(原版)澳大利亞語文第三冊 LESSON 55

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LESSON 55 THE GOLDEN TOUCH

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

1. The people of Greece used to worship [1] many gods and goddesses, who, they thought, looked after the trees, the cornfields, and the flowers of their beautiful country. As there were many vineyards in Greece, the god of the vineyards was a very important person. His name was Di-o-ny-sus.

2. Now there lived with Dionysus a queer old fellow, named Silé-nus. He had taught the Vine-god many useful things, so now that Silenus was old, his pupil took care of him.

3. Sometimes Silenus would wander away, without knowing where he was going. One day, he was found by some countrymen who took him to their king, Midas. Midas knew the old man, so he led him into his palace and took care of him. For ten days he treated him kindly, gave him the best of everything, and then guided him back to Dionysus.

4. The Vine-god was pleased to see his old friend come back safe and sound, and he said to Midas, "I must reward you for your kindness. Choose any gift you will, and it shall be yours."

Now King Midas had always wished to be rich. He was just a little greedy, so he said, "Grant this, that everything I touch may turn to gold."

5. Dionysus answered, "You shall have your wish, but let me tell you that you have made a very poor choice."

King Midas did not think so, and as soon as he left the palace of Dionysus, he began to try his new power. He broke off an oak branch, and was delighted to find that it changed to a rod of solid gold. Then he picked up a stone lying in the road, and the next second he held in his hand a lump of gold.

6. "This is splendid!" cried Midas. "It was a good choice, for I shall soon be the richest man in the world."

So he went on, pausing now and then to gather a flower or some fruit. Everything he touched turned to gold. At last he had as much as he could carry. He went on, singing a gay song. "How happy I shall be!" he thought. "Rich and happy, rich and happy!"

7. Presently he noticed that his clothes felt stiff and heavy, and he saw that they, too, had turned to gold, so he could hardly move.

At last he reached his own palace. He was quite tired with the weight of his heavy golden clothes and all the gold he was carrying. He sat down in his chair, which of course turned at once to gold, and called his servants.

Bring me all the cups and vases and dishes in the house, he said.

8. They obeyed. He touched the vessels [2] , and they changed into gold. Even the great oak table upon which they stood was oak no longer, but bright, shining gold. How surprised the servants were!

Now, said the king, "I am hungry. Bring me the very best of dinners. With a golden table and golden cups and dishes one ought to have something good to eat."

9. The servants hurried off to obey their master's orders, and soon a good dinner was on the table. King Midas ordered a chair to be placed at the table, for the one in which he was sitting, being of gold, was too heavy to move. As soon as he sat down the second seat also became gold.

10. Then the trouble began. The hungry king took up a piece of bread, but before he could break off a mouthful, a change had taken place, and he held in his hand a piece of hard, yellow gold. Then he picked up a bunch of juicy grapes; but they were so heavy that they fell from his hand, and clattered—golden grapes—upon the golden dish.

11. King Midas began to feel frightened. "If this goes on I shall starve to death," he cried. "Since I cannot eat, I will drink." He seized a golden cup full of wine, but as it touched his lips the wine became yellow gold, hard and heavy.

Alas! alas! cried the unhappy king, "I have indeed made a foolish choice. I shall die of hunger and thirst."

12. At that moment the door opened, and the king's little daughter ran into the room. When she saw all the glittering golden dishes, she clapped her hands, and said, "Oh, father, where did all these pretty things come from? Gold cups, gold dishes, gold grapes, and gold bread! How very wonderful!"

But her father sighed. "Ah! my darling," he said, "your poor father has made a great mistake."

13. The little princess, seeing her father's sad face, at once ran to comfort him. He clasped her in his arms, and then the worst thing of all happened. The little princess lay heavy and still in her father's embrace. Her rosy cheeks, her dimpled arms, her warm red lips, her pearly teeth, all changed to yellow. The king held a golden statue in his arms instead of a living, breathing girl.

14. Midas hurried to Dionysus. "You were quite right," he sobbed; "I made a very poor choice. Please take back the gift, and please, oh, please! give me back my dear little daughter."

Dionysus was sorry for the poor king. He said, "You must take your child to the head of the river Pactolus. Wash yourself and the little girl in the water, and you both shall be like other folk again."

15. The king lost no time in carrying out these orders. How glad he was when he saw his daughter change back to flesh and blood once more. Her first words were, "Oh! father, see how the sands sparkle ! They look like gold!"

The sands were gold, and have been ever since, but Midas had lost his strange power of turning whatever he touched to gold. And he was much happier without it.

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[1] worship: Pray to.

[2] vessel: Any hollow object used for holding water; cup, dish.