She was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the appearance of the genius; and said to him, how came that vile genius to address himself to me, and not to you, to whom he appeared before in the cave? Mother, answered Aladdin, the genius you saw is not the same who appeared to me, though he resembles him in size. 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 genius’s addressing himself rather to me than to you? Ah! my son! take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. If you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have any thing to do with genii, 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 to me. As for the ring, I cannot resolve to part with that neither; for, without that, you had never seen me again; and if it was gone, I might not be some moments hence; therefore I hope you will give me leave and to wear it always on my finger. As Aladdin’s arguments were just, his mother had nothing to say against them; but only replied, that she would have nothing to do with genii, but would wash her hands of them, and never say any thing more about them.
By the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genius had brought; and the next day Aladdin sold one of the silver plates to a Jew whom he met in the streets, for a piece of gold, though it was but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. Aladdin took the money very eagerly, and, before he 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. When he had sold the last plate, he had recourse to the basin, which he sold also to the Jew, for ten pieces of gold. They lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner a pretty while.
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 genius 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 genius disappeared, and presently returned with a basin, and the same number of covered plates and other things, and set them down on a table, and vanished again.
Aladdin’s mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out at that time about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genius came; and when she returned, she was almost as much
surprised as before, at the prodigious effect of the lamp. However, she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as they had a mind to, she set enough by to last them two or three days.
