Aladdin - the Arabian Nights

Chapter 2

From then on, life was tense in Aladdin's home. This wasn't only because Aladdin's mother was struggling to support herself and Aladdin as best she could, selling cloth and thread and taking over her late husband's tailor business. Aladdin's mother, heartbroken at the loss of her husband and helpless at the thought of how she could possibly make ends meet on her own, had decided the blame lay on Aladdin. And she lost no opportunity to tell him so, directly to his face, and to call him a disgrace and a lazy, useless, good-for-nothing, who had caused his father's death by his own lack of work ethic. She also told this to all the neighbours whenever the subject came up, which was often as they all came to offer their condolences, and as often as not she said this with Aladdin right there in the room and obviously able to hear her. Well, Aladdin knew when he wasn't wanted. More and more, he took to wandering the streets for hours at a time, unwilling to go home and face his mother's disapproval, or to find out who else in Agrabah now knew he was a lazy, useless good-for-nothing. More and more, he would take the time to stop outside the palace gates, or else climb up to a high place above the busy marketplace where he could see that royal building in all its splendour, and dream about living there and escaping from this life which was built around avoiding his mother's disappointment in him, or else being so well-off that his mother wouldn't have to worry anymore and might start to like him again. But of course, the more time Aladdin spent away from home wandering the streets, the more his mother looked down on him and called him lazy for not contributing more to help her, and the more Aladdin tried to avoid her... and on the vicious cycle went. He didn't spend all that time alone, though. As Aladdin spent more time out on the street, he got to know the children and the young boys like himself who lived out there – the "street rats" as was the royal guards' unflattering term for them – the ones who either had nowhere else to go or, like Aladdin, had nowhere else that would welcome them. He had never quite realized just how many people there were in Agrabah who were living just like him. His heart went out to them, and he often wished he could do something to help them. He tried bringing them extra food, but with his mother constantly reminding him that she could barely afford to put enough food on the table to feed the two of them, that usually wasn't an option.

The greatest friend Aladdin made on the street, however, was not a person. One day when Aladdin was thirteen he came across a little brown monkey hiding behind some fruit stalls, who at first ran away from Aladdin, but then stopped and cautiously peered out at him, perhaps sensing a friend. Aladdin gently called to the little monkey, using patience and the help of a banana, quietly taken from one of the surrounding market stalls. Cautious at first, the monkey eventually took the fruit right out of Aladdin's hand, and did not run away from him afterwards.

Aladdin was delighted with this result. "What's your name?" he asked his new friend.

The monkey made a noise that sounded like "Abu!"

"Abu, huh?" Aladdin said. "I'm Aladdin."

And Aladdin invited Abu to climb up onto his shoulder, and brought him home. Aladdin's mother was not entirely pleased with this, saying that she had enough trouble keeping herself and Aladdin fed without worrying about a monkey, although part of her objection was also probably because Abu could sense her resentment of his new friend Aladdin, and so he wasn't overly friendly to her. But Aladdin was adamant. He was fond of Abu, and would not be parted from him. And from that day on, Abu joined Aladdin in all of his wanderings. Finally, Aladdin had someone he could talk to who wouldn't blame him for everything. He could tell Abu all about his problems with his mother, and Abu understood him, Aladdin knew it. Aladdin even made Abu a tiny purple vest and fez hat to match his own. He liked to open the ragged, makeshift curtain on his "window" in the evenings, after his mother was asleep, and show Abu the excellent view of the palace, and he would tell him all about what life was probably like in there. Someday, he said, he and Abu would live in a palace. Abu never judged him for saying that. In fact he seemed quite as fascinated by the palace as Aladdin – probably because of all the shiny gems that would be found inside. His monkey did love all things precious and shiny.