brother, how unhappy I am not to have come soon enough to give you a last embrace!"

As they sat down to supper he gave Aladdin's mother an account of his travels, saying he had been from home for forty years, and had traveled in many distant countries. Then he turned to Aladdin and asked his name. Being told, he said, "What business do you follow? Are you of any trade?"

At these questions Aladdin hung his head, and was much ashamed when his mother replied, "Aladdin is an idle fellow; his father tried to teach him his trade, but he would not learn, and since his father's death, in spite of all that I can say to him, he does nothing but waste his time in the streets." With these words the poor woman burst into tears, and the Magician, turning to Aladdin, said, "This is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself and earning a living. I will help you as far as I can. Would you like me to furnish a shop for you?" Aladdin was delighted with the idea, for he thought there was very little work in keeping a shop; so he told his uncle that it would suit him better than anything else.

"To-morrow I will take you with me," said the Magician, "and clothe you as handsomely as any merchant in the city; then we will be ready to open a shop."

Aladdin's mother thanked him very heartily, and begged her son to behave so as to prove himself

worthy of the good fortune that had come to him.

The next day the stranger called for Aladdin as he had promised, and took him to a merchant who kept ready-made clothes suited for all sorts of people. He had Aladdin try on the handsomest suits, and bought those that Aladdin liked best. The pretended uncle then took Aladdin to visit the bazaars where the foreign merchants were, and to the most splendid mosques, and in the evening gave him a feast.

When Aladdin's mother saw him return so handsomely dressed, and heard him tell of the company he had been in, she was very happy. "My generous brother," said she to the Magician, "I do not know how to thank you enough for your kindness. May you live many years and receive my son's gratitude."

The Magician replied, "Aladdin is a good boy. He attends to what I say, and I have no doubt but we shall be proud of him. I am sorry that I cannot hire the shop to-morrow, for Aladdin, as it is Friday, and all the merchants will be absent. However, we will settle the matter Saturday. I will come to-morrow and take Aladdin to see the public gardens outside the town."

The next morning Aladdin was so impatient to see his uncle that he was up and dressed very early. As soon as he saw his uncle coming he ran to meet him. The Magician greeted him very kindly, and said with

a smile, "Come, my good boy; to-day I will show you some very fine things."

He then led him through beautiful gardens with great houses standing in the midst of them. Aladdin was surprised at their beauty. His uncle led him by degrees farther and farther into the country. After a time, seeing that Aladdin was tired, they sat down in one of the gardens by the side of a great basin of water, and taking from his girdle some cakes and fruits, he told the boy to eat them.

By kindness and pleasant talk he led Aladdin to go much farther. They walked on till they came to a narrow valley with mountains on all sides. This was the spot that the Magician wanted to reach, and to which he had brought Aladdin for purposes known only to himself. "Now," said he, "we need go no farther, and I shall show you some extraordinary wonders, that no one beside yourself will ever see. I am going to strike a light. Gather all the dry sticks that you can so as to make a fire."

There were so many sticks lying about that Aladdin soon gathered enough. The Magician started a fire and threw upon it a perfume that he had. A dense smoke rose, and the Magician spoke some mysterious words. At the same time the ground shook slightly, and opened where they stood, and showed a square stone about a foot and a half across, with a brass ring fixed in the center.

Aladdin was frightened out of his wits, and was

about to run away, when the Magician suddenly gave him a box on the ear so violent as to knock him down. Poor Aladdin, with tears in his eyes, said, "My dear uncle, what have I done to deserve so severe a blow?" "I have good reasons," said the Magician. "If you obey me, you will not repent of it. Underneath that stone is hidden treasure that will make you richer than many kings. All that you may have if you will do as I tell

you." Aladdin had now recovered from his fright, and he asked his uncle what he was to do. The Magician told him to take hold of the ring and lift the stone. To Aladdin's surprise he raised the stone without any difficulty. He saw a small opening three or four feet deep, at the bottom of which was a little door, with steps to go down lower still. "Now," said the Magician, "you must go down into this cavern, and when you have come to the bottom of the steps, you will see an open door which leads into three great halls. In each of these you will see four large bronze vases, full of gold and silver, but you must not touch any of it. When you reach the first hall, you must wrap your robe close about you, and go on through the second hall to the third, being very careful not to go near the walls, or even touch them with your robe, for if you do it will cause your instant death. At the farther end of the third hall there is a door that opens out into a garden, with beautiful trees, all of which are full of fruit.

Enter the garden and follow a path which you will see, which will lead you to the bottom of a flight of fifty steps. At the top of these is a terrace. When you reach the terrace, you will see before you a niche in which is a lighted lamp. Take it and put out the light, and throw out the wick and the liquid that is in the lamp. Then put the lamp in your bosom and bring it to me. Do not be afraid of staining your dress. What is in the lamp is not oil, and when you have thrown it out the lamp will become dry at once. If you wish to gather any of the fruit in the garden, you may do so. There is no reason why you should not take as much as you please."

As the Magician gave these directions to Aladdin, he took a ring from his finger and gave it to his pretended nephew, and told him that it would protect him from all harm that might otherwise happen to him. "Now," said he, "follow my directions fully, and we shall both of us be immensely rich for the rest of our lives."

Aladdin very gladly started on his errand. He went down the steps and found the halls just as they had been described by the Magician. He passed through them with the greatest care, entered the garden, and mounted the terrace. He found a lamp there in a niche, just as the Magician had said. He put out the light and emptied the lamp, as he was told. Putting it in his bosom, he came down the terrace and stopped in the garden to look at the