This week on the Myths and Legends podcast, I'll finish telling the original story of Aladdin,

which contains much more beheading, poisoning, and slaves than Disney's version.

Then, in the mythological creature of the week segment, I'll tell you about shape shifting South American dolphin people,

who, by acting like normal dolphins doing normal dolphin things, have driven people insane.

This is the Myths and Legends podcast, episode 2b, a whole new world of problems.

Previously on the show, young Aladdin's father died, leaving him in his mother's destitute.

His uncle, a famous magician, conveniently shows up and dupes Aladdin into following him out to the wilderness

and retrieving a magic lamp. He gives Aladdin a ring with a genie in it and betrays the boy,

they're not before accidentally sealing him underground with a lamp.

The magician obscons back to Africa, and the laden makes his way out of the cave by virtue of the genie of the ring.

When he gets home, he rubs the lamp and finds the much more powerful genie.

He uses it to make huge feasts, from which he sells silver platters and builds an upper middle class life.

One day, he gets a forbidden look at Princess Ruby, the Sultan's daughter, and his mother goes and secures her hand in marriage.

But the Sultan asks for three months to prepare.

Two months later, the Sultan forgets his promise and wed's Ruby to the vizier son.

Aladdin was in a bad mood, and though his mother told him to forget about it, they were already wed,

and there's nothing he could do. He thought about how to make it right.

He couldn't have the genie make any overt moves, because then the people of the city would think him an evil sorcerer,

and the Sultan may even execute him.

He thought about it, and remembered that even though they were wed, the marriage had not yet been consummated.

That night, he waited in an abacement somewhere in the city.

He had spoken with the genie, and whenever Ruby and her new husband went to bed, it would trigger his plan.

...