1 Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
阿拉丁与神灯

Chapter 1

Aladdin was the son of a poor tailor. His father tried to teachhim the trade, but the boy was so lazy, he refused to do any work. Because Aladdin never lifted a finger, his father worked himself to exhaustion until he died. But even then, Aladdin would not change his lazy ways and played with the naughty boys in the street while his mother spun cotton.

When Aladdin was fifteen, a magician arrived in the kingdom. The magician wandered through the streets, looking for some foolish boy to trick. When he saw Aladdin, he pounced on him immediately.

“You there, your face looks familiar,” he called.“Tell me who your father is.”

“My father is Mustapha, the tailor. But he's been dead for two years,” Aladdin replied.

“Oh, dear me, it can't be true! I've come all this way to see my brother, Mustapha, only to find out he is dead!” cried the magician. He hugged Aladdin close and pretended to weep.“And you, fine boy, must be my nephew. You've surely taken over your poor father's tailor shop.”

“Bah!” said Aladdin. “I can't stand working! I prefer to play in the streets with my friends.”

“What? That's no good for a young boy. Let me make you an offer. If you come with me tomorrow, I'll buy a shop and make you a shopkeeper. That way, you can earn money without doing labor.”

Aladdin liked the sound of that and agreed to follow his false uncle the next day.