"Master," replied the genie, "I obey you."
Aladdin did not have to wait long after supping with his mother and going to his chamber to be shown again that the genie was indeed his faithful slave. On this night and the next the princess and the Grand Vizier's son were borne away from the Sultan's palace in a manner which none could understand, not even they themselves. The strange event was told to few, but the Sultan was one of them. He consulted with the Grand Vizier, and, as both of these parents feared to expose the young couple to further dangers from unseen foes, the marriage was canceled, and all the merrymaking in honor of it was stopped. None but Aladdin knew the cause of all the trouble, and he kept his secret to himself. Least of all did the Sultan and Grand Vizier, who had quite forgotten Aladdin, suspect that he had a hand in the matter.
IV
Of course Aladdin had not forgotten the Sultan's promise, and on the very day which ended the three months, his mother came again to the divan, and stood in her old place. When the Sultan saw her she was called forward, and, having bowed to the floor, she said,—
"Sire, I come at the end of three months to ask you to fulfill the promise you made to my son."
The Sultan could hardly believe the request had been made in earnest, and, after a few words with the Grand Vizier, decided to propose terms which one of Aladdin's humble position could not possibly fulfill.
"Good woman," he said, "it is true that sultans ought to abide by their word, and I am ready to keep mine. But as I cannot marry my daughter without further proof that your son will be able to support her in royal state, you may tell him that I will fulfill my promise so soon as he shall send me forty trays of massy gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already given me, and carried by forty black slaves, who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. When this is done, I will bestow my daughter, the princess, upon him. Go, good woman, and tell him so, and I will wait till you bring me his answer."
As Aladdin's mother hurried home she laughed to think how far the Sultan's demand would be beyond her son's power. "He awaits your answer," she said to Aladdin when she had told him all, and added, laughing, "I believe he may wait long."
"Not so long as you think," replied Aladdin. "This demand is a mere trifle. I will prepare to answer it at once."
In his own chamber he summoned the genie of the lamp, who appeared without delay, and promised to carry out Aladdin's commands. Within a very short time, a train of forty black slaves, led by as many white slaves, appeared opposite the house in which Aladdin lived. Each black slave carried on his head a basin of massy gold, full of pearls, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Aladdin then said to his mother,—