The Magician stood still for a moment and looked about him.
"Ah!" he exclaimed. "This is the very place for which I have been searching. Gather some sticks. I will kindle a fire."
Soon the fire was burning merrily. The Magician took a curious powder from his girdle. He mumbled strange words as he sprinkled it upon the flames.
In an instant, the earth beneath their feet trembled, and they heard a rumbling sound like distant thunder.
Then the ground opened in front of them. There lay a large flat stone with a brass ring fastened to the top.
"A wonderful treasure lies hidden below," said the Magician. "Obey me, and it will soon be ours."
Then Aladdin grasped the ring in the way the Magician told him to do, and easily lifted the stone.
"Now," said the Magician, "go down the steps which you see before you. You will come to three great halls.
"Pass through the halls, but be careful to touch nothing, not even the walls, for if you do, you will certainly die. When you have passed through the halls, you will reach a garden of fruit trees. In a niche in the garden wall, you will see a lighted lamp. Put out the light, pour the oil from the bowl, and bring the lamp to me."
Then the Magician placed a magic ring upon Aladdin's finger, to guard him, and commanded him to go at once in search of the lamp.