Chapter 2
The seventeen-year-old boy quickly swerved around a tall building's corner, breathing heavily, with his pet monkey, Abu, close on his heels. He paused, trying to decide whether it would be best to run right or left. He chose right, and Abu jumped to his shoulders.
His feet stomping on the dusty earth, he rounded another corner and leaped into an ally-way.
He tried to catch his breath, as he watched the palace guards fly by his small hiding place, shouting, "We'll get you this time, boy! No more stealing from you! You won't get away so easy!"
"They think this is easy?!" He whispered to Abu. Looking at the small loaf of bread he held in his hands, he wondered if one dinner was really worth all this effort. But, it was his only source of entertainment, so he shrugged, and clamped his teeth on the bread, and started to scale the wall, with Abu clinging to his neck.
His black hair blew in the sand-filled wind, but he ignored it. When he reached the top, he wiped his dirty hands on his dirtier pants, and took the bread out of his mouth. Abu hopped to the floor with a chirrup.
"There you are, boy!" The Head Guard shouted, drawing his sword. The boy stared at it.
"Come on now," He said, taking a step back towards the edge of the building. Abu scooted fearfully behind his legs. "No need for violence!"
"You're coming with me, boy." The Head Guard replied, rubbing his shadowed face with his left hand. The boy paused, considering. He could give up now, or…
He quickly turned, and leaped over the crevice that was the ally, and landed feet first on a building only three feet away. Smiling triumphantly, he and his monkey took off again. He chuckled at the curses of the Guard that followed him as he shimmied down the side of the building and into a window.
A woman screamed. The boy winced, and realized that he had just landed in someone's house.
"Sorry, ma'am…" He muttered.
"You get out of my house, Aladdin!" She shouted at him. "You dirty thief!" She screeched at Abu, as he gingerly fingered her fruit bowl.
"Abu, get out of there!" Aladdin cried. "We'll leave…"
The woman looked at him sympathetically. "Well, I'd blame your parents, but…" He had no parents. "Are they after you again?" The woman asked. Aladdin knew that she meant the guards, so he nodded. She sighed. "You get into trouble too much, Aladdin."
"You're only in trouble if you get caught!" He said, but he was already out the door with Abu, leaping down sets of stairs, two at a time. When he emerged, he was in another ally. And there were the guards, right on cue, pointing and shouting, "There he is!" and "Get 'im!"
Aladdin grinned, and turned down the other way. He could lose them easily. It didn't matter that he was horribly out numbered- he and Abu did this everyday. He left the alley and was on the main street; not a good place for a chase, but oh well. He passed by the smelly fish stand, and saw that up ahead was the coal-walker.
Aladdin hopped across them, knowing that the stupid guards would follow. His tough bare feet felt the hot coals, but he focused on the bread in his hands, and overlooked it. Passing a flock of sheep, he looked over his shoulder, and saw that the guards did walk through the coals.
"Those idiots, huh Abu?" He muttered. Their sandaled feet weren't used to running on the crowded streets of Agrabah, like Aladdin was. He was street-smart and had been since he was very young, when he had awoken one morning to see his parents gone.
Finally, when he thought that he and Abu had put enough distance between the guards and themselves, he ducked into another side alley, and leaned against a wall to enjoy his well-deserved meal.
But just as Aladdin was about to break the bread for him and Abu, he noticed two homeless children, poking through a deserted trash barrel, searching for food. The youngest, who was a small boy, was watching Aladdin tearing his bread with great interest.
Aladdin paused before eating. A memory of his childhood resurfaced in his brain. When he was five, he was just like these two- fishing for nourishment anywhere he could; wanting the food and the home that most other children had. Agrabah was a rough place for growing up alone and unprotected.
Without even realizing it, Aladdin had stood up. He slowly approached the two children, with a hesitant smile on his lips.
"Here," He said, offering the seven-year-old girl his loaf of bread. She shook her head. "No, really. Take it." Aladdin pressed, placing the bread in her hands. "I want you to have it."
She stared at him for a moment, unsure about his kind gesture. But the young boy grinned, and tugged on his sister's sleeve. She smiled at Aladdin, and handed the bread to her brother, grinning.
"Abu?" Aladdin prompted. Abu reluctantly came over, and handed the girl the other half loaf. "Eat it." Aladdin said, and she smiled again, and took a bite of its doughy goodness that Aladdin and Abu had worked so hard to steal. He sighed, but smiled.
Suddenly, he heard a loud trumpeting from the main street. Curious, Aladdin walked toward the sound, and the two youngsters and Abu followed at his heels. A large crowd of people were gathered on the sides of the streets, and watched intently.
"What's going on?" Aladdin asked one of them.
The man didn't look at him, but stared at the man dressed in all crimson and gold that rode a snow-white horse. "Another suitor for the princess." He replied.
Suddenly, the little boy at Aladdin's side ran forward towards the horse, giggling. His sister made to grab him, but missed, so she too dashed out into the street.
The white horse made an abrupt stop, and whinnied angrily. The man curled his black moustache with his finger, and slowly pulled out a whip. "Get out of my way, filthy brats!" He shouted, bringing down the whip.
Aladdin rushed into the street, and put out his arm to protect the children. "Get out of here, boy!" The rich man yelled at him. Abu shook his small fist at the man.
"If I were as rich as you, I think I could afford some manners" Aladdin said to him bitterly. He tossed the whip back up into the man's face. "Do you think you're better than us?"
The man didn't answer, but clucked his horse to move forward. It did so, but Aladdin stepped in the way. "Answer me!" He shouted.
"You are an urchin, and are not of significance." The man snarled. He urged his horse forward towards the palace gates. "You are a nothing but a worthless street rat. You were born a street rat and you will die a street rat, and only your fleas will mourn you!" And with that, the palace gates slammed closed, and left Aladdin pounding on them in anger.
"I'm not worthless!" He declared. "And I don't have fleas!"
Frowning in frustration, he left the laughing crowd. They never cared about anything. He tried to stick up for all of them-- but they didn't care. Slowly, and sadly, he made his way to his dilapidated home and Abu followed trustingly, his little head down.
Aladdin climbed the ladder, and leaped across a building with the help of his dependable pole. Then, he climbed into an abandoned floor of an old house. He pulled back the torn cloth that he used as a curtain to watch the sun set over Agrabah.
The view was marvelous. The huge palace, glowing gold in the sinking red sun and the rest of his home city settling down for sleep. The whole kingdom seemed drenched in the warm glow of the dying sun, and as Aladdin stared at the palace he only had one wish.
"Abu, someday, we'll be rich, live in a huge palace, and not have any worries at all…" He sighed. But Abu was already asleep, and Aladdin was alone to watch the moon rise over the palace.