Once upon a time . . . a widow had an only son whose name was Aladdin. They
were very poor and lived from hand to mouth, though Aladdin did what he could
to earn some pennies, by picking bananas in faraway places.
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 astoundede, Aladdin could only stammer:
"I want to go home!" In a flash he was back in his own home, though the
door wa 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.
