Page:Fairy tales from the Arabian nights.djvu/458

 had heard it; so that he had no reason to doubt the truth of what she said.

At this Aladdin was thunderstruck. Any other man would have sunk under the shock; but soon he bethought himself of the lamp, which had till then been so useful to him; and without venting his rage in empty words against the sultan, the vizier, or his son, he only said, 'Perhaps, mother, the vizier's son may not be so happy to-night as he thinks while I go into my room, do you go and get supper ready.' She accordingly went about it, and guessed that her son was going to make use of the lamp, to prevent the marriage if possible.

When Aladdin had got into his room, he took the lamp, and rubbed it in the same place as before, and immediately the genie appeared, and said to him, 'What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; I, and the other slaves of the lamp.'

'Hear me,' said Aladdin; 'thou hast hitherto brought me whatever I wanted as to provisions; but now I have business of the greatest importance for thee to execute. I have demanded the Princess Badroulboudour in marriage of the sultan her father; he promised her to me, but only asked three months' time; and instead of keeping that promise, he has planned to marry her to the grand vizier's son. I have just heard this, and have no doubt of it. What I ask of you is, that you bring them both hither to me.'

'Master,' replied the genie, 'I will obey you. Have you any other commands?'

'None at present,' answered Aladdin; and then the genie disappeared.

Aladdin went downstairs to his mother, with the same tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the princess's marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least concern; and afterwards sat up till the genie had executed his orders.

In the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest magnificence in the sultan's palace to celebrate the princess's wedding, and the evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great rejoicings.