Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Everybody was wondering why the sultan had chosen to marry his daughter to the grand-vizier's son: he had only forgotten his promise to Aladdin's mother. And for that, he blamed the grand-vizier.
And the grand-vizier continues to put hurdles in front of Aladdin, making the sultan to ask for a big dowry, that he thinks Aladdin will never be able to give.
ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
And the sultan proclaimed the divorce of his daughter Badrou'l-Boudour from the son of the grand-vizier, making it clear that nothing had been consummated and that the pearl remained virgin and imperforated. As for the grand-vizier's son, the sultan, out of respect for the father, appointed him governor of a distant province of China, and ordered him to leave without delay. which was executed.
When Aladdin had learned, at the same time as the inhabitants of the city, by the proclamation of the town criers, of the divorce of Badrou'l-Boudour, without consummation of the marriage, and the departure of the moron, he dilated to the limit of dilation and said to himself: "Blessed be this marvelous lamp, the first cause of all my prosperity! It's even better that the divorce had taken place without more direct intervention from the genie of the lamp, who, no doubt, would have ruined the cretin without recourse!" And he also rejoiced that his revenge had been so successful, without anyone, no more the king than the grand-vizier or even his mother, suspecting the part he had taken in the whole affair. And, without worrying that if nothing abnormal had happened since his marriage proposal, he waited, in complete tranquility, until the three months of the delay requested by the sultan had elapsed, And the very day after the last day, he sent his mother to the palace, dressed in her best clothes, to remind the sultan of his promise.
Now, as soon as Aladdin's mother had entered the diwan, the sultan, who, as usual, was in the process of settling the affairs of the reign, cast his eyes on her side and recognized her immediately. And she did not need to speak, for he remembered, to himself, the promise he had made to her and the deadline he had set. And he turned to his grand-vizier and said to him: “Behold, O vizier, the mother of Aladdin! It was she who brought us, three months ago, the marvelous porcelain full of jewels. And I do believe that she is coming, at the expiration of the deadline, to ask me to fulfill the promise I made to her concerning my daughter! Blessed be Allah who did not allow the marriage of your son, to remind me of the word given when I had forgotten my commitments because of you!" And the vizier, who in his soul remained very vexed at all that had happened, replied: "Certainly, O my master, kings must never forget their promises! But, in truth, when one marries one's daughter, one must inquire about the husband! and our master the king has learned little about this Aladdin and his family! Now, I know that he is the son of a poor tailor, who died in poverty, and of low status! Whence, then, can wealth come to the son of a tailor?" The king said: “Wealth comes from Allah, O vizier!" He said, “Yes, O king! But we don't know if this Aladdin is really as rich as his present gave us to believe! To assure us of this, the king will only have to ask, as the price of the princess, a dowry so considerable that only a son of a king or a sultan can afford it. And in this way, the king will only marry his daughter wisely, without risking giving her, once again, a husband unworthy of her merits!" And the king said: “Your tongue secretes eloquence, O vizier! Bring the woman forward, so that I can talk to her!" And the vizier beckoned to the chief of the guards, who led Aladdin's mother forward to the foot of the throne.
Then, Aladdin's mother prostrated herself and kissed the earth, three times, in front of the king, who said to her: “Know, aunt, that I have not forgotten my promise! But until now I have not yet spoken to you of the dowry demanded for the prize of my daughter, whose merits are very great! So you will tell your son that his marriage to my daughter, El Sett Boudrou'l-Boudour, will take place as soon as he sends me what I require as a dowry for my daughter, namely: forty large dishes of solid gold, filled to the edges with the same kinds of precious stones, in the shape of fruits of all colors and sizes, that he had already sent me in the porcelain dish; and these gold dishes will be carried to the palace by forty adolescent slave girls, beautiful as moons, who will be led by forty black slaves, young and robust; and all will march in procession, very magnificently dressed, and will come and place in my hands the forty jeweled platters! And that is all my request, my good aunt! Because I don't want to ask more of your son, out of respect for the present he has already sent me!"
And Aladdin's mother, quite appalled by this exorbitant request, prostrated herself a second time before the throne and withdrew to go and report to her son on her mission. And she said to him: “Ah! my son, I advised you well, from the beginning, not to think of this marriage with the Princess Badrou'l-Boudour!" And, with a great sigh, she related to her son the manner, otherwise affable, from which the King had received her, and the conditions he demanded before finally consenting to the marriage! And she added: “What madness is yours, oh my child! Pass again for the golden platters and for the jewels demanded! for I imagine you would be foolish enough to go underground and strip all the trees of their enchanted fruit! But as for the forty teenage slaves and forty young niggers, how are you going to do it, tell me? Ah! my son, it is again the fault of this accursed vizier, if this demand is so exorbitant; for I saw him, when I entered, lean into the ear of the king, and speak to him in secret! Believe me, Aladdin, renounce this project which will lead you to your loss, without recourse!" But Aladdin just smiled and replied to his mother, “By Allah! Oh mother, seeing you come in with that crooked face, I thought you were going to give me very bad news! But I can see now that you are still worrying about things that really aren't worth it! Know, indeed, that all the king has just asked of me for the price of his daughter is nothing compared to what I could really give him! So refresh your eyes and calm your mind. And only prepare the meal, because I am very hungry. And leave it to me to satisfy the king...
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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