Chapter 7
Carpet came in for a landing in flowering oasis out in the middle of the desert. When they stopped, the genie, who had transformed himself into a stewardess, explained exit of the carpet.
"Thank you for choosing Magic Carpet for all your traveling needs. Don't stand until the rug has come to a complete stop." The carpet formed stairs with one end for Aladdin and Abu to walk down. "Thank you, good bye, good bye, thank you, good bye!" He said shaking their hands and letting them down the steps. "Ha!" He yelled, back to normal. "Well now, how about that, Mr. Doubting Mustafa?"
"Oh, you sure showed me," Aladdin told him sarcastically, obviously a ploy of some sort. "Now, what about my three whishes-"
"Dost my ears deceive me?" Genie asked sweetly, holding a hand to his ear. "You are down by ONE boy!" He shouted.
"Ah, no," Aladdin countered. "I never actually wished to get out of the cave. You did that on your own."
The genie was about to pull out a finger to wag at his new master, opened his mouth but no words came out, and his jaw dropped. Genie then turned into a sheep. "Well don't I feel just sheepish?" He asked, realizing that he had been tricked. "All right you baaaaad boy," He bleated. "But no more freebies."
"Fair deal," Aladdin agreed with him "So, three wishes. I want them to be good." He turned to Genie who was in a hammock tied between two palm trees. "What would you wish for?"
"Me?" He asked sitting up. "Well, in my case…ah, forget it." He told him waving his thought aside.
"What? No, tell me."
"Freedom." Genie said with a sigh.
"You're a prisoner?" Aladdin asked bewildered.
"It's part-and-parcel" He tried to explain "The whole genie gig: Phenomenal cosmic powers!" He became gigantic and his voice echoed as he spoke. Then he shrunk down into the lamp and Aladdin took the top off to see him. "Itty bitty living space." He told him a tiny, squeaky voice.
"Genie, that's terrible." Aladdin told him sincerely.
"But oh--to be free." He said wistfully while coming out of the lamp. "Not have to go 'Poof! What do you need?' The Genie appeared at Aladdin's side "Poof! What do you want, Master?" He disappeared and repapered at Aladdin's other side. "Poof! How can I serve your every whim and will?" He asked grabbing Aladdin by the vest and shaking him. "To be my own master," he said with a pensive look in his eye, "such a thing would be greater than all magic and all the treasures in all world! But what am I talking about here?" He said sadly sitting on a large rock. "Let's get real, it's not gunna happen. Come on Genie, wake up and smell the hummus."
"Why not?" Asked Aladdin.
"The only way I get outta this is if my master wishes me out. So you can guess how often that's happened."
"I'll do it; I'll set you free." Aladdin told him confidently.
"Uh huh, right." Said Genie, his head turning into Pinocchio's and his nose grew out a foot or so.
"No, really, I will." Aladdin promised, pushing his nose in and the Genie's head turned back. "After I make my first two wishes, I'll use my third wish to set you free." Aladdin held out his hand.
"Well here's hoping." He said, shaking his master's hand. "Okay then, let's make some magic!" He yelled, turning into a magician with a top hat and a long black cape. "So how about it, what do you want the most?"
"Well…there's this girl…"
"Ehhhhhh! Wrong!" Genie buzzed and a glowing heart with a cross thought it materialized on his chest. "I can't make anyone fall in love."
"Oh, but Genie! She's smart and fun and…"
"Pretty?" The Genie offered.
"Beautiful!" Aladdin corrected excitedly. "She's got these eyes that just…and this hair, wow…and her smile..."
"Ami. C'est l'amour." Genie cooed. Aladdin looked over his shoulder to find Genie, Abu, and carpet sitting in a Parisian restaurant.
"But she's the princess," He said looking crestfallen. "To even have a chance I'd have to be a-- hey, can you make me a prince?"
"Let's see here," said the genie
whipping out a red book entitled Royal Cookbook. He then began flipping through the pages.
"Uh, chicken al la king?" Genie pulled a disgruntled chicken with a crown atop
its head out of the book; he took a look at it then shook his head and threw it
aside. "What else we got here, Alaskan king crab? Ow!" Genie pulled his hand
back from the book with a crab clamped onto his finger. "Hate it when they do
that. Caesar's salad?" A hand equipped with a dagger came from the book and
tried to stab him. "Et tu brute?" He scolded then continued to scan the pages.
"Ah, here we go, how to make a prince." Genie slyly looked at Aladdin over the
top of the book. "Now it that an official wish? Just say the words!"
"Genie, I wish for you to make
me a prince!" Aladdin exclaimed.
