The+Golden+Touch

The Golden Touch

Olympians Dionysus, the merry god of the vine, raised his goblet. " To you, King Midas," he said, "and because you have been so hospitable to me - ask me for anything you wish and I will grant it to you." "What an idea!" said Midas. "Anything I wish?" Olympians "Indeed, Anything," said Dionysus. Olympians "ANYTHING?" Midas asked Olympians "Yes! Yes!" Replied Dionysus impatiently. Olympians "Ah, well," said the king, chuckling. "Of course, there is only one thing: I wish everything I touch would turn to gold!" Midas looked sideways at Dionysus, for he couldn't believe such a gift could really be his. "My friend, you already have all the gold you could possibly want," said Dionysus, looking disappointed. "Oh, no! I don't!" said Midas. "One never has enough gold!" "Well, if that is what you wish for, I suppose I will have to grant it to you," said Dionysus grimly. Dionysus soon took his leave. As Midas waved good-bye, his hand brushed an oak twig hanging from a tree - and the twig turned to gold!  The king screamed with joy, then then shouted after Dionysus, "My wish has come true! Thank you!" Dionysus turned and waved then turned down the road and disappeared. The king excitedly looked around. He picked up a stone from the ground and into a golden nugget it turned. He kicked the sand and the sand turned gold too. Midas threw back his head and yelled "no man is richer than me!". He ran around touching everything. Everything he touched turned to gold. Corn ears, apples, the pillars of his house and everything else. When the king's servants heard him they rushed out to see what was going on. They found Midas dancing around wildly on his front lawn turning the grass to gold. Everyone clapped and laughed as Midas washed his hands and the water in his fountain turned gold. Olympians  Finally, overjoyed and exhausted, Midas asked for his dinner. His servants threw a huge banquet on the lawn. Midas said "Oh I can't wait to eat all this food!". He grabbed a piece of meat and brought it to his mouth. Just then, Midas realized his wish might not have been the best idea. For the moment he bit down on the meat, it turned gold too. When he touched bread and his water it also turned to gold. Midas felt uneasy. Moaning, Midas realized his wish could kill him. "Dionysus!" he cried, looking up towards the heavens. "I am a greedy fool. I don't want your gift anymore. Take it back please!" Sobbing, the king fell off his chair. He beat his feet and stomped against the ground turning even the tiny ant hills to gold. No one tried to go near him for fear that they would be turned to gold. Olympians <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"> Eventually, Dionysus appeared on the lawn and took away Midas' golden touch. Then he happily sat back down and ate his dinner.