Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Once upon a time, there was a poor tailor named Mustapha, who had a careless son who spent his days playing in the streets with his friends. His son's name was Aladdin and his lifestyle bothered him greatly, so much that it killed him. Despite his father's death, Aladdin refused to grow up.
Years later, Aladdin was approached by a man while playing outside. The man inquired about his age, and if his father was Mustapha the tailor.
Aladdin responded, "who's asking?"
The stranger, who was a famous African magician, grasped the boy's shoulder and said, "I am your uncle, now follow me. I have something to show you."
So he followed him into the desert, unsure if he was truly his uncle. By the time they arrived at their destination, which was between two mountains, it was very late and Aladdin was tired. Having traveled too far to turn back, they started a fire.
After the fire was started, the magician threw some of his magical powder on the ground. The earth began to shake violently, and seconds later there was an entrance to a cave.
"Listen carefully," the magician said. "Retrieve for me a special lamp and you may have all the treasure in that cave."
Intrigued by the promise of treasure, Aladdin entered the cave. Surrounded by enough treasure to raise him from poverty, he resisted and continued to search for the lamp. Minutes later, he found the lamp and headed back to the entrance, grabbing everything he could hold.
As he got closer to the exit, the magician kept shouting impatiently, "Give me the lamp, give me the lamp, give me the lamp!" Aladdin refused until he was safe and out of the cave. The magician couldn't wait any longer and became very angry. In a rage, he threw more of his magic powder and before Aladdin could get out of the cave, he was trapped.
Days had passed and Aladdin had no hope. He thought he was going to die for sure, but then he noticed something covered in dust on the lamp. In an effort to read what it said, he began rubbing it. Before he could finish, a gigantic blue genie appeared and said, "Who is it that has summoned me?"
Frightened, Aladdin quietly says it was him and begs for the genie's mercy. The genie began to laugh and responded, "Silly boy, I mean you no harm. Thank you for releasing me from the lamp, I had been trapped for hundreds of years. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that was for someone my size fitting into something so small?"
The friendliness of the genie eased Aladdin's tension. "I am happy I could help, but you see we are trapped here in this cave with no way to get out."
"Don't you know my power?" said the genie. "I must grant your every wish, for I am now your servant."
Shocked, Aladdin told the genie nicely, "Release us from this cave," and poof, they were in the middle of the desert.
Little did he know, this genie would change his life forever.
Author's Note: Loving the Disney movie as a kid, I knew I wanted to write a story about Aladdin, but I wasn't sure which one yet. The reason I chose this story was that I would rather develop Aladdin and the genie by telling the story of how they met each other, than start in the middle of the full Aladdin story. I decided to get rid of the mother's role because I felt being alone would strengthen Aladdin's character. There was a second genie in the original, the Slave of the Ring, but I didn't think it added anything useful to the story so I didn't include it. Instead, I chose to include just the genie from the lamp. The movie was one of my childhood favorites, so I wanted to keep it similar. In the original, the genies aren't very nice and are scary. I wasn't a big fan of that so I decided to make the genie happy and nice. The image was selected because it shows how big the genie truly is compared to Aladdin, and shows Aladdin releasing the genie for the first time. Here is the link to the original.
Bibliography:So he followed him into the desert, unsure if he was truly his uncle. By the time they arrived at their destination, which was between two mountains, it was very late and Aladdin was tired. Having traveled too far to turn back, they started a fire.
After the fire was started, the magician threw some of his magical powder on the ground. The earth began to shake violently, and seconds later there was an entrance to a cave.
"Listen carefully," the magician said. "Retrieve for me a special lamp and you may have all the treasure in that cave."
Intrigued by the promise of treasure, Aladdin entered the cave. Surrounded by enough treasure to raise him from poverty, he resisted and continued to search for the lamp. Minutes later, he found the lamp and headed back to the entrance, grabbing everything he could hold.
As he got closer to the exit, the magician kept shouting impatiently, "Give me the lamp, give me the lamp, give me the lamp!" Aladdin refused until he was safe and out of the cave. The magician couldn't wait any longer and became very angry. In a rage, he threw more of his magic powder and before Aladdin could get out of the cave, he was trapped.
Days had passed and Aladdin had no hope. He thought he was going to die for sure, but then he noticed something covered in dust on the lamp. In an effort to read what it said, he began rubbing it. Before he could finish, a gigantic blue genie appeared and said, "Who is it that has summoned me?"
Frightened, Aladdin quietly says it was him and begs for the genie's mercy. The genie began to laugh and responded, "Silly boy, I mean you no harm. Thank you for releasing me from the lamp, I had been trapped for hundreds of years. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that was for someone my size fitting into something so small?"
The friendliness of the genie eased Aladdin's tension. "I am happy I could help, but you see we are trapped here in this cave with no way to get out."
"Don't you know my power?" said the genie. "I must grant your every wish, for I am now your servant."
Shocked, Aladdin told the genie nicely, "Release us from this cave," and poof, they were in the middle of the desert.
Little did he know, this genie would change his life forever.
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| (Aladdin and the Genie's First Encounter) |
Author's Note: Loving the Disney movie as a kid, I knew I wanted to write a story about Aladdin, but I wasn't sure which one yet. The reason I chose this story was that I would rather develop Aladdin and the genie by telling the story of how they met each other, than start in the middle of the full Aladdin story. I decided to get rid of the mother's role because I felt being alone would strengthen Aladdin's character. There was a second genie in the original, the Slave of the Ring, but I didn't think it added anything useful to the story so I didn't include it. Instead, I chose to include just the genie from the lamp. The movie was one of my childhood favorites, so I wanted to keep it similar. In the original, the genies aren't very nice and are scary. I wasn't a big fan of that so I decided to make the genie happy and nice. The image was selected because it shows how big the genie truly is compared to Aladdin, and shows Aladdin releasing the genie for the first time. Here is the link to the original.
Book: Arabian Nights - Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Author: Andrew Lang
Year Published: 1898
Web Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook
I like that you made the story more like the Disney version. I also read this unit, and I agree that I would have preferred the genies to be more friendly. I was also really disappointed with the Aladdin from the Arabian Nights Unit! He isn't much like the Disney hero from my childhood! I like the picture you chose to add, too. Good job overall!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story as Aladdin was one of my favorite movies way back when. I agree that the genies being nicer work a little better for my taste. It makes the story seem a lot "happier". I haven't read this unit yet but maybe I will try it and compare the stories with what I have pictured in my mind them to be. Good job!
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