Abdullah runs a small carpet stall in the city of Zanzib. His father bequeathed most of his fortune to his first wife’s relatives because he was disappointed in him for reasons relating to a lost prophecy. He inherited his father’s good looks and his mother’s tendency to daydream. He has a detailed, ongoing daydream in which he is secretly a prince: He was kidnapped by a fierce bandit but then ran away, and his apparent father actually found him in the desert. Abdullah imagines that he was destined at birth to marry a beautiful princess, picturing her in incredible palace gardens.

One day a stranger offers to sell Abdullah a magic carpet. His rudeness irritates Abdullah, who nonetheless maintains his impeccable manners and flowery speech, as expected in the market. The stranger demonstrates that the carpet can fly and lets Abdullah try it out, hovering two feet up inside his booth. Abdullah uses many of his reserves to buy it. However, he knows a common trick is to train a horse or dog to escape and return to its original owner, so he ties it up tightly.

His neighbor Jamal runs a fried food stall and has a one-eyed dog.