"More Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dixons Version)
' 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 it to him 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 had he pronounced two magical words than 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 had been at the arrival of the magician and Aladdin.
This action of the African magician plainly showed him to be neither Aladdin's uncle, nor Mustapha the tailor's brother; but a true African. For as Africa is a country whose inhabitants delight more in magic than those of any other part of the whole world, he had applied himself to it from his youth; and after about forty years' experience in enchantments, fumigations, and reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of which, if he could obtain it, would render him more powerful than any monarch in the world; and by a recent operation he found out that this lamp lay concealed in a subterranean place in the midst of China. Fully persuaded of the truth of this discovery, he set out from the furthest part of Africa; and after a long and fatiguing journey, he 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 subterranean 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 what he had done.
The blow he gave Aladdin, and the authority he assumed over him, were only to accustom him to fear him, and to make him obey the more readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he asked for it. But his too great hurry 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.
When the African magician saw that all his great hopes were frustrated for ever, he started that same day for Africa; but went quite round the town, and at some distance from it, for fear lest any persons who had seen him walk out with the boy should see him come back without him, entertain suspicions, and stop him.
According to all appearances there was no prospect of Aladdin being heard of any more. But when the magician plotted his death, he had forgotten the ring he put on his finger, which preserved him, though he knew not its virtue; and it is amazing that the loss of that, together with the lamp, did not drive the magician to despair; but magicians are so much used to misfortunes that they do not lay them to heart, but still feed themselves, all their lives, with unsubstantial notions.
As for Aladdin, who never suspected this bad usage from his pretended uncle, after all his caresses and what he had done for him, his surprise is more easily imagined than described. When he found himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp; but all in vain, since his cries could not be heard, and he remained in this dark abode. At last, when he had quite tired himself out with crying, he went to the bottom of the steps, to get into the garden, where it was light; but the door, which was opened before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. Then he redoubled his cries and tears, and sat down on the steps, without any hope of ever seeing the light again, and in a melancholy certainty of passing from the present darkness into a speedy death.
Aladdin remained in this state for two days, without eating or drinking, and on the third day looked upon death as inevitable. Clasping his hands with entire resignation, he said, 'There is no strength or power but in the great and high God.' In joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger, and of which he knew not yet the virtue, and immediately a genie of enormous size and frightful look rose out of the earth, his head reaching the vault, and said to him, 'What wouldst thou? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all who have the ring on thy finger; I and the other slaves of that ring.'
At another time, Aladdin, who had not been used to such visions, would have been so frightened, that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation, 'Whoever thou art, deliver me from this place, if thou art able.' He had no sooner made an end of these words, than the earth opened, and he found himself on the very spot where the magician had first brought him.
It was some time before Aladdin's eyes could bear the light, after having been so long in total darkness: but after he had endeavoured by degrees to look about him, he was very much surprised not to find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had got so soon out of it. There was nothing to be seen but the place where the fire had been, by which he could nearly judge whereabouts the cave was. Then turning towards the town, he perceived it in the midst of the gardens that surrounded it, and knew the way back by which the magician had brought him; then, returning God thanks to see himself once more in the world, where he had never expected to be, he made the best of his way home. When he got to his mother's door, his joy at seeing her, and his faintness for want of food for three days, made him swoon, and he remained for a long time as dead. His mother, who had given him over for lost or dead, seeing him in this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself again. As soon as he recovered, the first words he spake, were, 'Pray, mother, give me something to eat, for I have not put a morsel of anything into my mouth these three days.' His mother brought what she had, and set it before him. 'My son,' said she, 'be not too eager, for it is dangerous; eat but a little at a time, and take care of yourself. Besides, I would not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell me what has happened to you, when you have recovered. It is a great comfort to me to see you again, after the grief I have been in since Friday, and the pains I have taken to learn what had become of you, ever since night came, and you had not returned.'
