Jeff Brown - Stanley and the Magic Lamp

For Sidney and Lewis

First published in Great Britain 1985

by Methuen Children’s Books Ltd

This edition published 2017

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 1985 Jeff Brown

Illustrations copyright © 2017 Rob Biddulph

First e-book edition 2017

ISBN 978 1 4052 8806 4

Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1828 8

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Dedication and Copyright For Sidney and Lewis First published in Great Britain 1985 by Methuen Children’s Books Ltd This edition published 2017 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 1985 Jeff Brown Illustrations copyright © 2017 Rob Biddulph First e-book edition 2017 ISBN 978 1 4052 8806 4 Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1828 8 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Front series promotional page

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1

PRINCE HARAZ

CHAPTER 2

THE ASKIT BASKET

CHAPTER 3

IN THE PARK

CHAPTER 4

THE BROTHERS FLY

CHAPTER 5

THE LAST WISH

Once there was an ordinary kid called Stanley Lambchop. A bulletin board squashed him flat as a pancake. Flat Stanley became famous – he even foiled the art robbery of the century! Stanley’s little brother Arthur managed to reinflate Stanley with a bicycle pump, but ever since weird stuff just keeps happening to Stanley . . .

PROLOGUE

Once upon a very long time ago, way before the beginning of today’s sort of people, there was a magical kingdom in which everyone lived forever, and anyone of importance was a genie, mostly the friendly kind. The few wicked genies kept out of sight in mountain caves or at the bottoms of rivers. They had no wish to provoke the great Genie King, who ruled very comfortably from an enormous palace with many towers and courtyards, and gardens with reflecting pools.

The Genie King took a special interest in the genie princes of the kingdom, and was noted for his patience with their high spirits and desire for adventure. The Genie Queen, in fact, thought he was too patient with them, and she said so one morning in the throne room, where the King was studying reports and proposals for new magic spells.

‘Training, that’s what they need. Discipline!’ She adjusted the Magic Mirror on the throne-room wall. ‘Florts and collibots! Granting wishes, which is what they’ll be doing one day, is serious work.’

‘Florts yourself ! You’re too hard on these lads,’ said the Genie King, and then he frowned. ‘This report here, though, says that one of them has been behaving very badly indeed.’

‘Haraz, right?’ said the Queen. ‘He’s the worst. What a smarty!’

The Genie King sent a thought to summon Prince Haraz, which is all such a ruler has to do when he wants somebody, and a moment later the young genie flew into the throne room, did a triple flip, and hovered in the air before the throne.

‘That’s no way to present yourself !’ The Queen was furious. ‘Really!’

Prince Haraz grinned. ‘What’s up?’

‘You are!’ said the King. ‘Come down here!’

‘No problem,’ said the Prince, landing.

‘It seems you have been playing a great many magical jokes,’ said the King, tapping the reports before him. ‘Very annoying jokes, such as causing the army’s carpets to fly only in circles, which made all my soldiers dizzy.’

‘That was a good one!’ laughed the Prince.

‘And turning the Chief Wizard’s wand into a sausage while he was casting a major spell, you did that?’

‘Ha, ha! You should have seen his face!’ said the Prince.

‘Stop laughing!’ cried the Queen. ‘Oh, this is shameful! You should be heavily punished!’

‘He’s just a boy, dear, only two hundred years old,’ said the King. ‘But I’ll –’

‘Who knows what more he’s done?’ said the Queen, turning to the Magic Mirror. ‘Magic Mirror, what other silly jokes has this fellow played?’

The Magic Mirror squirted apple juice all over her face and the front of her dress.

‘Oooooohh!’ The Queen whirled around. ‘Florts and collibots! I know who’s responsible for that! ’

Prince Haraz blushed and tried to look sorry, but it was too late.

‘That does it!’ said the Genie King. ‘Lamp duty for you, you rascal! One thousand years of service to a lamp.’ He turned to the Queen. ‘How’s that, my dear?’

‘Make it two thousand,’ said the Queen, drying her face.

CHAPTER 1

PRINCE HARAZ

Almost a year had passed since Stanley Lambchop got over being flat, which he had become when his big bulletin board settled on him during the night. It had been a pleasant, restful time for all the Lambchops, as this particular evening was.

Dinner was over. In the living room, Mr Lambchop was reading and Mrs Lambchop was mending socks.

‘How nice this is, my dear,’ Mr Lambchop said. ‘I am enjoying my newspaper, and your company, and the thought of our boys studying in their room.’

‘Let us hope they are studying, George,’ said Mrs Lambchop. ‘So often they find excuses not to work.’