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

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

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?"

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

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.

"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