Week 4 Story: Abida and the Wonderful Lamp

Image Information: photo of a lamp. Web Source: flickr.

There was once a young woman named Abida. She lived in a small village in Egypt with her mother. Abida loved to wander the street and meet new people. She was a bright and happy girl who brought joy to everyone she met. Abida loved her life but always longed for something more. She always wished she could be beautiful like her mother but if she could not be beautiful, she at least wanted to be great and powerful so that she could help others that were poor like her.

On one of her many adventures that led her wandering about, Abida came across an old lamp that was buried in the trash of an alleyway. She had never seen anything like it before and she had the feeling that there was something special about. Abida decided to take the lamp home with her because her mother loved lamps and she wanted to surprise her.

When she returned home, she decided to wash the lamp, as it was very dirty. When she rubbed the lamp, a genie appeared.

"What can I do for you? Your wish is my command.” said the genie.

"Me? I can wish for anything I want?" asked Abida.

"Yes, my dear. Anything your heart desires." replied the genie.

Abida thought long and hard about for what she should wish. She finally decided that the first thing she wanted was a feast for her and her mother to enjoy together. Immediately after making the wish, a great feast appeared right before her eyes. Abida was shocked by the magic of the genie from the lamp. Her second wish was for a new house that was wonderful and big instead of the old cottage she had lived in since she was born. Before she knew it, she was standing in a big house with three floors and a balcony.

The next thing she asked for was a beautiful gown that she could wear. She had always longed to wear a gown that made her feel like a princess. With a snap of the genie's fingers, a dress appeared on Abida. She looked in the mirror and felt so beautiful for the first time in her life. She left the house in a hurry to show her friends her new gown.

On her way back home, she walked the scenic route by the Sultan's palace. The palace overlooked a pond that was filled with fish and line with large trees. It was Abida's favorite place to spend her days. She sat down by the pond and fed the ducks that lived there. In the past, she had not had any food to offer them but with the genie's help, she could now feed them.

Meanwhile, prince Aladdin, the Sultan's son was watching Abida by the pond from the palace balcony. He had never seen her before but he was so captured by her beauty that he fell in love with her instantly. He rushed to his father at once and told him of the woman he saw by the pond. He requested that someone find her and invite her to the castle so he could ask for her hand in marriage. His father agreed and sent someone after her right away.

When one of the guards from the castle showed up at Abida's front door, her mother was worried that her daughter might have done something wrong.

"Is it about my daughter, Abida?" the mother asked.

"Yes, the prince has requested her presence at the palace at once." the guard replied with a smile.

After Abida arrived back at her house, her mother told her of the news and urged her to look her best for her trip to the palace. Abida was nervous and asked for her mother to accompany her to the castle to which her mother agreed. With a rub of the lamp, the genie appeared and made sure the two women looked perfect for their journey to the castle.

When Abida and her mother approached the palace, the palace doors swung open and they grasped each other's hands to face whatever awaited them. The moment they walked through the palace doors, they saw that the room was filled with people. The prince approached Abida and told her of his love for her and asked her to marry him. Abida could not believe that he was asking her to marry him but her joy could not be contained.

"Yes!" she blurted out.

She glanced at her mother who was smiling so proudly. Knowing that her mother approved made her feel even more excited about her engagement. The wedding was planned for a week later and during this time, Abida spent as much time with the prince as possible. They talked to each other about many things. She told him of her dreams to help the poor and do good in the world. They laughed together and enjoyed their time together. Abida could tell she was falling in love with the prince.

She asked him what made him choose her as his bride. The prince told her of how he saw her sitting by the bond and believed her to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Abida felt guilty, as she knew that he had only thought her beautiful due to the work of the genie. She came clean about everything to the prince because she could not handle lying to him even it meant the wedding would be canceled.

"I do not love you because of your pretty gown and jewelry. I love you because of your heart and I could see that from far away." the prince assured.

Prince Aladdin and Princess Abida lived happily ever after.

Bibliography: Arabian Nights: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp by Andrew Lang; link to the reading online.

Author's Note: The original story was of a young man named Aladdin who was poor and lived with his mother. His father had passed and he meets a man who pretends to be his uncle but is actually an evil magician. The false uncle takes him to a cave where he makes Aladdin enter to obtain a lamp for him. Aladdin fails and the magician abandons him. Aladdin ends up escaping from the cave with the lamp and returns home. He ends up using the lamp to impress the Sultan in order to be able to marry the princess. After many events, the evil magician returns after learning that Aladdin recovered the lamp from the cave and attempts to destroy Aladdin's life by stealing the lamp. Aladdin finds his way out of the mess after stealing the lamp back and killing off the magician as well as his twin brother. And they live happily ever after. I decided to sway very far from the original story. First off, I reversed the roles in that Aladdin became Abida and the princess was now a prince. I thought that the roles being reversed would make for an interesting story. I also wanted to weed out a lot of the drama created by the lies told by Aladdin and the evil magician in the original story. I kept it simple with a twist of truth from Abida even when did not have to come clean. And she still got her happily ever after.