King Midas and the golden touch

King Midas is the ruler of an ancient kingdom called Phrygia. According to ancient Greek myth, he has everything a king could wish for. He lives in a great castle with a vast rose garden and shares his life of luxury with his beloved daughter. Midas spends his days counting his piles of gold coins. The king is obsessed with riches.

One evening, while strolling through his rose garden, Midas stumbles on a strange creature. It is a half man, half goat — a satyr. The satyr is sick with a high fever. Midas brings him into his castle and makes sure he is washed, fed, and made comfortable for the night. The next morning, when the satyr wakes, his fever is gone.

The satyr tells King Midas he is a companion of the god Dionysus and Midas drives him home in his chariot. Dionysus is grateful to Midas for his kindness to his good friend the satyr. To thank him, Dionysus tells the king he will grant any one wish. Midas’s mind goes straight to riches. He wishes for everything he touches to turn to gold!

Dionysus hesitates. Is this really a good idea…? But what can he do? He made King Midas a promise. And so Dionysus grants the wish.

Midas speeds home. He looks around his castle, laughing with delight. First, he touches a table. Immediately, it turns to gold. Next, he touches a chair.

It turns to gold. Next, a door — gold! His bathtub — gold! Midas races around his castle touching everything in sight. He cannot believe his power and wealth!

Eventually, he collapses, exhausted. What Midas needs now is a good meal and a rest... But as he leans back on his soft pillows, they turn to cold, hard gold. A servant brings him a plate of food. Before the grapes touch his lips, they are gold in his fingers.

Even the water Midas tries to drink hardens before he can get so much as a sip. In despair, Midas begins to bawl. His daughter hears him and comes running. She reaches out, touching her father’s shoulder to comfort him. To Midas’s horror, his daughter turns to gold before him.

The king raises his arms in anguish and cries out to Dionysus: “Take this curse from me!” Dionysus hears Midas’s plea and takes pity on him. He tells Midas to go to a river called Pactolus and wash himself there. When Midas enters the water, he is astonished to see gold flowing from his hands. As he washes, his golden touch leaves him. Midas returns home to find everything he touched has returned to normal — including his daughter.

He hugs her tightly and vows to change his ways. No longer will he seek more and more riches for himself. Instead, he will be grateful for all he has and share his fortunes with his people.