"All right then!" He squared his shoulders and then promptly turned into a tailor. "First, that fez and vest combo is too third centaury," Genie said circling Aladdin and looking him over. "These patches--what are we trying to say--beggar? I think not!" He pulled Aladdin's patches off as if they were mere stickers. "Okay now, work with me here." He took his young master's measurements then snapped his fingers and Aladdin was outfitted as a handsomely dressed prince.
"I like it, muy macho! Hmm, but it still needs something, what does it say to me?" Genie scratched his chin, trying to figure out what was needed to compete the look. "It says mode of transportation. Excuse me, monkey boy, a-q-u-i!" Abu attempted to hide under carpet, as Genie clapped his hands and carpet flew the protesting monkey over.
Aladdin and Genie appeared on a game show set and Aladdin stood behind a podium. "What better way to make your grade entrance to the streets of Agrabah then on your very own camel!" A door bearing Genie's head on it opened to reveal Abu who then turned into a camel with a huge pouf. "Watch out they spit." Genie warned, as Abu spit out the side of his mouth as if on cue.
Yet the Genie gone game show host was not sure. "Mmm, not enough." He snapped his fingers and Abu became a fancy white horse. "Still not enough. Let's see. What do you need?"
The Genie began snapping his fingers repeatedly, turning Abu into a duck, an ostrich, a turtle, and a '57 Cadillac, with the license plate "ABU 1." Finally, the genie sighed and returned Abu back to a monkey. He paused for a moment in thought, while Aladdin and the carpet watched him anxiously.
"I've got it! Yes!! Esalalumbo, shimin dumbo! Whoa!!" Abu turned into an elephant with an interestingly long tail. Carpet struggled to get out from under Abu's size 46 feet.
"Talk about your trunk space, check this action out!" Genie said excitedly showing Aladdin his new pet.
Abu glanced at his reflection in a pool of water, and then jumped, scared, into a tree. The tree bent right back down to the ground, where Abu hung on and looked at Aladdin upside down.
"Abu, you look good." Aladdin said trying to comfort his "monkey".
"He's got the outfit, he's got the elephant, but we're not through yet! Hang on to your turban, kid, cause we're gonna make you a star!" The magic genie yelled as they turned to leave the oasis.
The animal tower was high, giraffes and zebras, monkeys and bears all stacked upon one another. Sultan assembled a wooden tiger carefully on top so his tower wouldn't topple over. This was the highest he had ever gotten it, the structure now stood above and the buildings in his wooden model of Agrabah.
He cautiously balanced the last piece on top. It wobbled dangerously and the Sultan held his breath, mentally commanding the tower to stay. The top piece sat still and he then sat back and sighed with relief. Jafar took that moment to storm in, and he slammed the door in his flight and the pile of figures collapsed onto the floor.
"Sire, I have found a solution to the problem with your daughter." Jafar announced.
"Awk! The problem with your daughter!" Iago parroted.
"Oh, really?" Sultan asked forgetting about his fallen tower.
Jafar unrolled a scroll and brandished it before the ruler. "Right here. If the princess has not chosen a husband by the appointed time, then the sultan shall choose for her."
"But Jasmine hated all those suitors!" The Sultan explained trying to stuff a cracker into Iago's mouth. Iago backed away fearfully. The Sultan absentmindedly pulled the cracker back.
"How could I choose someone she hates?" The Sultan asked. Iago looked relieved when he saw the dreaded cracker pocketed, but the Sultan quickly changed his mind and stuffed the cracker in the bird's mouth.
"Not to worry, my liege." Jafar said in his sickly sweet voice. He looked down, and read the scroll. "There is more. If, in the event a suitable prince cannot be found, a princess must then be wed to... hmm... interesting."
"What? Who?" Sultan asked anxiously.
"The Royal Vizier! Why, that would be... me!" He said smiling in an evil fashion.
"Why, I thought the law says that only a prince can marry a princess, I'm quite sure…" Sultan countered, a bit confused.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, my lord." He told him, pulling out his cobra headed staff and hypnotized the Sultan with it.
"Yes... desperate measures…" The manipulated ruler said in a dazed voice.
"You will order the princess to marry me." The advisor said in an excited whisper. Not too much longer and he would control this kingdom.
"I... will order... the princess... to…" Sultan continued. The spell broke momentarily: "...but you're so old."
Frustrated, Jafar held the staff closer to the Sultan's face. "The princess will marry me!"
"The princess will marry…" But the spell broke again, this time by a loud, and captivating trumpet blast.
"What? What is that? That music!" The Sultan ran to the balcony. "Ha ha ha! Jafar, you must come and see this."
