Are you snuggled in, little one? Good. Because tonight, we go somewhere very, very strange — through the town gates of Agrabah, out past the sleepy camels, past the last date palm, past the last well… and up, up, up into the rocky brown hills, where nobody in Agrabah ever goes.
Do you remember Aladdin? Our clever, cheeky, sandal-holed boy from the marketplace? And do you remember the tall stranger with the silver beard and the nine rings — the one who said he was Aladdin's uncle?
Well, that very morning, the stranger came to fetch Aladdin. He brought a donkey and a fat leather bag full of dates and cheese. Aladdin's mother kissed his forehead and said, "Come back before sunset, my child."
"I will, Ammi!" said Aladdin, and off they went — clip, clop, clip, clop — out of the town.
They walked for a long time. The sun grew hotter. The hills grew bigger. Aladdin's feet grew tired. "Uncle," he puffed, "where is this magical treasure?"
"Just a little further, my clever nephew. Just a little further."
At last they came to a strange, quiet valley between two great cliffs. There were no birds. There were no lizards. There wasn't even any wind. Aladdin didn't like it one bit.
The tall stranger opened his bag. But he did not take out food. He took out — very slowly — a small pouch of dried herbs, a curled feather, and a bone. He sprinkled the herbs on the ground. He waved the feather in a strange shape. And then, in a voice deep as a well, he began to sing words that Aladdin had never heard before.
Wobble.
Rumble.
ROAR!
The ground shook so hard that Aladdin fell right on his bottom! And there — right in front of them — the rocky ground split apart with a groan. Dust flew everywhere. And up from the earth rose a huge stone door, carved like a lion's mouth, with steps leading down into the deepest, blackest darkness you can imagine.
Aladdin's eyes went round. "Uncle," he whispered, "what… what is that?"
The stranger's kind smile suddenly did not look so kind. His eyes shone yellow, like a cat's in the dark. "That, my boy, is the Cave of Wonders. And only you can go inside."
"Me?" squeaked Aladdin. "Why me?"
"Because," said the stranger, "the cave has waited for a certain boy for a hundred years. A boy with a good, kind heart. And that boy is you."
(Now, little one, that part was true. But the stranger left out the rest — the cave would swallow anyone else who tried to enter. That's why he needed Aladdin.)
The stranger slipped a strange copper ring onto Aladdin's finger. "This will protect you," he said. "Now go — walk straight through, past the mountains of gold, past the mountains of jewels, all the way to a little garden at the back. In that garden, there is a plain, dusty old lamp hanging from the branch of a tree. Bring me only the lamp. Touch nothing else — not one single coin — until you come back out. Do you understand?"
Aladdin nodded, though his knees were doing a little wobbly-dance.
Down, down, down he crept, into the cool dark cave. And oh, my little dreamer — you would not believe what he saw!
He passed a hall of gold coins piled higher than an elephant! Silver plates! Chests of pearls! And then — jewels, jewels, jewels. Red rubies as big as apples. Green emeralds as big as pears. Blue sapphires that glowed like tiny pieces of night sky. Aladdin's mouth hung open, but he remembered his uncle's warning. He did not touch. Not one. Not one!
At last he came to a quiet little garden inside the cave, where the trees had leaves of solid gold. And there, hanging from the low branch of a small silver tree, was an old, plain, dusty oil lamp.
Aladdin blinked. "This? This is the treasure?"
But he reached up on his tippy-toes and lifted the lamp down. He gave it a little shake. Nothing rattled. He gave it a little sniff. It smelled like old dust.
Very strange. But he tucked it carefully into his shirt and turned to go home.
On his way back, he did pluck one shiny green jewel from a tree — just one, small enough to hide in his pocket, a present for his mother. Then he climbed, and climbed, and climbed the long stone steps back up to the daylight.
At the very top, he could see the tall stranger's shadow above him. "Uncle!" Aladdin called. "Uncle, help me out! My hands are full!"
The stranger leaned down. His yellow eyes glittered. "First — give me the lamp!"
Aladdin frowned. That felt wrong somehow. "Uncle, please, help me up first. Then I'll give it to you."
The stranger's face turned red. Then purple. Then almost black with rage.
"GIVE ME THE LAMP!" he roared.
"After you help me out!" Aladdin shouted back.
The stranger's mouth twisted into a horrible snarl. He was no uncle at all — you knew that, didn't you, clever one? He was an evil sorcerer from far away, who had travelled across seas and deserts just to trick a good, brave boy into fetching the lamp for him.
With a howl of fury, the sorcerer clapped his hands, sang his strange song backwards, and — SLAM! — the great stone door came crashing shut over Aladdin's head. Boom.
The valley went silent again. The sorcerer stamped away, cursing and muttering, back toward his faraway home, thinking Aladdin was gone forever.
But Aladdin, poor Aladdin, was left alone in the dark, dark cave, with only a plain dusty old lamp, one shiny jewel, and a strange copper ring on his finger.
He sat down on the cold stone step and, for the first time all day, tears rolled down his cheeks. "Ammi," he whispered. "I want to go home."
Sweet dreams, my brave little listener. Do not worry — tomorrow night, Aladdin will discover that even in the darkest cave, help can come from the most surprising places. Especially when you happen to have a magic lamp… and a magic ring… and no idea what either one can do.