king midas
King Midas
Vocabulary
| king | queen | once upon a time |
| young | jewelry | daughter |
| gold | hobby | princess |
| fill | chest (2) | chamber |
| collect | utensils | necklace |
| cup | earring | bracelet |
| fork | spoon | knife/knives |
| dish | bowl | plate |
| enter | royal | find/found |
| alone | slow | stand/stood |
| fast | quickly | back and forth |
| hand | back | behind |
| up | look | down |
| ground | someone | what’s the matter |
| wrong | anything | something |
| alright | dear (3) | nothing |
| inside | outside | frustrated |
| again | out loud | disappointed |
| wish | enough | suddenly |
| more | notice | stranger |
| help | funny | over-hear |
| fun | reply | can’t help |
| guard | get out | whatever |
| touch | serious | turn into |
| silly | really | impossible |
| sure | briefly | absolutely |
| flour | flower | glance |
| gone | joker | toward |
| pick | nose | bring/brought |
| rose | plant | believe |
| bush | same | different |
| whole | world | happen |
| shout | order (3) | servant |
| feast | prepare | bit/bite/bitten |
| leg | crunch | put down |
| ouch | lamb | lamb chop |
| thirsty | favorite | loaf/loaves |
| lips | solid | feel/felt |
| near | too late | as soon as |
| stare | motion | motionless |
| sob | cry | fell/fall/fallen |
| sad | voice | miserable |
| go back | certain | definitely |
| fist | wash | pound (3) |
| get up | nearby | stream |
| form | smile | return |
| hug | give | original |
| later | subject (2) | give away |
King Midas
Once upon a time, there lived a king. His name was Midas.
Now everyone has a hobby. King Midas’ hobby was collecting gold.
In a secret chamber, he had a chest full of gold jewelry and utensils: bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings; cups, bowls, plates, knives, forks, spoons.
Garden
One morning, the king went to the royal garden. As he slowly walked back and forth looking at the ground, he said out loud, “Huh. I feel so frustrated and disappointed. I wish I had more GOLD!
Who are You?
“You want more gold?” said a voice.
The king looked up. A stranger was standing in his garden.
“Who are you? Where are you from?” asked the king. “Well of course! Everyone wants gold!”
“Well, you can have all the gold you want,” said the stranger. “I can make so whatever you touch turns into gold.”
“Don’t be silly. That’s impossible…Well okay. Please, do it!” said the king.
“Are you really, really sure that’s what you want?”
“DEFINITELY! Now do it!”
“Alright, it shall be,” said the stranger. He walked behind some trees and disappeared.
A Flower
“Hah. What a joker,” thought the king.
He then picked a flower. As he brought it to his nose — it turned to gold!
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”
King Midas touched a rose plant. It too turned to gold!
“YAY! YIPPY!”
Next he touched a small bush. The same thing happened.
“YAHOO! I’m the HAPPIEST man in the whole world!” he shouted.
The Meal
Feeling hungry, the king went into the dinning hall and sat at his dinning table. Servants brought his meal.
King Midas picked up a chicken leg. He bit into it….
CRUNCH!
“Ouch!” cried the king.
He put the leg down; it was now solid gold.
So he picked up a lamb chop. But that too turned to gold. The same thing happened to a loaf of bread.
“Oh boy!” said the king.
He went outside and walked to his garden.
In the Garden
“Daddy, daddy.”
The king turned around. It was his daughter. She was running towards him.
“NO NO! Don’t come near me…”
Too late.
As soon she touched the king, she turned into solid gold.
King Midas stood motionless…he just stared at the now golden figure.
Cry
Then he fell onto the ground and began sobbing.
“Why are you crying? Aren’t you now the happiest man in the whole world?” asked a voice. It was the stranger.
“NOOOOOO!…..I am the saddest, most miserable man in the whole world,” said the king. “I hate gold. I want to go back to how things were…”
“Are you certain?” asked the stranger.
“ABSOLUTELY! said the king as he pounded the ground with his fists.
“Okay. Just go and wash your hands with water. That’s all.”
Get Up
King Midas got up and went to a nearby stream and washed his hands.
He returned to the garden and touched the gold flower. It turned back to its original form.
King Midas smelled it. He then touched the rose plant and bush; they returned to normal.
Then he went to his daughter and touched her….and she came back to life. The king hugged her.
Later, he gave all his gold away to his subjects.
Questions
1. Who was Midas?
2. King Midas cared about his kingdom, his people. Is this true or false?
3. Was he a very happy, content person? Why wasn’t he content and happy?
4. What happened one day?
5. How did King Midas feel?
6. What happened later?
7. What happened in the end?
8. King Midas changed. Yes or no?
9. Is there a moral or lesson in this story?
A. Do you know of any examples from real life?
B. Do tales like these encourage or discourage people from succeeding?
