Lesson 26 Text THE GOLDEN TOUCH
THE GOLDEN TOUCH
Long,long ago there lived in Greece a king whose name was Midas.
He was a greedy man and loved gold better than anything else in the world.
One day he asked the gods to give him still more gold.
The gods decided to punish him and said,
"Very well.In the morning everything that you touch will become gold."
Midas was overjoyed when he heard this.
"I shall be the richest man in the world,"he said to himself.
He got up early next morning.
When he touched his bed, it turned to gold.
He began to dress,and his clothes became gold.
Midas was delighted.
Midas loved flowers and kept a beautiful garden.
He went into the garden to look at his flowers.
The day was fine,the sun was bright and the roses were lovely.
The king picked one of them, but it turned to gold in his hand.
He picked another,and the same thing happened.
He was sorry that the flowers changed as soon as he touched them,
for he loved their rich colours.
The king went to have his breakfast.
He took a cup of milk, but it immediately turned to gold.
Then he took a piece of bread,and that also changed into gold.
Midas now began to feel unhappy.
It was good to be the richest man in the world,
but he was hungry,and he could not eat or drink gold.
Midas went out into the garden again.
His little daughter was there.
When she saw her father,she ran up to him.
King Midas was very fond of his daughter and he kissed her tenderly.
Then and there she turned into a golden statue.
Midas was now very unhappy.He went into his palace.
His eyes filled with tears,
and he begged the gods to take away the Golden Touch.
"I was very foolish to love gold so much," he said.
"Take all my gold and give me back my daughter."
"Go,"said the gods,"and wash your hands in the river near your garden,
and the water will take away the Golden Touch."
Midas went to the river and washed his hands.
Then he ran quickly to the golden statue of his little girl.
He kissed her again and she changed back into his pretty little daughter.
Midas never forgot this lesson.
He knew now that gold did not bring happiness.
Notes to the Text: The Golden Touch
Midas' Touch
Long,long ago,there lived in Greece a king whose name was Midas.
He was a greedy man and loved gold better than anything else in the world.
Long,long ago,there lived in Greece a king whose name was Midas.
there lived
Long,long ago...
Long,long ago... Long,long time ago..
Once upon a time...
He loved gold better than anything else in the world.
better=more
anything else
still more gold
"Very well,in the morning everything that you touch will become gold."
turned to
became
the same thing happened
changed into
turned into
overjoyed delighted sorry unhappy
He loved flowers and kept a beautiful garden.
kept---keep
If you want to keep this job,you have to work very hard.
Keep your money in a safe place.
The old woman keeps three cats.
What kept you?
Keep the change.
He keeps a bar.
Don't keep bad company.
He was sorry that the flowers changed as soon as he touched them,
for he loved their rich colours.
for
sorry that
as soon as
rich
adj+that
I'm glad that you have got a new job.
He was surprised that they had come so early.