Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to build a magnificent palace with one little defect. Why this little defect? Aladdin must have an idea about it.
And the genie builds this palace according to Aladdin's specifications in one night. Aladdin is satisfied with the genie's job.
When the grand-vizier saw the new palace, in front of the sultan's, he tried to badmouth Aladdin, telling the sultan that Aladdin must be a magician. Curiously enough, the sultan does not agree and is not surprised that Aladdin can build a palace in one night!
ON THE TWENTY-EIGHTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
And Aladdin took the magic lamp and rubbed it, as usual. And the genie did not fail to appear and place himself at his command. And Aladdin said to him: “O genie of the lamp, I have first to praise you for the zeal which you displayed in my service. And then I have to ask you something more difficult, I believe, to realize than what you have done for me until today, by the power exercised over you by the virtues of your mistress, this lamp that I have in my possession. But here it is! I want you to build me, in the shortest possible time, opposite the sultan's palace, a palace worthy of my wife El Sett Badrou'l-Boudour! And, for that, I leave to your good taste and your already proven knowledge the care of all the ornamental details and the choice of precious materials, such as jade, porphyry, alabaster, agate, lazulite, jasper, marble, and granite! Take care only to raise me, in the middle of this palace, a great crystal dome built on columns of solid gold and silver, alternately, and pierced with ninety-nine windows enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other gems. But take care that the ninety-ninth window remains imperfect, not architecturally but ornamentally. Because I have a project about it. And don't forget to lay out a beautiful garden, with ponds and fountains, and spacious courtyards. And above all, O genie, protect me, in an underground passage, the location of which you will show me, a very large treasure filled with gold dinars. And for everything else, as well as for the kitchens, the stables, and the servants, I leave you completely free, trusting to your sagacity and your goodwill!" And he added: "As soon as everything is ready, you will come and let me know!" And the genie answered: "I listen and I obey!" and disappeared.
Now, the next day, at daybreak, Aladdin was still in his bed, when he saw appear before him the genie of the lamp, who, after the usual salams, said to him: "O master of the lamp, your orders are carried out. And please come check it out!" And Aladdin acquiesced, and the genie transported him at once to the place designated and showed him, vis-à-vis the sultan's palace, in the middle of a magnificent garden, and preceded by two immense marble courtyards, a palace much more beautiful than the one he expected. And the genie, after having made him admire the architecture and the general aspect, made him visit, in detail, all the places. And Aladdin found that things had been done with unimaginable pomp, splendor, and magnificence; and he found, in an immense vault, a treasure that rose to the vault, formed of stacked bags filled with gold dinars. And he also visited the kitchens, the pantries, the stores of provisions, and the stables, which he found quite to his taste, in great cleanliness; and he admired the horses and mares eating from silver troughs, while the grooms tended and groomed them. And he reviewed the slaves of both sexes and the eunuchs arranged in good order, according to the importance of their functions. And when he had seen everything and examined everything, he turned to the genie of the lamp, which was visible only to him and who accompanied him everywhere, and congratulated him on the diligence, the good taste, and the intelligence he had shown in this perfect work. Then he added: “You have only forgotten, O genie, to spread, from the door of my palace to that of the sultan, a large carpet which will allow my wife not to tire her feet crossing the interval!" And the genie answered: “O master of the lamp, you are right! But in a moment it will be done! And, indeed, in the twinkling of an eye, a magnificent carpet of velvet was found spread in the interval which separated the two palaces, with colors that united delightfully with the tones of the lawns and the baskets.
Then Aladdin, bordering on satisfaction, said to the genie: “Now everything is perfect! Take me home!" And the genie picked him up and carried him to his room, while in the sultan's palace, the servants began to open the doors to go about their business.
However, as soon as they had opened the doors, the slaves and the porters were on the verge of stupefaction, noting that the view was completely blocked from the side where, the day before, there was still an immense space for tournaments and cavalcades. And they saw first the beautiful velvet carpet that stretched between the cool lawns and blended its colors with the natural hues of the flowers and shrubs. And then they perceived, accompanying this carpet with their gaze, across the lawns of the miraculous garden, the superb palace built of precious stones and whose crystal dome shone like the sun. And, not knowing what to think, they preferred to go and report the matter to the grand-vizier who, in his turn, after having looked in the direction of the new palace, went to warn the sultan of the matter, saying to him: "There is no doubt, O great king! The husband of Sett Badrou'l-Boudour is a magician!" But the sultan answered him: “You astonish me very much, O vizier, in wishing to insinuate that the palace of which you speak to me is the work of magic! You know very well, however, that the man who has already given me such wonderful presents is quite capable, given the wealth he must possess and the considerable number of workers he has had to employ thanks to his fortune, to build an entire palace in one night! Why then do you hesitate to believe that he obtained this result using natural forces? And isn't it rather your jealousy that blinds you and makes you misjudge the facts and pushes you to slander my son-in-law Aladdin?" And the vizier, understanding from these words that the sultan loved Aladdin, dared not insist, for fear of doing himself harm, and was silent out of prudence. And that's it for him!
As for Aladdin...
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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