Outside, Jafar could see an advancing parade. It was led by what appeared to be the Genie in human form as a drum major.
"Make way for Prince Ali!" The marchers called over the blare of the trumpets.
"Say hey! It's Prince Ali!" Cried the swordsmen who came next. Now it was the Genie's turn to sing his praise.
"Hey, clear the way in the old bazaar,
Hey you, let us through, it's a bright new star,
Now come, be the first on your block to meet his eye!
Make way, here he comes,
Ring bells, bang the drums.
Ah, You're gonna love this guy!" The Major then ran into the crowd and began to mingle with the various on-lookers.
"Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa!
Genuflect, show some respect,
Down on one knee." Abu the elephant marched toward the palace, with Aladdin dressed as Prince Ali on his back.
"Now try your best to stay calm
Brush up your Sunday Salaam
And come and meet his spectacular coterie."
Iago danced to the music until Jafar glared daggers at him. The Major "wheel barrowed" six men up onto Abu's trunk. They stood on each other's shoulders as Aladdin shook their hands with a royal grin.
"Prince Ali, mighty is he, Ali Ababwa!
Strong as ten regular men, definitely.
He faced the galloping hordes," Genie turned into an old man and waved his walking stick.
"A hundred bad guys with swords," The Genie popped into a little boy who brandished his wooden sword to the other youngsters as he told them of Ali.
"Who sent those goons to their lords? Why, Prince Ali!" The pile of men collapsed on Aladdin, but Genie zapped the mound and Aladdin was magically holding them all up in an acrobatic wheel formation.
"He's got seventy-five golden camels!" Sang a chorus of men holding the golden camels above their heads.
"Don't they look lovely, June?" A male parade commenter, Harry, wearing a puffy blue jacket and holding a microphone replied.
"Purple peacocks, he's got fifty-three!" A chorus of women, this time, sung as they passed buy on a float bearing the peacocks they sang about. And in popped the other commentator, June.
"Fabulous, Harry, I love the feathers!" She proclaimed.
"When it comes to exotic type mammals
Has he got a zoo, I'm telling you
It's a world class menagerie!" The Genie continued his song. The Genie popped in as a leopard, then a goat, and sang the last two lines of his song to two children from earlier. Upon a balcony the Harem Genie joined three Harem Girls.
"Prince Ali, Handsome is he, Ali Ababwa
There's no question this Ali's alluring
That physique, how can I speak
Never ordinary, never boring
Weak at the knee
Everything about the man just plain impresses
Well, get on out in that square
He's a wonder, he's a whiz, a wonder
Adjust your veil and prepare
He's about to pull my heart asunder
To gawk and grovel and stare at Prince Ali!
And I absolutely love the way he dresses!" Sang the Genie and the girls.
Jasmine had been watching the parade since it entered the city, and she quickly came to the conclusion that this Prince Ali Ababwa was as bad as all the others-- if not worse. She turned on her heal and re-entered the palace.
"He's got ninety-five white Persian monkeys!
He's got the monkeys, let's see the monkeys!
And to view them, he charges no fee!
He's generous, so generous
He's got slaves, he's got servants and flunkies!
Proud to work for him
They bow to his whim, love serving him
They're just lousy with loyalty to Ali!
Prince Ali!"
Aladdin threw gold coins out to the people, who rushed over to collect them. Abu and the parade marched up the steps of the palace and inside. The Sultan ran back inside to the door to the throne room, but Jafar stood in front of the door. Suddenly, it burst open, with Abu leading the way, and crushing Jafar and Iago behind the door.
"Prince Ali! Amorous he, Ali Ababwa!
Heard your princess was a sight lovely to see!
And that, good people, is why
He got dolled up and dropped by
With sixty elephants, llamas galore
With his bears and lions
A brass band and more
With his forty fakirs, his cooks, his bakers
His birds that warble on key
Make way for Prince Ali!"
More and more fanfare built up until Aladdin's magic carpet fluttered impressively off Abu's back and touched down to the ground before the Sultan. Jafar was then able to finally slam the door shut.
"Splendid; absolutely marvelous." The Sultan said, clapping.
Taking on a deeper voice, Aladdin spoke to the Ruler of Agrabah. "Ahem. Your majesty, I have journeyed from afar to seek your daughter's hand."
"Prince Ali Ababwa! Of course. I'm delighted to meet you." He said rushing over to shake Ali's hand. "This is my Royal Vizier, Jafar. He's delighted too."
"Ecstatic." He answered in a voice dry as the Arabian Desert. "I'm afraid, Prince Abooboo--"
"--Ababwa!" Aladdin corrected.
