Now do you see why my king likes the story of Aladdin?
It is so exciting!
By now, you probably know that Magrib is truly an evil magician.
He's not Aladdin's uncle at all.
Magrib has told so many lies to Aladdin and his mother!
Why? I'll tell you.
He wants to get his hands on that lamp.
You see, Magrib was not born in Aladdin's city.
He grew up a strange child in Cairo, Egypt.
He had pale, unfriendly eyes.
And his hair, which stuck out in every direction, was the color of rust.
When people smiled at him, he never smiled back.
And he never went outdoors and played games like most children do.
No, he stayed in his room alone and read dusty, old books about magic.
Magrib learned magic spells and how to see the future in the stars.
He alsolearned how to make poisons!
When Magrib was a little older, he visited the master magicians of Cairo.
They taught him all their secrets and tricks.
Soon young Magrib knew more than his teachers, but he studied magic for another forty years.
He thought he knew everything, but then late one night, he made a great discovery.
Magrib read a very old book about an enchanted treasury filled with gold and jewels—the riches of kings!
But in that treasury was the most wonderful treasure of all—a plain brass lamp.
Can you picture old Magrib in his gloomy library?
Pacing back and forth among the stacks of books, he couldn't stop thinking about the lamp.
Oh, how he wanted it!
But there was a problem.
Only one person in the world could enter the enchanted treasury.
Only one person could find the lamp—a young boy named Aladdin, the son of a poor tailor.
And this boy lived in the very same city where the enchanted treasury was hidden.
"Why this boy?" Magrib wondered.
The old book explained all the tricks and traps in the enchanted treasury.
But it didn't say why only Aladdin could get the lamp.
"I have to find that one boy!" said Magrib.
"Then the lamp will be mine!"
So Magrib sailed along the edge of a great sea.
Then he joined a camel caravan and traveled into Aladdin's land.
He began looking everywhere for the boy.
And as you know, he finally found him.
After many years and a long journey, the great moment was at hand.
So imagine how Magrib felt when Aladdin would not hand him the lamp!
He was too greedy to wait any longer, and he became angry.
He lost his temper and closed up the enchanted treasury, burying the boy.
Did Magrib gain anything by his anger?
He punished Aladdin.
That is true.
But Magrib still did not have the lamp.
It was locked up tight, just like the boy.
What did Magrib do next?
He packed his bags and left Aladdin's city.
He went back to Egypt and sat alone, thinking dark, unhappy thoughts.
And what did Aladdin do next?
Well, wait just a little while and you will know, my young friends.