Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B


Story 1: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1

I like in this story how the magician's evil plan backfires. He first deceives Aladdin into thinking that he is his uncle. Poor Aladdin! He blindly follows this man, hoping to eventually find a trade. The magician thinks that he can trick Aladdin into fetching this magic lamp, but has forgotten the obstinance of the young boy. By the end of this story, Aladdin is trapped into a dark cave, with nothing but the lamp and the ring! However, as he rubs the ring, a genie appears. One of the elements of this story that I could use is, as specific as it sounds, the idea of somebody pretending to be a relative in order to get something that they want. Oddly, this reminds me of the movie Wedding Crashers!

Story 2: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2

Here is another crazy sequence of magical events. I love that Aladdin and his mother now have access to two genies. They can ask for whatever they want! And indeed, they manage to live off these magical provisions for several years. This would be fun to incorporate into a story - the idea that you have numerous wishes to be fulfilled by a personal magician. However, of course, the story is changed by love. Aladdin cannot continue to live without the sultan's daughter!

Story 3: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 3

Again, the wishes completed by the genies continue to be even more extravagant than before. Aladdin continues with his plan of transporting the sultan's daughter and her "husband" to his house every night, that he may perpetuate his hope of marrying her once his three-month wait is up. The storytelling potential from this narrative only exaggerates the ideas from the previous stories - Aladdin's ability to ask for absolutely anything he wants, things of monumental proportions. Not only does he gain slaves and jewels and other riches to send to the sultan, but he totally changes the circumstances of him and his mother, all while building an enormous palace for himself and his princess. I have a feeling that an unforeseen ending will accompany this seemingly limitless supply of wealth, fame, and fortune!


Bibliography:
"The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" by Andrew Lang: online link

Image Information: Aladdin, the genie, and a dancing woman.
Link: Image

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