Aladdin’s mother heard with so much patience as not to interrupt him this surprising and wonderful relation, notwithstanding it could be no small affliction to a mother, who loved her son tenderly; but yet in the most moving part, which discovered the perfidy of the African magician, she could not help shewing, by marks of the greatest indignation, how much she detested him; and when Aladdin had finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile impostor. She called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. “Without doubt, child,” added she, “he is a magician, and they are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with the devil. Bless God for preserving you from his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon him, and implored his assistance.” She said a great deal more against the magician’s treachery; but finding, while she talked, her son Aladdin, who had not slept for three days and nights, began to nod, she put him to bed, and soon after went to bed herself.
Aladdin, who had not had one wink of sleep while he was in the subterraneous abode, slept very heartily all that night, and never waked till the next morning; when the first thing that he said to his mother was, he wanted something to eat, and that she could not do him a greater pleasure than to give him his breakfast. “Alas! child,” said she, “I have not a bit of bread to give you, you ate up all the provisions I had in the house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long before I will bring you some: I have a little cotton, which I have spun; I will go and sell it, and buy bread, and something for our dinner.” “Mother,” replied Aladdin, “keep your cotton against another time, and give me the lamp I brought home yesterday; I will go and sell it, and the money I shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too.”
Aladdin’s mother took the lamp, and said to her son, “Here it is, but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner I believe it would bring something more.” She took a little fine sand and water to clean it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, but in an instant a hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice like thunder, “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.”