Nothing but gold after he had touched it. Gold, gold, gold! How
he hated the sight of it! His food and drink were gold. His friends, his
home, even his pillow was cold hard gold.
In a few hours he raised his arms, glittering with cloth of gold,
in prayer, beseeching Bacchus to take his gift away. Bacchus was
kind and said:
"Go to the river Pactolus, find its fountain head, plunge in, and when
your body is covered your fault will be washed away."
Poor King Midas did just as he was told. When he touched the water the
strange power went into the river. The river sands changed into gold,
and to this day grains of gold are found by the river Pactolus.
After that, Midas lived in the country and dressed as plainly as the
poorest peasant. He was so thankful to be free from his terrible gift
that he never wanted anyone to remind him of the time when everything
he touched turned to gold. But even in the country, the yellow plums,
pears, and apples reminded Midas of the fruit he had touched in his
own garden.
In autumn, when golden leaves are falling everywhere and the grain is
waving in the field, one may fancy King Midas is in our own land.
OLD GRASSHOPPER GRAY
_Greek_
"O, grasshopper, grasshopper gray,
Give me molasses and then hop away.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88