I
1.Once upon a time，but no one knows when or where，there lived a very rich king，whose name was Midas.He had one little daughter，whom he loved very dearly，and whose name was Marigold.
2.King Midas was fonder of gold than of anything else in the world，except this little maiden.But themore Midas loved his daughter，the more did he seek for wealth.
3.If ever he happened to gaze at the golden clouds of sunset，he wished that they were real gold，and that they could be squeezed safely into his strong box.When little Marigold ran to meet him with a bunch of buttercups and dandelions，he used to say，“Pooh，child！If these flowers were as golden as they look，they would be worth plucking！”
“You are a wealthy man，friend Midas，”he said.“I suppose no other room on earth contains so much gold as you have piled up in this room.”
5.“I have done pretty well-pretty well，”answered Midas，in a discontented tone.
“What！”exclaimed the stranger；“then you are not satis fied.Tell me what you wish.”
“It is only this，”replied Midas：“I wish everything that I touch to be changed to gold.”
6.“The Golden Touch！”exclaimed the stranger.“But are you quite sure that this will satisfy you？”
“How can it fail to do so？”said Midas.“And will you never regret asking for it？”
“Never！”cried Midas.“Nothing more is needed to make me perfectly happy.”
“Be it as you wish，then，”replied the stranger，waving his hand.“To-morrow at sunrise you will find yourself gifted with the Golden Touch.”
7.In the morning，when the first sunbeam shone through the window，it glittered in a curious way on the white covering of the bed.What was the delight of the king when he found that the linenhad been changed to the purest gold！The Golden Touch had come to him with the first sunbeam.
8.Midas started up in joy，and ran about the room，grasping at everything.He seized one of the bed-posts，and it became a golden pillar.He pulled aside a window curtain，and the tasselgrew heavy in his hand-a mass of gold.He took up a book，and turned over the leaves ；at once it became a bundle of thin gold plates，in which the words of the book could no longer be read.
9.He put on his clothes，and found himself dressed in cloth of gold，which he felt to be somewhat heavy.
He drew out his hand-kerchief，which little Marigold had hemmedfor him.That also became gold，with his dear child‘s neat stitches running all along the borderin gold thread.Somehow，this last change did not quite please King Midas.
10.In the garden he found a great number of beautiful roses in full bloom；but Midas knew a way to make them far more precious，according to his way of thinking.So he went from bush to bush，touching each one as he passed，until every flower and bud was changed to gold.By the time this work was done，the morning air had given him an appetite for breakfast，so he went back to the palace.