Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Long ago, in a large city in China, there lived a poor tailor. His name was Mustapha. He lived with his wife and his only son, Aladdin.

Aladdin was a lazy boy. He did not want to learn anything. Every morning he ran out of the house and played in the streets with other boys all day. His father tried to teach him to sew in the shop. But as soon as his father turned his back, Aladdin was gone.

Mustapha was very sad about his son. He became ill, and a few months later he died. Now Aladdin's mother had to work hard. She sat at home and made cotton thread, and she sold it for a little money. Aladdin did not help her at all. He only played.

One day, when Aladdin was fifteen, he was playing in the street. A stranger stopped and looked at him carefully. This man was a magician from a faraway land. He knew many secret things, and he was looking for a boy just like Aladdin.