Snuggle in nice and close, sleepy one. Because tonight our brave Aladdin is about to fall — bump, thump — head over heels in love. And no, that doesn't mean he actually falls down. It means his heart goes wobbly, like jelly on a spoon.
You see, one bright morning in Agrabah, the palace criers came running through the market ringing their bells. Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
"Hear ye, hear ye! All citizens must go home and close their windows! Her Royal Highness the Princess Yasmin is going to the bathhouse today, and no one — not one single person — may look upon her royal face!"
Everyone hurried home. Shopkeepers rolled down their curtains. Mothers pulled children inside. But Aladdin — oh, cheeky Aladdin — he thought, Hmm. I wonder what a princess looks like.
So instead of going home, he hid behind a big clay pot near the palace gates. And peeked.
Along came a whole line of servants. Then guards. Then musicians. And then, in the very middle, walked a girl of about twelve — with kind dark eyes, long shining hair, and a soft laugh like a little bell. She looked up for just one moment, right at the pot Aladdin was hiding behind.
And bump-thump — Aladdin's heart went wobbly like jelly on a spoon.
He ran all the way home. He tripped twice. He didn't even feel it.
"Ammi, Ammi!" he cried, tumbling through the door. "I have seen her! The princess! Ammi, I must marry her!"
His mother laughed. "Oh, my silly boy. You are a market boy. She is a princess. Kings do not give their daughters to boys with holes in their sandals."
"But Ammi — I have the lamp! I have the Djinn! I have wishes!"
His mother's smile slowly faded. She sat down. She thought for a long, long time. And at last she said, "My son, if you truly wish this, I will go and ask. But first, we must show respect. We must give the Sultan a gift so wonderful that he will listen."
Aladdin remembered the little green jewel from the cave. He remembered the piles of glowing gems he had not touched. He ran, fetched a plate, and rubbed the lamp.
BWOOOOM! Out puffed the giant Djinn.
"HO-HO! What is your wish, small master?"
"Please, sir Djinn — I need one flat golden tray, and it must be piled with jewels so beautiful that the Sultan will fall right off his throne."
"HO-HO-HO! Done in a wink!"
Ping! — and there it was. A tray of glowing rubies, deep green emeralds, sky-blue sapphires, and pearls the size of a baby's fingernails. Aladdin's mother had to sit down and fan herself.
Off she went to the palace, carrying the tray under a silk cloth. When she uncovered it before the Sultan, the whole court gasped so loudly it sounded like wind rushing through a tunnel.
The Sultan — a jolly, round-cheeked old man — leaned so far forward he nearly did fall off his throne. "Good woman! Whose son sends me such a gift?"
"My son Aladdin, Your Majesty," said Aladdin's mother, bowing low. "He wishes — very humbly — for the hand of Princess Yasmin."
The Sultan stroked his beard. He looked at his Grand Vizier — a thin, sneaky man with a moustache like a wet paintbrush. The Vizier whispered, "Sire! Your daughter is meant to marry my own son!"
The Sultan waved him away. "Any boy who can send jewels like these must be a very great man. Bring him to my palace tomorrow!"
Aladdin's mother rushed home, out of breath. When Aladdin heard the news, he did a little happy dance right there on the floor and made his mother laugh again. But there was still a problem. A market boy could not walk into a palace in patched robes!
So that night, Aladdin rubbed the lamp again.
"Djinn, kind Djinn — please, I need a fine coat, silk shoes, a splendid white horse, and, um… forty servants? With drums and trumpets?"
"HO-HO! And why not forty camels loaded with silver as well, small master?"
"Oh! Yes! That too, please!"
The next morning, all Agrabah rushed to their windows. Down the street came a parade so bright and merry that the little children clapped and danced. Drums! Trumpets! Silver bells on the camels! And in the middle, on a proud white horse, sat Aladdin — in a golden coat, a jewelled turban, and the biggest smile in the world.
The Sultan met him at the palace steps and hugged him like a long-lost son. And when Princess Yasmin stepped out onto the balcony to see this new prince, she looked down at Aladdin — and Aladdin looked up at her — and she smiled the softest, shyest smile.
Bump-thump went Aladdin's heart.
The Sultan announced their wedding right away. That very evening, Aladdin whispered to the Djinn, "One more wish, please. Build my princess a palace across from her father's — the most beautiful palace ever seen. With golden domes, marble floors, gardens of orange trees, and a fountain that pours sherbet, not water."
"HO-HO-HO! Done by breakfast, small master!"
And in the morning, when the Sultan opened his window, his mouth fell open. There, across from his own palace, stood a shimmering new palace — its domes catching the sunlight like a hundred golden bubbles. Everyone in Agrabah cheered and pointed and laughed with wonder.
Aladdin and Yasmin were married in the sweetest wedding you can imagine, with rose petals falling from the ceiling and children carrying trays of honey sweets. The Sultan wept happy tears. Aladdin's mother wept happier tears. And even the little grey cat sat on the palace steps and purred.
Everyone was happy.
Almost everyone.
Because very, very far away, in a dusty red-stone tower, a certain evil sorcerer with nine rings was looking into a bowl of dark water. And in the water, he saw a wonderful new golden palace shining across from the Sultan's… and in it, laughing beside a princess, was a boy he had thought was long, long dead.
His eyes turned yellow again. His mouth twisted. And he began to pack his bag.
Sweet dreams, little dreamer. Tomorrow night, an old peddler comes to Agrabah with a strange, strange cry — "New lamps for old! New lamps for old!" — and we shall see what a princess does when a stranger comes knocking with a smile too wide.