Week 6 Story: The Tale of Aladdin
Growing up, I never had a care in the world. Sure I was poor, but I played all day long in the streets. Though my father passed from grieving over my playful activities, I remained unwavering from my ways.
Then one day, as I was frolicking in the streets as usual, a stranger approached me. He claimed to be my long-lost uncle, and I was utterly astonished. I ran home immediately to tell my mother and made preparations for supper for his presence. The stranger made himself at home and kissed the place where my father once sat.
The next day, my uncle bought me a fine suit of clothes and merchandise, which made my mother ever so happy. The following day, we ventured outside the city gates until we came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley.
My uncle stopped us and bid me to start kindling a fire. So I gathered up sticks and started a fire. He then pulls out some fine powder and spreads it over the fire. I felt the earth shake, and it opened right in front of me, revealing a square stone with a brass ring. I was frightened so I tried to scurry away, but my uncle caught me and threw me down.
Begging my uncle to be set free, I whimpered as he looked over me. My uncle then told me of treasures and riches that could be mine if I enter beneath the stone, which peaked my interest greatly as I was poor and yearned for wealth.
So, my uncle gave me his ring to wear as I descended into the cave, and he also bid me with instructions to traverse the various obstacles, else I end up dead. I walk down the great hall, harvest a few fruits from the large trees in the garden, and eventually arrive at the lamp. I pour the oil out like I was told and made my way back to the cave entrance.
Upon the reaching the entrance, my uncle reached out his hand for the lamp as I stumbled up on the steps. I refused to give him the lamp before I had reached safety, as I was afraid of being trapped inside the cave forever.
Upon my refusal, my uncle threw a great fit, murmuring words and curses at the fire. He spreads some more powder over the fire, which in turn caused the stone to close over me. I was plunged into darkness, not even being able to see my own fingertips.
For days, I cried in the dark, not knowing if I would live to see my mother again and wondering why my uncle had left me. All I had was my uncle's ring and this weird lamp. I prayed that I would soon be set free and rubbed the ring. All of a sudden, smoke started emanating from the ring I wore on my finger and a towering and frightening genie appeared before me. It was almost as if my life had changed course in that very instant.
Author's Note: I opted to retell the first tale of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from the perspective of Aladdin. With this point of view, I was able to capture Aladdin's carefree nature that drove him to play in the streets all day. Even upon the death of his father, he refused to change his ways and played on as if nothing had happened. I was able to capture how Aladdin felt about the stranger, believing that he was actually his uncle. With this perspective, I was able to illustrate that Aladdin actually believed that the stranger was his uncle and was clueless about his malicious intent. I think it adds another layer of emotions so that reader's can understand how Aladdin must have felt as he was recovering the lamp from the cave.
Bibliography: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1 from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)
Then one day, as I was frolicking in the streets as usual, a stranger approached me. He claimed to be my long-lost uncle, and I was utterly astonished. I ran home immediately to tell my mother and made preparations for supper for his presence. The stranger made himself at home and kissed the place where my father once sat.
The next day, my uncle bought me a fine suit of clothes and merchandise, which made my mother ever so happy. The following day, we ventured outside the city gates until we came to two mountains divided by a narrow valley.
My uncle stopped us and bid me to start kindling a fire. So I gathered up sticks and started a fire. He then pulls out some fine powder and spreads it over the fire. I felt the earth shake, and it opened right in front of me, revealing a square stone with a brass ring. I was frightened so I tried to scurry away, but my uncle caught me and threw me down.
Begging my uncle to be set free, I whimpered as he looked over me. My uncle then told me of treasures and riches that could be mine if I enter beneath the stone, which peaked my interest greatly as I was poor and yearned for wealth.
So, my uncle gave me his ring to wear as I descended into the cave, and he also bid me with instructions to traverse the various obstacles, else I end up dead. I walk down the great hall, harvest a few fruits from the large trees in the garden, and eventually arrive at the lamp. I pour the oil out like I was told and made my way back to the cave entrance.
Upon the reaching the entrance, my uncle reached out his hand for the lamp as I stumbled up on the steps. I refused to give him the lamp before I had reached safety, as I was afraid of being trapped inside the cave forever.
Upon my refusal, my uncle threw a great fit, murmuring words and curses at the fire. He spreads some more powder over the fire, which in turn caused the stone to close over me. I was plunged into darkness, not even being able to see my own fingertips.
For days, I cried in the dark, not knowing if I would live to see my mother again and wondering why my uncle had left me. All I had was my uncle's ring and this weird lamp. I prayed that I would soon be set free and rubbed the ring. All of a sudden, smoke started emanating from the ring I wore on my finger and a towering and frightening genie appeared before me. It was almost as if my life had changed course in that very instant.
Aladdin Meets the Genie - Courtesy of New York Post
Author's Note: I opted to retell the first tale of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from the perspective of Aladdin. With this point of view, I was able to capture Aladdin's carefree nature that drove him to play in the streets all day. Even upon the death of his father, he refused to change his ways and played on as if nothing had happened. I was able to capture how Aladdin felt about the stranger, believing that he was actually his uncle. With this perspective, I was able to illustrate that Aladdin actually believed that the stranger was his uncle and was clueless about his malicious intent. I think it adds another layer of emotions so that reader's can understand how Aladdin must have felt as he was recovering the lamp from the cave.
Bibliography: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 1 from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1898)
I like how you chose to retell the story of Aladdin before he actually meets the genie. A lot of the time, people want to get right into the meat of a story. I think its important to detail the background. Why do people act the way they do? How do they get into the situations they are in. It is important to set these details up properly in order to facilitate a proper story.
ReplyDeleteHi Jackie!
ReplyDeleteI really like this version of Aladdin! I am used to the Disney version, and I felt like this was a more "real" story with consequences. I like that you told the story using first person point of view as it adds more about Aladdin's inner emotions. When I got to the end of your retelling, I wished I could keep reading about what happened next!