英语小说网

"Uncle Abanazar! Uncle!" Aladdin hit the stone but nothing moved. "Don't leave me here! Please!"

Aladdin put his ear to the stone, but he could hear nothing. "I am Aladdin, son of Mustafa," he said, and listened again. But the stone did not move.

For three days and three nights Aladdin sat on the stairs and waited, but no help came. On the third day he remembered Abanazar's ring on his finger -- the ring to protect him. He could not see the ring in the dark so he put his right hand on it…

After a time he began to feel hungry, and took some of the fruit out of his pocket. He put some in his mouth, but he could not eat them. "These are stones, not fruit," he thought. "I'm going to die down here."

WHOOSH!

There was a sudden noise, and blue smoke came out of the ring. And then, out of the smoke came a big jinnee.

"I am here, master, I am here," the jinnee cried. "I am the slave of the ring. What is your wish?"

Then Aladdin began to cry. "What am I going to do?" he thought, and put his head in his hands.

Aladdin was very surprised, and very afraid. At first he could not speak, then he said, "Take me out of here."

"To hear is to obey," the jinnee said, and a second later Aladdin was back on the hills under the blue sky.

There was nobody there, and the fire was cold and black. Happily, Aladdin began to walk home.

When he got there, his mother was very happy to see him. "Oh, Aladdin!" she cried. "What happened to you? And where is your uncle?"

"Abanazar is not my uncle, Mother. He is a magician and a bad man. He nearly killed me." Then Aladdin told his mother all about the fire, the magic stone, and the garden under the ground. "Oh, I am very tired, Mother," he said. "I must sleep."

Then Aladdin remembered the lamp from the garden.

Aladdin closed his eyes and slept for many hours. The next morning he opened his eyes and said: "Mother, I'm hungry!"

"Wait a minute, Mother," he said. "Take this lamp and sell that first."

"My son, I'm sorry," she said. "We have no rice or meat in the house. We have nothing. I must sell your new coat and get some rice with the money."

"That dirty old thing?" Aladdin's mother said. "I must clean it first." She began to rub it and…

WHOOSH! Noise, fire, and red smoke came from the lamp, and out of the smoke came a very big jinnee.

"I am the slave of the lamp," cried the jinnee. "What is your wish, mistress?"

Every day after that, Aladdin rubbed the lamp. And when the jinnee came, Aladdin said: "Bring us rice and meat." And every day he sold the gold plates.

The jinnee went away, and came back in a second with rice, meat, bread, and fruit on twelve gold plates. He put the plates in front of them and went away.

Aladdin's mother was afraid and could not speak, but Aladdin said, "Bring rice and meat to us. We are hungry."

Aladdin and his mother ate and ate. Then Aladdin took one of the plates to the market and sold it for two pieces of gold.

Soon, Aladdin and his mother were rich.