"Wretch!" exclaimed the Sultan, "come hither, and I will show thee."
Then he led Aladdin to the window and showed him the empty space where his palace had once stood.
"Think not that I care for thy vanished palace," he said. "But where is the Princess, my daughter?"
So astonished was Aladdin that for some time he could only stand speechless, staring at the place where his palace ought to have been.
At last he turned to the Sultan.
"Your Majesty," he said, "grant me grace for one month, and if by that time I have not brought back thy daughter to thee, then put me to death as I deserve."
So Aladdin was set free, and for three days he went about like a madman, asking every one he met where his palace was. But no one could tell him, and all laughed at his misery. Then he went to the river to drown himself; but as he knelt on the bank and clasped his hands to say his prayers before throwing himself in, he once more rubbed the Magic Ring. Instantly the Genie of the Ring stood before him.
"What is thy will, O master?" it asked.
"Bring back my Princess and my palace," cried Aladdin, "and save my life."
"That I cannot do," said the Slave of the Ring. "Only the Slave of the Lamp has power to bring back thy palace."