Mythology & Folklore

Story: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp Story Source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt Plot Summary: Aladdin was the son of a poor tailor. Aladdin had no craft or occupation and would spend his days playing with other boys in the street. His mom was really worried and wanted him to do something productive with his life.  One day, Aladdin's uncle, a famous African magician, showed up out of nowhere. The magician was looking for him specifically and wanted to "help' him. The magician took Aladin around the city and into the mountains. He led Aladin to a cave, where he said there was a treasure waiting for him, and instructed him on how to get it. The magician was not Aladdin's uncle, but he read on a book of a lamp hidden there that would make him the most powerful man in the world. Only Aladin could retrieve the lamp, so the magi...

Story: Scheherazade Story Source: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). Source: Rimsky-Korsakov's magical "Scheherazade"   Plot Summary: The Sultan Schahriar was betrayed by his wife, whom he loved very much. It affected him so much that he thought all of the women were as bad as his former wife. He then decided to start killing women. Every day, he would marry a new wife and then have her killed the following morning. The Sultan's actions caused terror throughout the town. Everyone was afraid for their daughters. Scheherazade, a very beautiful and well-learned maiden, daughter of the grand-vizir, was determined to put a stop to the sultan. She devised a plan to stop him and asked his father to offer her to the sultan as his bride.  The grand-vizir reluctantly offered his daughter to marry the Sultan. Scheherazade then asked the Sultan if she could bring her sister, Dinarzade, to stay in her b...