"Whatever. You cannot just parade in here, uninvited and expect to--"
"...By Allah, this is quite a remarkable device." The Sultan was ogling, poking and prodding the magic carpet. He tugged at one of its tassels, and in response Carpet tugged his moustache. "I don't suppose I might…"
"Why certainly, your majesty. Allow me." Aladdin helped the Sultan up onto the Carpet, and he plopped down. But before he could take off, Jafar pinned the Carpet down on the floor with his staff.
"Sire, I must advise against this--" He started.
"--Oh, button up, Jafar." Sultan told him. "Learn to have a little fun."
He kicked away the staff and Carpet flew off. Iago, who had been standing on the head of the staff, fell down, repeatedly bopping the staff with his beak as he descended. The Sultan and
Carpet flew high, up toward the ceiling, then began a dive-bomb attack, flying under, and through Abu's legs and scaring him. The exciting flight continued, while a slightly jealous Jafar turned to the Prince.
"Just where did you say you were from?" He inquired.
"Oh, much farther than you've ever traveled, I'm sure." The "prince" said smiling-- one which Jafar did not return.
"Try me." He advised him, while Iago landed on the staff.
"Look out, Polly!" The Sultan yelled as Carpet came in for another dive. They all ducked just in time, as the Carpet whizzed centimeters over their heads. Iago flew off the staff in terror, as the Sultan pursued him, chuckling merrily.
"Hey, watch it! Watch it with the dumb rug!" Iago yelled over his shoulder, distraughtly.
The Carpet flew underneath Iago, who sighed and wiped his brow. But he ended up crashing into a pillar anyway, and then slid to the floor.
"Out of the way, I'm coming in to land." Sultan yelled steering the carpet forward. "Jafar, watch this!" He landed gracefully, with a gleeful grin.
"Spectacular, your highness." Jafar praised him, not really meaning it.
"Ooh, lovely. Yes, I do seem to have a knack for it." He said proudly. Carpet meandered over to Abu dizzily, and then collapsed. Abu caught him with his trunk.
"This is a very impressive youth. And a prince besides." Sultan whispered to Jafar. "If we're lucky, you won't have to marry Jasmine after all."
"I don't trust him, sire." Said the advisor, worriedly.
"Nonsense." Sultan said waving his statement off. "One thing I pride myself on, Jafar, I'm an excellent judge of character."
"Oh, excellent judge, yeah, sure...not!!!" Iago squawked angrily to himself.
Jasmine quietly walked into the room, just beyond the doorframe, but was frozen still when she heard her name.
"Jasmine will like this one!" Her father exclaimed.
"And I'm pretty sure I'll like Princess Jasmine!" Aladdin assured.
"Your highness, no." Jafar arbitrated. "I must intercede on Jasmine's behalf." Jasmine listened carefully, her anger rising. "This boy is no different than the others. What makes him think he is worthy of the princess?"
"Your majesty, I am Prince Ali Ababwa!" Aladdin laughed in his deep voice, as he pricked Jafar's goatee, which sprang out in all directions. "Just let her meet me. I will win your daughter!"
"How dare you!" Jasmine growled, speaking for the first time. They all looked around at her, surprised. "All of you, standing around deciding my future? I am not a prize to be won!" With that, the angry princess turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, as the three confused men looked after her.
"Not to worry, Prince Ali." The Sultan said confidently. "Just give Jasmine some time to cool down. She'll come around…" He took Aladdin by the arm, and led him out of the room, all the while assuring him that everything would be fine. Aladdin started to wonder if the Sultan was just as upset about the awkward first meeting with Jasmine as he was.
Jafar watched as the Sultan pulled Ali Ababwa along the corridor, babbling away brainlessly. Iago flew up to his shoulder, but he hardly took notice.
"That kid looks awfully familiar…" The bird muttered.
"We're too close, Iago." Jafar said, speaking more to himself than the parrot. "I think it's time we say goodbye to Prince Abooboo."
"I thought it was Ababwa…"
"Well? What happens now?" King Riar asked his wife anxiously. "Does the Princess Jasmine fall in love with him? Or is she forced to marry the Vizier? And what of that poor monkey that was turned into an elephant? I feel terrible for that little guy… must be terrible…"
"Calm down, my liege." Scheherazade laughed. "All will be answered." She looked at him with her brown eyes, as he reached for the goblet of water that sat on the table. She expected him to drink from it, but instead, he passed it gently to his spouse.
"Thank you…" She replied, slightly confused. She drank from the glass, and then continued: "That night, when the moon was high above, and the stars glittered like little diamonds up in the clear inky, black, sky…"