness I showed towards you. It rose from a father's love, and therefore you will forgive it."

"Sire," said Aladdin, "I have not the least reason to complain of your conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty required. This wicked magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause of all."

VII

Only once again were Aladdin and his palace in danger from magic arts.

A younger brother of the African magician learned of what had happened, and, in the guise of a holy woman, Fatima, whom he killed that he might pretend to take her place, came to live in the palace.

The princess, thinking him really the holy woman, heeded all that he said. One day, admiring the beauty of the hall, he told her that nothing could surpa.s.s it if only a roc's egg were hung from the middle of the dome. "A roc," he said, "is a bird of enormous size which lives at the summit of Mount Caucasus. The architect who built your palace can get you an egg."

When the princess told Aladdin of her desire, he summoned the genie of the lamp and said to him,--

"Genie, I command thee in the name of this lamp, bring a roc's egg to be hung in the middle of the dome of the hall of the palace."

No sooner were these words spoken than the hall shook as if ready to fall, and the genie told Aladdin that he had asked him to bring his own master and hang him up in the midst of the hall; it was enough to reduce Aladdin and the princess and the palace all to ashes; but he should be spared, because the request had really come from another.

Then he told Aladdin who was the true author of it, and warned him against the pretended Fatima, whom till then he had not known as the brother of the African magician. Aladdin saw his danger, and on that very day he killed his wicked enemy with the dagger which was meant to be his own death.

Thus was Aladdin delivered from the two brothers who were magicians.

Within a few years the Sultan died at a good old age, and, as he left no male children, the Princess Buddir al Buddoor came to the throne, and she and Aladdin reigned together many years.

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

I

There once lived in a town of Persia two brothers, one named Ca.s.sim and the other Ali Baba. Their father divided his small property equally between them. Ca.s.sim married a very rich wife, and became a wealthy merchant. Ali Baba married a woman as poor as himself, and lived by cutting wood and bringing it upon three a.s.ses into the town to sell.

One day, when Ali Baba had cut just enough wood in the forest to load his a.s.ses, he noticed far off a great cloud of dust. As it drew nearer, he saw that it was made by a body of hors.e.m.e.n, whom he suspected to be robbers. Leaving the a.s.ses, he climbed a large tree which grew on a high rock, and had branches thick enough to hide him completely while he saw what pa.s.sed beneath. The troop, forty in number, all well mounted and armed, came to the foot of the rock on which the tree stood, and there dismounted. Each man unbridled his horse, tied him to a shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn.

Then each of them took off his saddle-bag, which from its weight seemed to Ali Baba full of gold and silver. One, whom he took to be their captain, came under the tree in which Ali Baba was concealed; and, making his way through some shrubs, spoke the words, "Open, Sesame." As soon as the captain of the robbers said this, a door opened in the rock, and after he had made all his troop enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut again of itself.

The robbers stayed some time within, and Ali Baba, fearful of being caught, remained in the tree. At last the door opened again, and the captain came out first, and stood to see all the troop pa.s.s by him.

Then Ali Baba heard him make the door close by saying, "Shut, Sesame."

Every man at once bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again. When the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come.

Ali Baba watched them out of sight, and then waited some time before coming down. Wis.h.i.+ng to see whether the captain's words would have the same effect if he should speak them, he found the door hidden in the shrubs, stood before it, and said, "Open, Sesame." Instantly the door flew wide open.

Instead of a dark, dismal cavern, Ali Baba was surprised to see a large chamber, well lighted from the top, and in it all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, stuff, brocade, and carpeting, gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags.

Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, as he thought his a.s.ses could carry. When he had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over them so that they could not be seen, and, pa.s.sing out of the door for the last time, stood before it and said, "Shut, Sesame." The door closed of itself, and he made the best of his way to town.

When he reached home, he carefully closed the gate of his little yard, threw off the wood, and carried the bags into the house. They were emptied before his wife, and the great heap of gold dazzled her eyes.

Then he told her the whole adventure, and warned her, above all things, to keep it secret.

Ali Baba would not let her take the time to count it out as she wished, but said, "I will dig a hole and bury it."

[Ill.u.s.tration: HE CAREFULLY CLOSED THE GATE OF HIS LITTLE YARD, THREW OFF THE WOOD, AND CARRIED THE BAGS INTO THE HOUSE. THEY WERE EMPTIED BEFORE HIS WIFE, AND THE GREAT HEAP OF GOLD DAZZLED HER EYES. THEN HE TOLD HER THE WHOLE ADVENTURE, AND WARNED HER, ABOVE ALL THINGS, TO KEEP IT SECRET. ALI BABA WOULD NOT LET HER TAKE TIME TO COUNT IT OUT AS SHE WISHED, BUT SAID: "I WILL DIG A HOLE AND BURY IT"]

"But let us know as nearly as may be," she said, "how much we have. I will borrow a small measure, and measure it, while you dig a hole."

Away she ran to the wife of Ca.s.sim, who lived near by, and asked for a measure. The sister-in-law, knowing Ali Baba's poverty, was curious to learn what sort of grain his wife wished to measure out, and artfully managed to put some suet in the bottom of the measure before she handed it over. Ali Baba's wife wanted to show how careful she was in small matters, and, after she had measured the gold, hurried back, even while her husband was burying it, with the borrowed measure, never noticing that a coin had stuck to its bottom.

"What," said Ca.s.sim's wife, as soon as her sister-in-law had left her, "has Ali Baba gold in such plenty that he measures it? Whence has he all this wealth?" And envy possessed her breast.

When Ca.s.sim came home she said to him, "Ca.s.sim, you think yourself rich, but Ali Baba is much richer. He does not count his money; he measures it." Then she explained to him how she had found it out, and they looked together at the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined.

Ca.s.sim, since marrying the rich widow, had never treated Ali Baba as a brother, but neglected him. Now, instead of being pleased, he was filled with a base envy. Early in the morning, after a sleepless night, he went to him and said, "Ali Baba, you pretend to be wretchedly poor, and yet you measure gold. My wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday."

Ali Baba saw that there was no use of trying to conceal his good fortune, and told the whole story, offering his brother part of the treasure to keep the secret.

"I expect as much," replied Ca.s.sim haughtily; "but I must know just where this treasure is and how to visit myself when I choose.

Otherwise I will inform against you, and you will lose even what you have now."

Ali Baba told him all he wished to know, even to the words he must speak at the door of the cave.