Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Aladdin's mother thought her son was sick, but now she thinks he is crazy. He asks her to go to see the sultan and to ask for her daughter's hand!
This is a bold move, but apparently, Aladdin thinks he will have a good chance of success in this endeavor.
ON THE FIFTEENTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
Aladdin's mother said: "And everybody only talks about the science and the wonderful remedies of this doctor! Do you want me to go get him for you?" Aladdin raised his head and, in a tone of voice very sad, he answered: "Know, O my mother, that I am well and do not suffer from illness! And if you see me in this state of change, it is because until now I imagined that all the women looked like you! And it was only yesterday that I realized that it was quite otherwise!" And Aladdin's mother threw up her arms and cried: "Away be the Evil One! Are you here, Aladdin?" He answered: "I know what I'm saying, don't worry! I saw Princess Badrou'l-Boudour, the daughter of the sultan when she entered the hammam. And the mere sight of it revealed to me the existence of beauty! And I am no longer good for anything! And that's why I won't have any rest and will not be able to return to myself until I have obtained her in marriage from her father the sultan!
Hearing these words, Aladdin's mother thought that her son had lost his mind, and said to him: "The name of Allah be upon you, my child! come to your senses! ah! poor Aladdin, think of your condition, and forget these follies!" Aladdin replied, “O my mother, I don't need to regain my reason at all, for I am not one of the fools. And your words will not make me give up my idea of marriage with El Sett Badrou'l-Boudour, the sultan's beautiful daughter! And my intention is more than ever to ask her father!" She said: “O my son, by my life upon you! do not pronounce such words, and take good care that you are not overheard in the neighborhood and that your words are not reported to the sultan, who will have you hanged without recourse. And besides, if you have taken such a crazy resolution, do you think you can find someone that you can entrust with this request?" He replied, "And who else could I entrust with such a delicate mission, while you are here, O mother? and in whom could I trust more than in you? Yes, of course! it is you who will go and make this marriage proposal for me to the sultan!" She exclaimed: “May Allah preserve me from such an enterprise, O my son! I am not, like you, on the verge of madness! Ah! I see now that you forget that you are the son of one of the poorest and most ignored tailors in the city and that I too, your mother, am not of a nobler or better-known family! How dare you think of a princess whose father will not even grant the sons of mighty kings and sultans?" And Aladdin was silent for a moment, then answered: “Know, O mother, that I have already thought long and hard about all that you have just said to me; but that did not prevent me from taking the resolution that I explained to you, quite the contrary! So I come to beg you, if I really am your son and if you love me, to do me the service I ask of you! Otherwise, my death would be preferable to my life; and you would soon lose me, no doubt! Once again, oh mother of mine, do not forget that I am still your son Aladdin!"
On hearing these words of her son, the mother burst into tears and said between her tears: “O my son, yes, indeed! I am your mother, and you are my only child, the core of my heart! And my dearest wish has always been to see you married one day and to rejoice in your happiness before I die! So then, if you really want to get married, I will hasten to get you a wife among people of our condition! And still, it will be necessary for me to know what I should answer them when they ask me for information about you, about the job you do, the earnings you make and the goods and lands you own! And that bothers me a lot! But what will it be if it is no longer a question of going to people of humble condition, but of asking the Sultan of China for you to marry his only daughter El Sett Badrou'l-Boudour? Come on, my son! think for a moment with moderation! I know very well that our sultan is full of benevolence and that he never dismisses any of his subjects without doing them the justice that their case requires! And I also know that he is generous to excess and that he never refuses anything to those who have deserved his graces by some brilliant action, some act of bravery, or some great or small service! But, you, can you tell me how you have stood out so far, and what titles you can have that can earn you this incomparable favor that you seek? And even, where are the gifts that you must, like any solicitor of pardons, go and offer to the king, in homage of a feudal subject to his suzerain?" He replied: “Exactly! If it is only a question of making a beautiful gift to obtain what my soul wishes so much, well! I believe that no man on earth can contend with me in such a matter! Know indeed, O mother, that these fruits of all colors theirs, which I brought back from the underground garden and which I believed to be simply balls of glass without any value and good at most to serve as games for small children, are invaluable gems of which no sultan on earth possesses the like. And besides, you will be able to judge for yourself, despite your lack of experience in this sort of thing! You have only to bring me from the kitchen a porcelain dish large enough to contain them, and then you will see the marvelous effect...
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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