Aladdin took his mother's advice, and ate and drank moderately. When he had done, 'Mother,' said he, 'you believed he was my uncle, as well as I; and what other thoughts could we entertain of a man who was so kind to me? But I must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and only did what he did, and made me all those promises, to accomplish my death; but for what reason neither you nor I can guess. For my part, I can assure you I never gave him any cause to deserve the least ill treatment from him. You shall judge of it yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the time I left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked plan.'
Then Aladdin began to tell his mother all that had happened to him from the Friday, when the magician took him to see the palaces and gardens about the town, and what happened on the way, till they came to the place between the two mountains, where the strange deeds were performed; how, with incense which the magician threw into the fire, and some magical words which he pronounced, the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable treasure. He did not forget the blow the magician gave him, and in what manner he softened again, and got him by great promises, putting a ring on his finger, to go down into the cave. He did not omit the least item of what he saw in crossing the three halls and the garden, and in taking the wonderful lamp, which he showed to his mother, as well as the transparent fruit of different colours, which he had gathered in the garden as he returned. But, though these fruits were precious stones, brilliant as the sun, she was as ignorant of their worth as her son, and cared nothing for them. She had been brought up in a middling rank of life, and her husband's poverty prevented his being possessed of such things, nor had she, or her relations or neighbours, ever seen them; so that we must not wonder that she looked on them as things of no value, and only pleasing to the eye by the variety of their colours.
Aladdin put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa he sat upon, and continued his story. When he came to the end, he said to his mother, 'I need say no more; you know the rest. This is my adventure, and the danger I have been exposed to since you saw me.'
Aladdin's mother heard, with patience, this surprising and wonderful story, though it caused no small affliction to a mother who loved her son tenderly; but yet in the part which disclosed the perfidy of the African magician, she could not help showing, by the greatest indignation how much she detested him; and when Aladdin had finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile impostor. She called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. 'Without doubt, child,' added she, 'he is a magician, and they are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with the Evil One. Bless God for preserving you from his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon Him, and implored His assistance.' She said a great deal more against the magician's treachery; but finding that whilst she talked her son Aladdin began to nod, she put him to bed.
Aladdin, who had not had one wink of sleep while he was in the subterranean abode; slept very heartily all that night, and never waked till late the next morning; when the first thing he said to his mother was, he wanted something to eat. 'Alas! child,' said she, 'I have not a bit of bread to give you; you ate up all the provisions I had in the house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long before I will bring you some: I have a little cotton, which I have spun; I will go and sell it, and buy bread, and something for our dinner.'
'Mother,' replied Aladdin, 'keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp I brought home with me yesterday; I will go and sell that, and the money I shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too.'
Aladdin's mother took the lamp, and said to her son, 'Here it is, but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner I believe it would fetch something more.' She took a little fine sand and water to clean it; but no sooner had she begun to rub it than a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said in a voice like thunder, 'What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; I, and the other slaves of the lamp.'
Aladdin's mother was not able to speak at the sight of this frightful genie, but fainted away; when Aladdin, who had seen such a genie in the cavern, without losing time on reflection, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hands, and said to the genie boldly, 'I am hungry; bring me something to eat.' The genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver basin on his head, and twelve covered plates of the same metal, which contained excellent meats; six large white loaves on two other plates, two bottles of wine, and two silver cups in his hands. All these things he placed upon a table, and disappeared; and all this was done before Aladdin's mother came out of her swoon.
Aladdin went and fetched some water, and threw it on her face, to recover her. Whether that or the smell of the meats the genie procured brought her to life again, it was not long before she came to herself. 'Mother,' said Aladdin, 'do not mind this; it is nothing at all; get up, and come and eat; do not let such fine meat get cold, but fall to.'
His mother was very much surprised to see the great basin, twelve plates, six loaves, and the two bottles and cups, and to smell the delicious odour which exhaled from the plates. 'Child,' said she to Aladdin, 'to whom are we indebted for this great plenty? Has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?'
'It is no matter, mother,' said Aladdin; 'let us sit down and eat; for you are in almost as much need of a good breakfast as myself; when we have done, I will tell you.' Accordingly both mother and son sat down, and ate with first-rate appetites. But all the time Aladdin's mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the basin and plates, though she could not well tell whether they were silver or any other metal, so little accustomed were she and her son to see such things.
