His mother was very much surprised to see the great basin, twelve plates, six loaves, and the two bottles and cups, and to smell the delicious odour which exhaled from the plates. “Child,” said she to Aladdin, “to whom are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality? Has the sultan been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on us?” “It is no matter, mother,” said Aladdin, “let us sit down and eat: for you have almost as much need of a good breakfast as myself, when we have done, I will tell you.” Accordingly, both mother and son sat down, and ate with the better stomach, as the table was so well furnished. But all the time Aladdin’s mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the basin and plates, though she could not well tell whether they were silver or any other metal, so little accustomed were she and her son to see such, and the novelty more than the value attracted their attention.
In short, the mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet, after this, they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals for the next day.
When Aladdin’s mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went and sat down by her son on the sofa. “Aladdin,” said she, “I expect now that you should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between the genie and you while I was in a swoon;” which he presently complied with.
She was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the appearance of the genie; and said to him, “But, son, what have we to do with genies? I never in my life heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen one. How came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave?” “Mother,” answered Aladdin, “the genie you saw is not the same who appeared to me, though he resembles him in size: no, they had quite different persons and habits; they belong to different masters. If you remember, he that I first saw called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this you saw called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand: but I believe you did not hear him, for I think you fainted away as soon as he began to speak.”
“What!” cried the mother, “was your lamp, then, the occasion of that cursed genie addressing himself rather to me than to you? Ah! my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. I will never touch it. I had rather you would sell it, than run the hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils.”
“With your leave, mother,” replied Aladdin, “I shall now take care how I sell a lamp, as I was going to do, which may be so serviceable both to you and me. Have not you been an eye-witness of what it hath procured us, and it shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence and maintenance. You may suppose, as I do, that my false and wicked uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long and tedious a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession this Wonderful Lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and silver which he knew was in his halls, and which I have seen with my own eyes. He knew too well the merit and worth of this lamp, not to prefer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath discovered the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making any great stir, and drawing the envy and jealousy of our neighbours upon us. However, since the genies fright you so much, I will take it out of your sight, and put it where I may find it when I want it. As for the ring, I cannot resolve to part with that neither; for, without that, you had never seen me again; and though I am alive now, perhaps, if it was gone, I might not be so some moments hence; therefore I hope you will give me leave to keep that, and to wear it always on my finger. Who knows what dangers you and I may be exposed to, which neither of us can foresee, and which it may deliver us from?” As Aladdin’s arguments were just, and had a great deal of weight in them, his mother had nothing to say against them, but only replied that he might do what he pleased, but for her part, she would have nothing to do with genies, but, would wash her hands of them, and never say anything more about them.
By the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had brought; and the next day Aladdin, who could not bear the thoughts of hunger, took one of the silver plates under his coat, and went out early to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew whom he met in the streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy it. The cunning Jew took the plate and examined it, and no sooner found that it was good silver, but he asked Aladdin how much he valued it at. Aladdin, who knew not the value of it, and never had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honour. The Jew was somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether Aladdin understood the material or the full value of what he offered him to sell, he took a piece of gold out of his purse, and gave it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. Aladdin took the money very eagerly, and, as soon as he got it in his pocket, retired with so much haste, that the Jew, not content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into Aladdin’s ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavour to get some change out of the piece of gold; but Aladdin ran so fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible for him to overtake him.
Before Aladdin went home to his mother he called at a baker’s, bought a loaf, changed his money, and went home, and gave the rest to his mother, who went and bought provisions enough to last them some time. After this manner they lived, till Aladdin had sold the twelve plates, one at a time, to the Jew, for the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing so good a chap. When he had sold the last plate, he had recourse to the basin, which weighed ten times as much as the plate, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his mother’s, where the Jew had examined the weight of the basin, he laid down ten pieces of gold, with which Aladdin was very well satisfied.
They lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner a pretty while; and Aladdin, who had been used to an idle life, left off playing with young lads of his own age ever since his adventure with the African magician. He spent his time in walking about, and talking with people with whom he had got acquainted. Sometimes he would stop at the most capital merchants’ shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their discourse, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world.
When all the money was spent, Aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. He took it in his hand, looked for the same place where his mother had rubbed it with the sand, and rubbed it also, and the genie immediately appeared, and said, “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.” “I am hungry,” said Aladdin; “bring me something to eat.” The genie disappeared, and presently returned with a basin, and the same number of covered plates, &c., and set them down on a table, and vanished again.