13 King Midas

CHAPTER 13 King Midas Once there lived a king named Midas. He lived in the kingdom of Phrygia, which was also known as the land of roses. He was very proud of his great rose garden. He did not allow anyone, except his family, to enter the garden. One night, an old man named Silenus lost his way. Silenus was a friend of the god Dionysus. He wandered into the palace grounds and found Midas's rose garden. The next morning, the palace servants found him asleep in a bed of roses. His arms and legs

从前，有一位名叫迈达斯的国王。 他住在弗里吉亚王国，也被称为玫瑰之地。 他为自己的大玫瑰园感到非常自豪。 除了他的家人，他不允许任何人进入花园。 一天晚上，一位名叫西勒诺斯的老人迷了路。 西勒诺斯是狄俄尼索斯神的朋友。 他走进宫殿的庭院，发现了迈达斯的玫瑰园。 第二天早上，宫殿的仆人们发现他睡在一张铺满玫瑰花的床上。 他的胳膊和腿

were sprawled out, and he looked very silly. "Who can this be?" asked one servant. "Looks a bit like Dionysus," said another. "I have an idea," said the first servant. "Let's present this silly old man to the king." "That will give us a good laugh," said the other. So the servants dressed Silenus in roses and vines. They put a flowery wreath on his head. Then they woke him up and took him to King Midas. King Midas was a generous person. So he welcomed the strange man into his palace. For ten days, the king entertained the silly old man Silenus. He fed him delicious food and made sure the old man was comfortable. And Silenus also entertained Midas, telling stories and singing songs. The servants watched with amusement. King Midas gave Silenus anything he

四肢摊开，他看上去很傻。 “这是谁呢？”一个仆人问。 “看起来有点像狄俄尼索斯，”另一个说。 “我有个主意，”第一个仆人说。 “咱们把这个傻老头介绍给国王吧。” “那会让我们开怀大笑的。”另一个说。 于是仆人们给西勒诺斯穿上了玫瑰和藤蔓的衣服。 他们在他头上戴了一个花圈。 然后他们叫醒了他，带他去见迈达斯国王。 迈达斯国王是一个慷慨的人。 于是他欢迎这个陌生人进入他的宫殿。 国王招待了傻老头西勒努斯十天。 他喂他美味的食物，并确保老人舒适。 西勒诺斯也给迈达斯讲故事、唱歌。 仆人们看得很开心。 迈达斯国王给了西勒诺斯任何他想要的东西

would ask for. "Bring me another plate of food, Midas," Silenus called. "Yes, of course," Midas replied. "Five pillows and a fur blanket, Midas," Silenus shouted. "Right away," Midas answered. He had his servants deliver to Silenus anything he wanted. At the end of the ten days, Midas offered to take Silenus back to Dionysus. Silenus agreed that it was time to go. Midas put Silenus on a horse and led him to Dionysus's temple. Dionysus was delighted to have his old friend back. He offered to reward King Midas for taking such good care of Silenus. "As a gift for returning Silenus to me, I will make your wish come true," Dionysus said. "Tell me, what is your one wish?"

会要求。“再给我一盘食物，迈达斯，”西勒诺斯喊道。 “是的，当然，”迈达斯回答。 “五个枕头和一条毛皮毯子，迈达斯。”西勒诺斯喊道。 “马上，”迈达斯回答。 他让仆人把他想要的东西交给西勒诺斯。 十天结束时，迈达斯提出把西勒诺斯带回酒神身边。 西勒诺斯同意是时候走了。 迈达斯让西勒诺斯骑上马，把他带到狄俄尼索斯的神庙。 狄俄尼索斯很高兴他的老朋友回来了。 他提出要奖励迈达斯国王，因为他对西勒诺斯照顾得很好。 “作为把西勒诺斯还给我的礼物，我会让你的愿望实现，”狄俄尼索斯说。 “告诉我，你的一个愿望是什么？”

