Arabian Nights by Richard Burton

Author:Richard Burton
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9780141394275
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 1997-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

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Despite the delay of three months, Aladdin was overjoyed by the news, and told his mother, “Inasmuch as the king has given his word, I am extremely pleased and want to thank you with all my heart. Before this, I felt as though I were dead, and now you’ve restored my life. Praise be to Allah, for there is no man on the face of this earth happier or more fortunate than I am!”

Aladdin showed great patience during the next two months and looked forward to the wedding. Then, one day toward sundown, his mother went to the bazaar to buy some oil, and she found all the shops shut and the whole city decorated. The people were hanging wax candles and flowers in their windows, and she saw soldiers and mounted troops in processions and carrying torches. Surprised by such a marvelous sight and glamorous scene, she went into a store that carried oil and that was still open, and as she was buying the supplies she needed, she asked why there was such a commotion.

“You must be a stranger in town,” the shopkeeper replied.

“Not at all,” she said.

“You’re from this town, and you don’t know that this is the wedding night of the sultan’s daughter with the son of the grand vizier?” the shopkeeper asked. “How is that possible? Right now he’s in the Hammam, and all these soldiers are standing guard and waiting for him to come out. Then they will escort him in the bridal procession to the palace, where the princess is expecting him.”

When Aladdin’s mother heard these words, she was extremely upset and also at a loss as to how to inform her son about this distressing news. She knew that the poor boy had been looking forward to his marriage with the princess, hour by hour, and could hardly wait until the three months would elapse. But she knew she had to tell him about this quickly, and when she returned home, she said, “My son, I must tell you some bad news that will cause you a great deal of suffering.”

“Tell me right away,” he said.

“The sultan has broken his promise to you,” she said. “The grand vizier’s son is to marry his daughter this very night. For some time I had suspected that the minister would change the king’s mind, for I noticed how he whispered something to the sultan when your request was granted.”

“And how did you learn that the vizier’s son is to marry the princess tonight?” Aladdin asked.

Then she told him the whole story, how she had seen the closed shops, the decorations, the soldiers, and the processions, and Aladdin was overcome by grief and jealousy. However, after a short time, he remembered the lamp and recovered his spirits.

“Upon your life, Mother,” he said resolutely, “I don’t believe that the vizier’s son will enjoy the princess tonight. But let’s drop the subject. Please get up and serve me my supper. After that, I’m going to retire to my room.

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