Week 5 Story: Aladdin's Demise
Author's Note: This story is an alternate ending to the story of Aladdin contained in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. In the original version, the princess following Aladdin's instructions poisons an African magician who stole the magic lamp from Aladdin. Then, with everything looking up, the younger brother of the magician disguises himself as a holy woman and infiltrates Aladdin's palace. The brother suggests to the princess that a roc's egg* is missing from the palace decoration and the princess passes along this suggestion to Aladdin. When he wishes for a roc's egg from the genie he is told that the roc is the master of the genie and he is told of the younger magician's plot. Aladdin then kills the magician and that is the end of it. Additionally, the fate of the genie in this alternate ending resembles the fate of another genie in the story of the fisherman in the Arabian Nights. I opted for a much darker ending hoping to convey the consequences of magic can be disastrous.
*A roc is a giant bird from Middle Eastern folklore
Aladdin told the Sultan how the magician had stolen the lamp and how he had tricked the magician into drinking from a poisoned cup. The Sultan ordered a ten day feast to celebrate this victory and the return of his daughter. It appeared Aladdin could live in peace with the magician gone but it was not to be.
The magician had a younger brother who was more cunning and evil than he himself had been. Hearing the news of his brother's death, the young magician resolved to avenge the death of his brother. He traveled to China and sought out the holy healer Fatima. When he found her, he killed the old woman and disguised himself as her.
Appearing to be the holy woman he walked down the streets toward the palace. People surrounded him asking for his touch and prayers to heal them. As he reached the palace the princess looked out to see the young magician disguised as Fatima. Having long wanted to be seen by the woman, she invited the magician into the palace of Aladdin.
The magician upon seeing the princess offered up prayers for her health and prosperity. The princess then begged him to stay in the palace with her forever and continue offering prayers for her. The magician consented and followed the princess on a tour of the palace.
Arriving in the hall, the palace the princess inquired what he thought of the palace.
"It is very beautiful, indeed, Only a roc's egg hung from the ceiling in the middle of this dome could make it more lovely."
The suggestion stayed with the princess and she could not help but envision a roc's egg just where the magician had said. She told Aladdin of her vision and he promised to make it come true.
Aladdin then rubbed the lamp and asked the genie for a roc's egg to be hung in the middle of the dome.
"You fool!" the genie cried, "How dare you demand me to bring my master and hang him in your palace! I should kill you for such a request. I will not do as you have asked."
Aladdin did not want to disappoint the princess so he tried to trick the genie into fulfilling his request.
"You probably do not even have the power to bring the roc's egg here." Aladdin insisted, "You useless genie, I should have just asked the genie of the ring. Surely he would be able to hang a roc's egg in this dome. He is more powerful than you."
Enraged the genie granted Aladdin's request and brought the roc's egg to display that no genie was mightier than he. The roc however, was furious to have been moved into Aladdin's palace.
In a fit of madness the roc destroyed the palace bit by bit until nothing was left of it. The palace fell and everyone but Aladdin was killed from the disaster including the princess and the magician.
"Why has this tragedy befallen me?" grieved Aladdin, "I must wish to have the princess brought back to me."
The roc, however, forbid any genie to grant the requests of Aladdin. He also banished the genie of the lamp to the bottom of the sea.
After this, Aladdin returned to his life of idleness, distraught by the loss of his wife and all that he owned.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, Andrew Lang
*A roc is a giant bird from Middle Eastern folklore
Aladdin's Demise
Aladdin told the Sultan how the magician had stolen the lamp and how he had tricked the magician into drinking from a poisoned cup. The Sultan ordered a ten day feast to celebrate this victory and the return of his daughter. It appeared Aladdin could live in peace with the magician gone but it was not to be.
The magician had a younger brother who was more cunning and evil than he himself had been. Hearing the news of his brother's death, the young magician resolved to avenge the death of his brother. He traveled to China and sought out the holy healer Fatima. When he found her, he killed the old woman and disguised himself as her.
Appearing to be the holy woman he walked down the streets toward the palace. People surrounded him asking for his touch and prayers to heal them. As he reached the palace the princess looked out to see the young magician disguised as Fatima. Having long wanted to be seen by the woman, she invited the magician into the palace of Aladdin.
The magician upon seeing the princess offered up prayers for her health and prosperity. The princess then begged him to stay in the palace with her forever and continue offering prayers for her. The magician consented and followed the princess on a tour of the palace.
Arriving in the hall, the palace the princess inquired what he thought of the palace.
"It is very beautiful, indeed, Only a roc's egg hung from the ceiling in the middle of this dome could make it more lovely."
The suggestion stayed with the princess and she could not help but envision a roc's egg just where the magician had said. She told Aladdin of her vision and he promised to make it come true.
Aladdin then rubbed the lamp and asked the genie for a roc's egg to be hung in the middle of the dome.
"You fool!" the genie cried, "How dare you demand me to bring my master and hang him in your palace! I should kill you for such a request. I will not do as you have asked."
Aladdin did not want to disappoint the princess so he tried to trick the genie into fulfilling his request.
"You probably do not even have the power to bring the roc's egg here." Aladdin insisted, "You useless genie, I should have just asked the genie of the ring. Surely he would be able to hang a roc's egg in this dome. He is more powerful than you."
Enraged the genie granted Aladdin's request and brought the roc's egg to display that no genie was mightier than he. The roc however, was furious to have been moved into Aladdin's palace.
In a fit of madness the roc destroyed the palace bit by bit until nothing was left of it. The palace fell and everyone but Aladdin was killed from the disaster including the princess and the magician.
"Why has this tragedy befallen me?" grieved Aladdin, "I must wish to have the princess brought back to me."
The roc, however, forbid any genie to grant the requests of Aladdin. He also banished the genie of the lamp to the bottom of the sea.
After this, Aladdin returned to his life of idleness, distraught by the loss of his wife and all that he owned.
The Roc, Master of the Genies (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome story! I know the original story of Aladdin very well, and I thought this twist you put on it was fantastic. Many stories end with happy endings, but I love to read a story every once in awhile where that is not the case. You told this story well, and I was engaged the entire time. Love the photo as well, it helped bring an awesome visual to the story!
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI really liked this story! Something that i really appreciated was how detailed your author's note was. I think that really helps readers to understand where your interpretation of the story came from, and how you came up with a new perspective. I liked how you changed the ending because it made the story so much different than the original!
Hello Hannah! I found it so interesting how you gave this story took such a dark, unexpected turn at the end. It really brings to light how dangerous magic can be and how obtaining what you want through hurting others can turn on you so quickly. I was a bit confused on why the princess wanted to bring the magician disguised as Fatima into the palace so badly, so perhaps mentioning that somewhere in the story would give the situation more clarity! Otherwise this is a great retelling and I enjoyed reading your twist at the end!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! This was such an interesting story to read not only because of the dark ending you added (which was a great addition), but also because I did not know about this ending to the tale of Aladdin. This makes me want to go back and reread the tale in its original form. I loved that you replaced the traditional "happily ever after" ending with a more tragic one. I feel that such tales often skirt the realities of dire situations, so seeing you bring an alternate ending to life was satisfying.
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