Aladdin
by Andrew Lang

Synopsis

The story concerns an impoverished young ne'er-do-well named Aladdin, who is recruited by a sorcerer from the Maghreb in the far west, who passes himself off as the brother of Aladdin's late father; to retrieve a wonderful oil lamp from a booby-trapped magic cave. After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin keeps the lamp for himself, and discovers that it summons a surly genie that is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp. With the aid of the genie, Aladdin becomes rich and powerful and marries princess Badroulbadour.

The sorcerer returns and is able to get his hands on the lamp by tricking Aladdin's wife, who is unaware of the lamp's importance. Aladdin discovers a lesser, polite genie who is summoned by a ring loaned to him by the sorcerer but forgotten during the double-cross. Assisted by the lesser genie, Aladdin recovers his wife and the lamp.