THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP
In one of the large and rich cities of China there once lived a tailor
named Mustapha. He was very poor. He could hardly, by his daily labor,
maintain himself and his family, which consisted only of his wife and
a son.
His son, who was called Aladdin,[41] was a very careless and idle
fellow. He was disobedient to his father and mother, and would go out
early in the morning and stay out all day, playing in the streets and
public places with idle children of his own age.
[Footnote 41: Aladdin signifies "The Nobility of the Religion."--Lane,
Vol. II, p. 285.]
When he was old enough to learn a trade his father took him into his
own shop, and taught him how to use his needle; but all his father's
endeavors to keep him to his work were vain, for no sooner was his
back turned than the boy was gone for that day. Mustapha chastised
him, but Aladdin was incorrigible, and his father, to his great grief,
was forced to abandon him to his idleness. He was so much troubled
about him, that he fell sick and died in a few months.
Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father,
gave himself over entirely to his idle habits, and was never out of
the streets from his companions. This course he followed till he was
fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful pursuit, or
the least reflection on what would become of him. As he was one day
playing in the street with his evil associates, according to custom,
a stranger passing by stood to observe him.
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