Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
The jewelers and goldsmiths of the city were asked to finish the 99th window of Aladdin's new palace. However, they soon discover that with all the jewels they could get, they would need three months to get a result that would not be as good as the 98 other windows.
So Aladdin tells the sultan that they should be sent back with the jewels and that he will finish the window himself. And he does just that, with the help of the genie of the lamp, of course.
And the sultan is very impressed. And still, he does not realize that Aladdin is using magic!
ON THE THIRTY-FIRST NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
In the meantime, the jewelers and goldsmiths arrived, whom the guards had gone to fetch all over the capital; and they came to the sultan, who immediately went back up under the dome with ninety-nine windows. And he showed the unfinished window to the goldsmiths, saying to them: "You must, as soon as possible, finish the work that this window requires, in terms of inlays of pearls and jewels of all colors!" And the goldsmiths and jewelers answered by hearing and obedience and began to examine with great minuteness the work and inlays of the other windows, looking at each other with wide-open eyes of astonishment. And, after consulting among themselves, they returned to the sultan and, after the prostrations, said to him: "O great king, we do not have in our shops, despite all our lots of precious stones, what to adorn the hundredth part of this window! And the king said, "I will supply you with everything you need!" And he had the fruits brought in precious stones which Aladdin had given him as a present, and said to them, "Use what is necessary, and give me back the rest!" And the jewelers took their measurements and made their calculations, repeating them several times, and answered: "O great king, all that you give us, and all that we have, will not suffice to adorn the tenth part of the window!" And the king turned to his guards and said to them: "Go and invade the houses of my viziers, great and small, of my emirs and of all the rich people of my kingdom, and make them release, whether they like it or not, all the gems they have!" And the guards hastened to carry out the order.
Now, while waiting for their return, Aladdin, who saw that the king was beginning to be worried about the outcome of the enterprise and who, in his soul, was extremely happy about the thing, wanted to distract him with a concert. And he beckoned to one of the young genies, his slaves, who immediately brought in a troop of singers so beautiful that each one of them could say to the moon: "Get up, let me sit in your place!" and endowed with an enchanting voice that could say to the nightingale: "Shut up to hear me sing!" And they succeeded, by harmony, in making the king gain a little patience.
But as soon as the guards had arrived, the sultan immediately handed over to the jewelers and goldsmiths the precious stones which had come from the remains of the rich people in question, and said to them: “Well! what do you say now?" They replied, "By Allah, O our master, we are still a long way off!" And we will need eight times more materials than we currently have! Moreover, to carry out this work, we need, at least, three months of delay, if we continue the work day and night!"
At these words, the king was on the verge of disappointment and perplexity and felt his nose lengthen to his feet from the shame he felt at seeing himself helpless in circumstances so painful to his self-respect. Then Aladdin, not wishing to prolong the trial to which he was subjecting him any longer and considering himself satisfied, turned to the goldsmiths and jewelers and said to them: "Take back what is yours, and get out!" And he said to the guards: "Return the gems to their masters!" And he said to the king: “O great king, I shouldn't take back from you what I once gave you! I beg you, therefore, to take it for granted that I restore to you these jeweled fruits, and that I replace you in what remains to be done to complete the ornamentation of this window! I only ask you to wait for me in my wife Badrou'l-Boudour's apartment, because I cannot work or give any orders while I know that I am being watched!" And the king retired to his daughter Badrou'l-Budour's apartment, so as not to disturb Aladdin.
Then, Aladdin drew from the bottom of a mother-of-pearl cupboard, the magic lamp which he had been careful not to forget when moving from his old house to the palace; and he rubbed it as he used to do. And the genie appeared instantly and bowed to Aladdin, awaiting his orders. And Aladdin said to him: “O genie of the lamp, I have summoned thee to make the ninety-ninth window like its sisters in every way!" And he had hardly made this request when the genie disappeared. And Aladdin heard like an infinity of knocks of hammers and noises of files on the window in question; and, in less time than it takes for a thirsty man to swallow a glass of cold water, he saw the miraculous jeweled ornamentation of the window appear and perfect itself. And he could hardly tell her apart from the others. And he went to the sultan and asked him to accompany him into the dome hall.
When the sultan arrived in front of the window he had seen so imperfect a few moments before, he thought he had taken the wrong side, not recognizing it. But when, after walking around the dome several times, he saw that the work had been done in such a short time when all the jewelers and goldsmiths put together had asked for three whole months to finish it, he was at the limit of wonder, and he kissed Aladdin between the eyes and said, “Ah! my son Aladdin, the more I know you, the more I find you admirable…
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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