King Midas and the Golden Touch

         Over two thousand years ago there lived one of the richest men on earth-a king whose name was Midas. Midas loved gold more than anything in the world except, of course, his young, blue-eyed, golden-haired daughter. Even when he walked among his rose trees in his garden, he wished he could turn all the roses into gold.

          Early one morning a god called Bacchus came to visit Midas in his palace. He came to reward Midas for a favor Midas had performed for him. Bacchus offered to grant King Midas whatever he wanted on earth. King Midas asked that everything he touched might be turned into gold. Bacchus rather unwillingly granted Midas his wish and vanished.

          Midas walked  around  the palace  grounds  very happily and lost no time in trying out his new powers.  He touched   the  smallest branch on  his rose tree. Immediately the branch turned to purest gold. He picked a rose and the rose also changed  to gold.  Midas was delighted. He quickly ran from bush to bush touching all the roses and turning them into gold.  When he surveyed   his golden rose garden he was filled with joy.

        It was now time for Midas's breakfast   and his servants set out a table covered with bread, meat, wine and all kinds of fruit. But when Midas touched a piece of bread it changed into a huge nugget of gold. Midas started to feel fear. He suddenly   realized he might starve to death. Unexpectedly,  the sound  of a child weeping  interrupted his gloomy thoughts. As he looked  up, his little daughter   came running  with a bunch  of golden  roses in her hand.  "Father!" she cried, "Someone   has killed our beautiful roses. They are now horrible  gold ones."  Weeping she flung  herself  into her father's arms. Midas bent down  to kiss her but found he now held only a golden  statue.

         Midas called  out to Bacchus  in the heavens,   "Bacchus have  mercy on me, forgive  me and take away this accursed golden  touch. I never  want to have golden  touch again."

         Bacchus  heard  Midas's cries and promised  to take away Midas's golden  touch. He told Midas to go to the magic river and bathe in its waters. Midas did so and he could  change his daughter and the other golden objects back to their original  state by sprinkling   the magic water over them.

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