Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
It is often said: "You need to spend money to make money." This is what the sorcerer (the Maghrebi) is doing. As he expects to get many riches, what he is spending before is just an investment.
The Maghrebi and Aladdin walk in the city hand in hand. I have been told that in many countries grown men that are friends or relatives often walked (and maybe they still do) hand in hand, just because they are friends, and not for any other reason.
ON THE FIFTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
And Aladdin looked at the Maghrebi, smiling and tilting his head to the side, which, in his language, clearly meant: “I accept!" And the Maghrebi understood in this way that his proposal was approved, and said to Aladdin: “As long as you want to become a person of importance, a merchant in a shop, try now to show yourself worthy of your new situation. And from now on, O son of my brother, be a man! And me, tomorrow, if Allah wills, I will take you to the souk, and I will start by buying you a beautiful new robe as the rich merchants wear, and all the accessories it includes. And, when that is done, we will look together for a nice shop, to install you there!"
All of this! And Aladdin's mother, who heard these exhortations and saw this generosity, blessed Allah the Benefactor who sent her in such an unexpected way a relative who saved her from misery and put her son Aladdin on the right path. And she served the meal with a light heart as if she had looked twenty years younger. And they ate and drank, and continued to talk on this same subject, which interested them all so much! And the North African began to introduce Aladdin to the life and ways of merchants and to engage him greatly in his new condition. Then, as he saw the night already half past, he got up and took leave of Aladdin's mother and kissed Aladdin. And he left, after having promised them that he would return the next day. And that night Aladdin, in his joy, could not close his eyes and only thought of the charming life that awaited him.
However, the next day, early in the morning, there was a knock at the door. And Aladdin's mother went to open it herself and saw that it was precisely her husband's brother, the Maghrebi, who was keeping his promise of the day before. However, he would not enter, despite the entreaties of Aladdin's mother, on the pretext that it was not visiting time; and he only asked to take Aladdin with him to the souk. And Aladdin, already up and dressed, ran eagerly to his uncle, bade him good morning, and kissed his hand. And the Maghrebi took him by the hand and went with him to the souk. And he went with him into the shop of the greatest merchant and asked for a robe, which was the most beautiful and richest of robes, the size of Aladdin. And the merchant showed him several of them, each one more beautiful than the other. And the North African said to Aladdin: “Choose yourself, my son, the one you like!" And Aladdin, extremely charmed with his uncle's generosity, chose one that was all striped and shiny silk. And he also chooses a silk turban embellished with fine gold, a cashmere belt, and shiny red leather boots. And the North African paid for everything without haggling, and gave the package to Aladdin, saying to him: "Let's go to the hammam now, because, before getting dressed again, you must be very clean!" And he led him to the hammam, and entered with him into a reserved room, and bathed him with his own hands, and he bathed himself also. Then he called for refreshments after the bath, and they both drank with delight and were glad. And then Aladdin put on the sumptuous robe in question, of striped and shiny silk, put on his head the beautiful turban, tightened his waist with the Indian belt, and put on the red boots. And he thus became beautiful as the moon and like some son of a king or a sultan. And, extremely charmed to see himself thus transformed, he advanced towards his uncle, kissed his hand, and thanked him for his generosity. And the Maghrebi kissed him and said: “All this is only the beginning!" And he left the hammam with Aladdin, led him to the busiest souks, and showed him the shops of the great merchants. And he made him admire the richest kinds of stuff and expensive objects, teaching him the name of each thing in particular; and he said to him: "It is necessary, as you are going to be a merchant yourself, that you know the details of sales and purchases!" Then he showed him the remarkable buildings of the city and the principal mosques and the khans where the caravans lodged. And he ended the tour by showing him the Sultan's palace and the gardens that surrounded it. And he took him at last to the grand khan, where he had stayed, and presented him to the merchants, his acquaintances, saying to them: “He is my brother’s son!" And he invited them all to a banquet which he was giving in honor of Aladdin, and regale them with the finest meats, and remained with them and with Aladdin until evening.
So he got up and took leave of his guests, telling them that he was going to drive Aladdin home. And he did not want to let Aladdin go back alone, so he took his hand and walked with him to his mother's house. And Aladdin's mother, seeing her son so beautifully dressed, almost saw her reason fly away with joy, poor thing! And she began to thank and bless her brother-in-law a thousand times, saying to him: “O brother of my husband, I will never be able, even if I thanked you throughout my life, to recognize your benefits enough!" And the Maghrebi replied: "O wife of my brother, in truth, I have no merit in acting in this way, really no merit, because Aladdin is my son, and I must serve as his father in the place of the deceased! So have no more worries about him and be happy! And Aladdin's mother said, raising her arms to heaven: "I pray Allah, by the honor of the saints, ancient and recent, to keep you, O brother of my husband, and to prolong your life for us, so that you may be the wing whose shadow will always protect this orphan child! And be sure that he, on his side, will always obey your orders and only do what you command him to do!" And the North African said: “O wife of my brother, Aladdin has become a sensible man, for he is an excellent boy, son of a good family. And I have every hope that he will be the worthy descendant of his father and that he will refresh your eyes!" Then he added: 'Excuse me, my brother's wife, if I cannot tomorrow, Friday, open the promised shop for him; because you know that on Friday the souks are closed and that business cannot be transacted. But the day after tomorrow, Saturday, the thing will be done, Allah willing! However, I will come tomorrow to take Aladdin to continue to instruct him, and I will show him the public places and the gardens located outside the city, where the rich merchants go for walks so that in this way he can get used to the view of luxury and the beautiful world. Because until now he has hardly seen the world, and he must finally know men and they must know him! And he took leave of Aladdin's mother, kissed Aladdin, and retired.
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.