A drift of sand blew in a swirling pattern amongst the dry, light air. The sky was devoid of a single cloud, and the midday sun beat its rays down fiercely upon the sweaty, weary caravans travelling through the desert. Groans of man and beast alike echoed through the momentary stillness until the wind carried them away. In the midst of this barren place, however, came a piercing scream.
"I don't understand! The map said it should be right here!"
"This is ridiculous, you know that?" began Aladdin as calmly as possible. "Here me are, sweating to death, and trying to find some treasure that as far as we know may not even exist. I don't know how I let you talk me into this..."
"Oh, Al!" exclaimed Genie. "It's gotta be around here somewhere!"
Genie transformed himself into some weird kind of detector. He moved around the sand until he started beeping.
"Ah-ha!" he yelled. "Here it is!"
He reached down into the ground and pulled an old, smelly shoes out. A ridiculous smile spread across his face.
"Then again..."
"Ahhh! That does it!" cried Iago. "No treasure means no happy bird!"
"Will you calm down?" Aladdin asked in an irritated tone. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to another one of your temper-tantrums!"
"Temper-tantrums? Ha! You haven't seen the least of it!"
Iago took off in a hurry, flying up away from the others. Aladdin looked at his shadowed body against the sun's bright rays. His eyebrows arched inward toward his nose.
"Carpet! Come on! After him!"
Everyone hopped onto Carpet and chased Iago. As hard as the bird tried to fly faster than Carpet, it was no use. Aladdin put out his arm and reached for Iago. He grabbed him tightly around the body and pulled him down into his lap.
"Hey! Let go of me!" he shrieked, trying to squirm out of Aladdin's grip.
"Genie!" Aladdin yelled.
Genie pointed his right finger at the parrot and zapped him with his magic. A rope appeared tied around his body and a metal clamp was on his beak.
"That will shut you up," Aladdin told Iago.
Iago merely glared hatefully at the boy he thought was his friend. He stopped struggling because he knew there was no way out of these ropes. They returned to Agrabah on Carpet as the sun moved closer to the horizon.

* * * * * * * * * *

Aladdin and Jasmine sat comfortably together on a balcony at the palace, gazing out at the placid, quiet night sky. The moonlight reflected off Jasmine's pupils of her dark, almond eyes. Aladdin smiled tenderly at his jewel as she leaned comfortably against his strong shoulder. He could smell the sweet fragrances in her lush, black hair and could feel the warmth radiating off the softness of her smooth, tan skin.
"What a perfect night," she sighed in complete relaxation.
"I know," Aladdin whispered softly. "All alone with you, Jasmine. I wish I had more time like this with you."
"You're right. We are alone for once. Where is everyone?"
"Genie, Carpet, and Abu are playing a game of cards back at my hovel."
"Oh, but what about Iago?"
"Oh, him," Aladdin frowned.
"What?"
"Something happened earlier today. He's spending some time thinking about what he did."
"Exactly what do you mean, Aladdin?" inquired Jasmine.
"Treasure...gold...you know how that goes with him."
"Oh, but what did you do?"
"He got really angry because he didn't find anything. Well, he stormed off, and we chased after him. Once I caught him, I had Genie put a rope around him and put a clamp on his beak. I took the rope off and locked him in a cage once we returned to my hovel."
"Aladdin!" Jasmine gasped.
"What?"
"Isn't that a bit cruel? Don't you think you overreacted?"
"Jasmine, come on. You know how he is. I just wanted to teach him a lesson."
"Like the time you thought putting a collar and leash on Abu would keep him from stealing?"
"Jasmine, are you trying to make me out to be the bad guy?"
"No, Aladdin. It's just that...oh, I don't know. You said yourself at one point in time that you were willing to take full responsibility for him."
"That was a long time ago...when he first came to me. He should have learned by now."
"You know how he is, but isn't he your friend nonetheless?"
"My...friend? My friend...yes, he is my friend."
Jasmine smiled at Aladdin's words. He looked straight into her eyes and smiled. Holding her hands tightly, he brought her close and embraced her warmly.
"Thank you," he whispered.

* * * * * * * * * *

Iago sat in his prison for hours. He moved about, banging on the bars for a while, but then stopped when no one came. The poor bird's expression of fury on his face disappeared, and a look a sadness came.
I don't understand what I did that was so wrong to deserve this. This is something Jafar would have done to me, but Aladdin? I thought we were friends...What is a friend anyway? I don't think I've ever had a real friend. Sometimes I would like to believe that I do, but I guess not.
Tears streamed down his face, and he made weak whimpers because the clamp was still on his beak. It was at that moment when Aladdin walked into the room. He saw the condition his little friend was in and immediately felt sorry for him. Aladdin approached the cage and looked in.
"Iago," he said.
The parrot looked up and turned his head away.
"Iago, I'm sorry," Aladdin began again. He opened the cage and gently took him out. Holding him up with one hand, he used the other one to take the clamp off.
"I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Well, you did, didn't you? Thank you so much," Iago coldly replied.
"Please, just hear me out. I shouldn't have done what I did. You are my friend, and I should have let you deal with your anger your own way."
"Friend? Ha! I don't know the meaning of the word. Why, you ask? Because I've never been able to trust anyone in my life! Every time I put the least bit of trust into someone, I am only hurt, so why should I even care? You don't understand me."
"Maybe you think you don't have friends because of the way you act. All this selfishness, all this rudeness, all this greed! Do you really think acting that way will earn you friends?"
"Since when did anyone have to earn anything around here? Shouldn't a friend be someone who accepts someone for who they are? Or am I just too stupid to ever know what friendship is?"
"Look, let's stop this fighting. You and I both know that this isn't doing either or us any good."
They remained silent for a while. Finally, Iago looked at Aladdin.
"Haven't you ever just wanted something really badly?"
"Yes. Before I knew you, Jasmine, Carpet, and Genie, I used to tell Abu that one day we would be rich, live in a palace, and never have any worries at all."
"That sounds like something I would say."
"Yeah, I guess so. I know some day that two of those things will come true, but even with wealth and power, I will still worry."
"Worry about what?"
"About my friends...like you."
"You have a point. I still would like to find treasure one day. I can't help it. I guess this is just how I am."
"You're right about accepting people for who they are, you know. No one should try to change their friends. That's not what a friend does."
"I forgive you, Aladdin. So, when can we go on another treasure hunt?"
"Iago!" Aladdin laughed.

Author's Note: They were friends, despite their differences. I think we can all learn from a story like this. Anyone who tries to change another person to please one's own desires is no friend.

The End