Without a second thought, Midas said, "I want everything I touch to turn to gold." Dionysus knew this was a bad idea. He knew exactly what would happen to Midas if he granted this wish. But he was not supposed to correct anyone's wishes. "So it shall be from this day forward that everything you touch turns to gold," Dionysus said, granting the wish. Midas hurried back to his palace and rose garden. He was very pleased with himself. Midas wanted to tell his family the good news. Their kingdom would now be richer than any other kingdom. When he returned, Midas asked the palace chef to cook the biggest, best breakfast he ever cooked. The kitchen servants hurried about. They brought heaping plates of meats and eggs. They carried out large platters of fruits. And they sent to the table bottles

迈达斯不假思索地说：“我希望我碰到的每样东西都变成金子。” 狄俄尼索斯知道这是个坏主意。 他很清楚如果迈达斯满足了这个愿望会发生什么。 但他不应该纠正任何人的愿望。 狄俄尼索斯说：“从今以后，你摸到的一切都会变成金子。” 迈达斯急忙回到他的宫殿和玫瑰园。 他对自己非常满意。 迈达斯想把这个好消息告诉他的家人。 他们的王国现在比其他任何王国都富有。 当他回来时，迈达斯让宫廷厨师做了他做过的最大、最好的早餐。 厨房的仆人们忙来忙去。 他们带来了一盘盘的肉和鸡蛋。 他们端上来大盘子的水果。 他们把瓶子送到桌子上

filled with delicious drinks. Midas picked up a juicy piece of chicken and put it to his mouth. He bit down and —crack! Lo and behold, there was no meat on the bone at all. In its place was a thick and solid piece of gold. Midas reached for one of the bottles. He was very thirsty. The moment Midas touched it, the whole thing became a lump of solid gold. "What have I done?" Midas cried out. He was so hungry and thirsty. There was food all around him. Yet he could not eat a thing. "This golden touch is a curse," Midas cried aloud. Just then Midas's daughter entered the palace dining room. He loved her more than anything in the world. She was as good as the king was greedy.

装满了美味的饮料。 迈达斯拿起一块多汁的鸡肉放到嘴里。 他咬了下去，啪！你瞧，骨头上一点肉也没有。 取而代之的是一块又厚又硬的金子。 迈达斯伸手去拿其中一个瓶子。 他很渴。迈达斯一碰它，整个东西就变成了一块纯金。 “我做了什么？”迈达斯喊道。 他又饿又渴。 他周围都是食物。 可是他什么也吃不下。 “点金术是一种诅咒，”迈达斯大声喊道。 就在这时，迈达斯的女儿走进了宫殿的餐厅。 他爱她胜过世界上的一切。 她就像国王一样贪婪。

"Father, what is it?" she asked, coming to his side. Before he could stop himself, Midas reached out to hug his daughter. And in that instant, she turned into a golden statue. Midas was beside himself with sadness. He wept and wept. He held his daughter to him, but she could not hug him back. His only daughter was trapped in gold. The worst part was that Midas knew he was the one to blame. He could hardly bear it! Dionysus saw this happening and felt bad. He took pity on the old king. Dionysus came to Midas's palace. He whispered in the king's ear the secret to curing his golden touch. "Wash yourself and your daughter in the oldest river, Pactolus. It will cure you of your golden touch. Your daughter will become human again," Dionysus told him. Midas did just as Dionysus said. He

“爸爸，怎么了？”她走到他身边问。 迈达斯还没来得及阻止自己，就伸出手来拥抱他的女儿。 在那一瞬间，她变成了一座金像。 迈达斯悲痛欲绝。 他哭了又哭。他把女儿抱在怀里，但她不能拥抱他。 他唯一的女儿被黄金困住了。 最糟糕的是，迈达斯知道他才是罪魁祸首。 他简直受不了了！狄俄尼索斯看到这一切，感到很难过。 他同情老国王。 狄俄尼索斯来到迈达斯的宫殿。 他在国王耳边低声说出了治愈点金术的秘诀。 “在最古老的河里给你和你的女儿洗澡，帕克托洛斯。 它会治好你的点金术。 你的女儿将再次成为人类，”狄俄尼索斯告诉他。 迈达斯照狄俄尼索斯的话做了。 他