In short, the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinnertime, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet after this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day.
When Aladdin's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went and sat down by her son on the sofa. 'Aladdin,' said she, 'I expect now that you should tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while I was in a swoon'; which he at once complied with.
She was in as great amazement at what her son told her as at the appearance of the genie; and said to him, 'But, son, what have we to do with genies? I never in my life heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. How came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?'
'What!' cried his mother, 'was your lamp the occasion of that cursed genie's addressing himself to me rather than to you. Ah! my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. I will never touch it. I had rather you would sell it than run the risk of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils.'
'With your leave, mother,' replied Aladdin, 'I shall take care how I sell a lamp which may be so serviceable both to you and me. Have you not seen what it has procured us? It shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence. My false and wicked uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long and tedious a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession this wonderful lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and silver which he knew was in the halls, and which I have seen with my own eyes. He knew too well the merit and worth of this lamp; and since chance has shown the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great stir, and drawing the envy and jealousy of our neighbours upon us. However, since the genies frighten you so much, I will take it out of your-sight, and put it where I may find it when I want it. As for the ring, I cannot resolve to part with that either, for without that you would never have seen me again; and though I am alive now, perhaps, if it was gone, I might not be so some moments hence; therefore I hope you will give me leave to keep that, and to wear it always on my finger. Who knows what dangers you and I may be exposed to, which neither of us can foresee, and from which it may deliver us?'
As Aladdin's arguments were just, and had great weight, his mother had nothing to say against them; but only replied, that he might do what he pleased, but for her part she would have nothing to do with genies, but would wash her hands of them, and never say anything more about them.
By the next day they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought; and the next day Aladdin, who could not bear the thought of hunger, took one of the silver plates under his coat and went out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. The cunning Jew took the plate and examined it, and no sooner found that it was good silver than he asked Aladdin at how much he valued it. Aladdin, who knew not the value of it, and never had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honour. The Jew was somewhat taken aback at this plain dealing; and, doubting whether Aladdin understood the material or the full value of what he offered him, he took a piece of gold out of his purse and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. Aladdin took the money very eagerly, and as soon as he got it in his pocket, retired with so much haste, that the Jew, not content with his exorbitant profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into Aladdin's ignorance, and was going to run after him to get some change out of the piece of gold; but Aladdin ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible to overtake him.
Before Aladdin went home to his mother, he called at a baker's, bought a loaf, changed his money, and went home, and gave the rest to his mother, who went and bought provisions enough to last them some time. After this manner they lived, till Aladdin had sold the twelve plates, one at a time, to the Jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a customer. When he had sold the last plate, he had recourse to the basin, which weighed ten times as much as the plate, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, except that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother's, where, after the Jew had examined the weight of the basin, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which Aladdin was very well satisfied.
They lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner a good while; and Aladdin, though formerly used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads of his own age ever since his adventure with the African magician. He spent his time in walking about, and talking with people with whom he had got acquainted. Sometimes he would stop at the best merchants' shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their talk, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world.
When all the money was spent, Aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. He took it in his hand, looked for the place where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, and rubbed it also, and the genie immediately appeared, and said, 'What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of those who have that lamp in their hands; I, and the other slaves of the lamp.'
'I am hungry,' said Aladdin; 'bring me something to eat.'
The genie disappeared, and presently returned with a basin, and the same number of covered plates, etc., and set them down on a table, and vanished again.
Aladdin's mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out at that time about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genie came; and when she returned, which was not long afterwards, and found the table and sideboard so furnished a second time, she was almost as much surprised as before at the prodigious effect of the lamp. However she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as they wanted, she set enough by to last them two or three days.
