"Are we there yet, Jafar?" Abis Mal said petulantly from his seat on the back of his small donkey. It had to have been the twentieth or thirtieth time he'd asked.

Jafar gritted his teeth and said for the twentieth or thirtieth time. "Soon, my dear Abis Mal. Soon." Soon they would be at the Cave and either he'd have the lamp or he'd at least have the satisfaction of seeing this fat, little jerk ground up and mashed into a bloody smear by the Guardian.

Abis Mal muttered to himself his constant mantra like a prayer. "He needs me. Remember that. He needs me."

Jafar gritted his teeth. If he heard that phrase again he'd be the one turning Abis Mal into a greasy spot. He didn't even need magic for that. He had a horse that'd be happy to do it as the beast had taken an instant dislike to the little man.

The scarab jewel vibrated in his hand and he grinned. At last. "Come, my dear Abis Mal. Your destiny awaits you." He urged his horse into a gallop.

"About time." The little man complained and tried to kick his donkey into motion. It ignored him like it had been doing all night. "I'll sue whoever owns this beast." He yelled. He kicked it really hard and then screamed and had to concentrate on just hanging on as the little donkey gave a hee haw and almost bucked him off as it shot forward. His girth slipped and he slid around the beast and found himself on its belly with his head being slapped by small sand hills as it galloped along. "I hate it when this happens." He griped.

Jafar shook his head as he watched his companion's progress up the dune. Truly the man was too stupid to live. Maybe that would stun the Guardian into giving up the lamp. One could only hope. The donkey stopped and at that moment the girth broke, dumping Abis Mal out onto the dune where he rolled to the feet of Jafar's horse. 'How appropriate.' Jafar thought. 'The man's whole life is summed up in this one simple action.'

He cast out the magic token to open the cave and watched with boredom the spectacular light show and the sounds of groaning as the head of the guardian started its rise from the sands. He'd seen it too many times to get excited now.

Abis Mal however had not. His eyes wide he tried to hide behind the rump of Jafar's horse. The offended horse immediately trod on his foot, sending him hopping around holding his injured foot. "Ow. Ow. Ow." The donkey gave him another horse laugh.

Jafar grimaced. Maybe the Guardian would die of laughter.

With a roar the Guardian rose from the sands again. "Who disturbs my slumbers?"

Jafar gave Abis Mal a poke with his staff. "Go on. But remember the lamp is mine; you can have all the rest."

Abis Mal looked askance at the Guardian and its twenty foot fangs of stone. "Are you sure about this, Jafar?"

"Go ahead or shall I find another more worthy of being rich beyond his wildest dreams?" Jafar asked with an evil smile.

Abis Mal rubbed his hands. "Oh, I love sparklies." He took a step forward. "Remember that he needs me. He wouldn't lie about that would he? He needs me." He took several cautious steps towards the opening from which the red and gold light gleamed.

"I ask again. Who disturbs my slumbers?" The Guardian rumbled ominously.

Abis Mal stopped and looked back at Jafar; seeing no help there he turned around and said cautiously. "It is I, Abis Mal, a roughened almond."

Jafar slapped his forehead in disgust. This fool couldn't even remember his lines even after being forced to repeat them all night until he got them right.

This answer seemed to give the Guardian pause. "Come again?"

Abis Mal looked worried and then cautiously told the Guardian. "I said my name is Abis Mal a roughian die pot; I mean sparkly stone. I mean die mats."

The Guardian rose slightly and looked more closely at Abis Mal. "You confuse me. Where is the pleading and where is the bragging bravado?"

Abis Mal looked about in confusion. "Pleading? Am I on trial? If so I plead not guilty."

"To what?" The Guardian asked him.

"To whatever you want; I'm not choosy." He could see inside the mouth and his eyes lit up. "Ohh, you're full of pretties."

"Where is my master when I need him?" The Guardian complained. "I am programmed to handle thieves and wizards. This man confuses me." It turned its gaze on Abis Mal and looked at him intently. Finally, it said. "You are indeed different. You may enter so I can examine you more closely."

"Oh goody." Abis Mal gave Jafar a big smile and a thumbs up. He smiled at the Guardian. "I just love sparklies."

Jafar almost leaped out of the saddle. This was farther than any had ever got before. He watched as Abis Mal took a cautious step through the door and then with a last wave seemed to sink out of sight. Jafar hopped down. He had to be ready to get the lamp when it was brought out.

