(349) Aladdin

1. "Is it a long way?" asked Aladdin. 
2. She took the lamp and gave it a rub.
3. When he is not looking, empty this bag into his cup.
4. and they all lived happily ever after.

The story of Aladdin is taken from a collection of stories called 'The Thousand and One Nights'. These stories are based on ancient Persian, Arabian and Indian tales handed down by word of mouth for hundreds of years. They first appeared in their present form, in Arabic, in 1450. The tales are linked together by the story of Sheherazade.
by word of mouth: by people talking to each other
Sheherazade:シャハラザード、シェヘラザード◆千夜一夜物語の姫。シャーリアル王（妃に裏切られ、すべての女性を憎むようになった）に千一夜、物語を聞かせる。

Shererazade was the wife of the Sultan and had been condemned to death for her wickedness. She managed to put off her execution by telling one of the stories to her sister each night, in the presence of the Sultan. Being a very clever woman, as well as a talented storyteller, Sheherazade always left the most exciting part of the story until the following night. The Sultan could not bear to miss the end of each story, and kept on putting off the execution. For a thousand and one nights Sheherazade kept the Sultan spellboud with the stories. He eventually relised that he had been wrong and forgave Sheherazade.
Sultan: 絶対君主、暴君
condemn to death : to give a severe punishment to someone who is guilty of a crime
wickedness: very bad or evil
spellboud: extremely interested in something you are listening to or watching.

The stories are just as spellbinding today as they were in those far-off days, and are here presented in simple text so that younger readers can enjoy them.
spellbinding： fascinating


1. "Is it a long way?" asked Aladdin. "I don't think I can walk much more."
long:measuring a large distance from one end to the other

2. She took the lamp and gave it a rub.
give something a rub: to rub something for a short time

3. When he is not looking, empty this bag into his cup.
empty: if you empty a container, you remove everything from it.

4. and they all lived happily ever after.
ever: always or continuously
※おとぎ話のハッピーエンドを締めくくる決まり文句
*