As soon as Aladdin found that their provisions and money were spent, he took one of these plates, and went to look for the Jew again; but as he passed by the shop of a goldsmith, who had the character of a very fair and honest man, the goldsmith called to him, and said, 'My lad, I have often observed you go by, loaded as you are at present, and talk with a certain Jew, and then come back again empty handed. I imagine that you carry something to sell to him; but perhaps you do not know what a rogue he is; he is the greatest rogue among all the Jews, and is so well known that nobody will have anything to do with him. What I tell you is for your own good. If you will show me what you now carry, and if it is to be sold, I will give you the full value of it; or I will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you.'
The hope of getting more money for his plate induced Aladdin to pull it from under his coat and show it to the goldsmith. The old man, who at first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, asked him if he had sold any such as that to the Jew, and Aladdin told him plainly that he had sold him twelve such for a piece of gold each.
'What a villain!' cried the goldsmith; 'but,' added he, 'my son, what is passed cannot be recalled. By showing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver we use in our shops, I will let you see how much the Jew has cheated you.'
The goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the plate, and after he had told Aladdin how much an ounce of fine silver was worth, he showed him that his plate was worth by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he paid him down immediately. 'If you dispute my honesty,' said he, 'you may go to any other of our trade, and if he gives you any more, I will forfeit twice as much.'
Aladdin thanked him for his good advice, so greatly to his advantage, and never after went to any other person, but sold him all his plates and the basin, and had as much for them as the weight came to.
Though Aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure of money in their lamp, and might have had whatever they had a mind to, yet they lived with the same frugality as before, except that Aladdin went more neat; as for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she earned by spinning cotton. Hence the money for which Aladdin had sold the plates and basin was sufficient to maintain them some time. They went on for many years by the help of the produce that Aladdin, from time to time, made of his lamp.
During this time Aladdin frequented the shops of the principal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, and linens, silk stuffs and jewellery, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, acquired a complete knowledge of the world, and assumed its manners. From his acquaintance with the jewellers, he came to know that the fine fruit which he had gathered, when he took the lamp, was not coloured glass, but stones of extraordinary value. For as he had seen all sorts of jewels bought and sold in the shops, but none so beautiful or so large as his, he found that instead of coloured glass he possessed an inestimable treasure; but he had the prudence not to say anything of it to any one.
One day, as Aladdin was walking about the town, he chanced to see the Princess Badroulboudour, the sultan's daughter, attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, and attendants, just at a moment when she unveiled her face. Aladdin had never seen any woman unveiled except his mother, and the princess was so beautiful that he was filled with amazement, and could think of nothing else for several days and nights. At last his mother inquired why he was so silent and absent-minded. 'Mother,' said Aladdin, 'I cannot live without the beautiful and amiable Princess Badroulboudour, and I am firmly resolved to ask her in marriage from her father.'
Aladdin's mother listened with attention to what her son told her; but when he talked of asking the Princess Badroulboudour in marriage of the sultan, she could not help bursting out into a loud laugh. Aladdin would have gone on, but she interrupted him: 'Alas! child,' said she, 'what are you thinking of? you must be mad to talk so.'
'I assure you, mother,' replied Aladdin, 'that I am not mad, but in my right senses: I foresaw that you would reproach me for folly and extravagance; but I must tell you once more, that I am resolved to demand the Princess Badroulboudour of the sultan in marriage, and your remonstrances shall not prevent me.'
'Indeed, son,' replied his mother, seriously, 'I cannot help telling you that you have quite forgotten yourself; and I do not see who you can get to venture to propose it for you.'
'You, yourself,' replied he immediately.
'I go to the sultan!' answered his mother, amazed and surprised. 'I shall take good care how I engage in such an affair. Why, who are you, son,' continued she, 'that you can have the assurance to think of your sultan's daughter? Have you forgotten that your father was one of the poorest tailors in the capital, and that I am of no better extraction; and do not you know that sultans never marry their daughters but to princes, sons of sultans like themselves?'
'Mother,' answered Aladdin, ' I have already told you that I foresaw all that you have said, or can say: and tell you again that neither your discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change my mind. I have told you that you must ask the Princess Badroulboudour in marriage for me: it is a favour I request with all the respect I owe you; and I beg of you not to refuse me, unless you would rather see me in my grave, than by so doing give me new life.'
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