As soon as Abis Mal was out of view the great jaws came together with a slam. "No!" cried Jafar. He froze as the eyes fixed on him.

"Wizard Jafar, you have disturbed my slumbers for the last time." The Guardian intoned. "No longer will the magic awaken me when used in your hands. Be gone." It sank back into the sands taking Abis Mal with it and leaving the two pieces of the scarab to lie at his feet.

"Noooo!" Jafar screamed as he fell to his knees.

Iago finally showed up in Jafar's quarters the next morning. "I can't believe I've been asleep for for more than twenty four hours. Jafar is going to kill me." He griped to himself as he paced around the table.

"You can count on that, brainless parrot." Jafar snarled as he stepped through the door and threw his riding cloak against the wall.

"Hi, buddy. Hey, I got what you wanted to know about the Guardian." Iago held up his wings as a shield as Jafar stormed over to tower above him.

"Much too late, my worthless friend. The Guardian will no longer open to me. It no longer responds to my magic. "These." He pulled the pieces of the scarab out of his pocket and brandished them at the parrot as Iago backed up. "Are worthless." He threw them at Iago.

Iago caught one in his beak and the other in one foot. He dropped the one out of his mouth and caught it with the other foot as he hovered there. "Hey, be careful with these. It cost us a lot to get them."

"You can eat them for all I care." Jafar growled. "In fact since you hid from me for two days and made me do all the dirty work with the Guardian, we're through. Get out, Iago."

"Wait a minute, Jafar buddy. Let's not be too hasty here. You need me." Iago cried out in protest.

For some reason Iago could not fathom this last statement sent Jafar into a complete rage. "Need you? I'll show you how much I need you when I serve you up in a soup." A bolt of lightning singed the feathers off the top of Iago's head. The next one would've incinerated him but he'd already flown away heading for the window.

He was not fast enough. Jafar's last bolt lit him up like a Christmas tree and he gave a squawk and fell from sight. By the time Jafar reached the window, he looked down and saw a falling body vanishing into the trees below. "Good riddance." He growled and went off hoping to find some other fool on whom he could vent his rage.

Iago managed to bring his wings out and beat them hard enough to slow his fall but he was missing too many feathers to totally slow down. He hit the upper branches of a fig tree, bounced from there to the trunk of a date palm, and then finally landed with a thud on the walking path beside the small river that flowed from the artesian waters that fed the oasis and gave Agrabah its name (It was a corruption of the Roman words for water and baths). He laid there stunned, staring at the river just feet away. "I could've landed in the soft water." He lamented. "But no, I had to hit the hard ground instead. The Iago luck is still in play."

A pair of eyes popped out of the water and stared unblinking at him. He regarded the crocodile with a little nervousness. "Maybe I'm luckier than I thought." The crocodile's head lifted further out of the water and it showed its teeth. "Go away. I taste bad." The crocodile started to swim forward. It obviously didn't think so.

There was a shout of childish laughter behind him and then the sound of a woman's voice cautioning them against getting too close to the water because of crocodiles. "Listen to your mother, brats." Iago said. "She knows what she's talking about." The crocodile gave a snort of disgust and sank back into the river.

"Mommy! Look what I found." A hand took Iago by one wing and turned him around. He looked up and saw a little girl who was about seven with long black hair. "Aw, the poor birdy's hurt. Can you help him, Mommy?"

An older version of the girl knelt beside her and looked Iago over. "I don't know, Rachel. He looks badly burned. It might've been a mercy to let the crocodile have him."

Another face intruded; that of a young boy. "If you want, Mommy, I can toss him in the river."

"Try it, kid, and you'll be minus a finger." Iago warned him.

"The birdy talks." Rachel declared.

"Of course he can talk. He's a parrot after all." The boy told her.

Their mother shook her head. "No, Jacob, I think he's more than just a parrot. Maybe God has a purpose in this meeting." She picked Iago up and placed him in her basket. "Jacob, I want you to run and find Aunty Agatha. Tell her we have a parrot that needs her skills."

"Poor hurt birdy." Rachel said as she touched his head. "I hope Aunty Agatha can make you better."

"You and me both, kid." Iago got out before he lapsed into unconsciousness.