Chapter 4 Aladdin􀆳s love 第四章 阿拉丁的爱情

有了戒指和灯的帮助，阿拉丁的生活发生了极大的变化。而在遇见公主的那一刻起，阿拉丁便决定要娶她为妻。接下来他会怎么做呢？他会不会成功呢？

Scene 1    Meeting the princess

遇见公主

Five years later， Aladdin had a shop in the market and three market sellers worked for him. The sellers liked Aladdin because he was good to them. The market children liked Aladdin too， because he gave them money when he walked past. Everybody liked Aladdin.

Aladdins mother never called her son a good⁃for⁃nothing now. They had a nice house near the gardens and she had many beautiful things. But only Aladdin and his mother knew about the magic lamp and the jinnee.

One day Aladdin heard a noise in the street and stopped to listen. “The Sultans daughter is coming，” he heard. “Princess Badr⁃al⁃Budur is coming！”

Six slaves carried the princess th⁃rough the streets in a litter （轿）， and the people stopped to watch. “Princess！ Princess Badr⁃al⁃Budur！” they called.

Aladdin watched when the litter came past him， and he saw the princesss face. She was beautiful， with big dark eyes—the most beautiful woman in Arabia. The litter went past Aladdin， but for some minutes he did not move. Then he ran home.

“Mother！ Mother！ I saw the Sultans daughter， Princess Badr⁃al⁃Budur， in the street.” Aladdins face was white. “I must have the princess for my wife！”

“But， Aladdin...” his mother began.

“No ‘buts’， Mother. I love the princess and I want to marry her. Go to the Sultan and ask for me.”

“Me？ Go to the Sultans palace？ No， no， no，” Aladdins mother said. “Listen， my son. The daughters of a Sultan do not marry poor boys from the city.”

“But we are not poor now， Mother. And we can give the Sultan something for his daughter. Wait.”

Aladdin went away and got the fruit from the magic garden under the ground. At that time， of course， he knew it was not fruit， but white， red， green， and yellow jewels.

“Take these jewels， Mother， on a gold plate，” he said， “and give them to the Sultan.”

Scene 2    Journey to the palace

王宫之行

So the next day Aladdins mother carried a gold plate with many beautiful jewels on it to the Sultans palace. She went into a long room， but when she saw the Sultan， his vizier （大臣）， and all his slaves， she was very afraid. So she waited quietly in the room and spoke to nobody. In the evening， she went back home again with the jewels. Aladdin was very angry with her.

“Mother， you must speak to the Sultan，” he said. “I have no father to do this for me. You must help me—I must marry the princess. I love her！”

So the next day， and for many days after that， Aladdins mother went to the palace， but she was always afraid to speak.

In the end， the Sultan saw her and asked his vizier， “Who is that woman？ Why does she come to the palace every day？”

The vizier spoke to Aladdins mother， “Do you want to speak to the Sultan？ Yes？ Come with me.”

The vizier took Aladdins mother to the Sultan， and she put her head on the ground at his feet.

“Get up， woman. Why do you come here every day？” the Sultan asked. “Speak， woman.”

“Your Majesty，” Aladdins mother said quietly， “I have a son， a good young man. He is called Aladdin. He loves your daughter， Princess Badr⁃al⁃Budur. He cannot sl⁃eep or eat because of her. He wants to marry her.”

The Sultan laughed. “What？ Marry my daughter？ Your son？”

“Your Majesty， these jewels are for you， from my son Aladdin.” And Aladdins mother put the gold plate with the jewels in front of the Sultans feet.

Everybody looked at the jewels， and the long room was suddenly very quiet. Then the Sultan spoke.

“These are very beautiful jewels，” he said. “No man in Arabia has jewels more wonderful than these. Your son is a rich man—a good husband for my daughter.”

Scene 3    Help from the magic lamp

来自神灯的帮助

The vizier did not like to hear this， because he wanted the princess to marry his son.

“Your Majesty，” he said quietly in the Sultans ear， “my son is a rich man， too. Give him three months， and he can find better jewels than these.”

“Very well，” said the Sultan. And to Aladdins mother he said， “Your son must wait for three months， and then perhaps he can marry my daughter.”

Aladdins mother went home to tell Ala⁃ddin， and the vizier went away to speak to his son. And every day， for two months， the viziers son came to the Sultan and gave him gold， jewels， and many beautiful things.

For two months Aladdin waited happily， but one day his mother came home from the market and said， “Oh， Aladdin！ Aladdin！ The princess is going to marry the viziers son！ I heard it in the market. Everybodys talking about it.”

When Aladdin heard this， he was very unhappy. “What can I do？” he thought. He put his head in his hands and thought for a long time. And when night came， he took out the magic lamp and rubbed it...

WHOOSH！ “What is your wish， master？” said the jinnee of the lamp.

“Bring Princess Badr⁃al⁃Budur to me，” said Aladdin.