Once there was a king called Midas. He owned a very large amount of gold, to the point people called him the man who owned the largest amount of gold in the whole world. Despite being very rich, he kept collecting and gathering money. His biggest dream was for his daughter Zoe to become the richest girl in the world.
Zoe was a beautiful, gentle, simple, and elegant girl. She was different from her father in everything, as all her dreams were a beautiful garden decorated with flowers and a quiet place to live in. One day, King Midas was sitting in the residence where he placed the gold. Suddenly, a man wearing white clothes came out to him named Silenus. He was the god of wealth who approached King Midas carefully, then said: Your Majesty, I can give you more gold than you own.
The king said: Wait. Then you are the god of wealth. Why don’t you fulfill my biggest dream of becoming the richest man in the world? Silenus looked into the eyes of the ambitious king who wanted a lot of money and didn’t hesitate to accept his request. He said: Well Midas. You have what you asked for, but everything you own will turn to gold immediately.
The king smiled, kept laughing and laughing, dreaming more, and asking for more. The next day, the king began bringing all the things he wanted to become gold to the special residence for gold. But unfortunately, when he went toward the kitchen, he was surprised by the great shock and shouted angrily: Oh my! All the food has turned to gold.
The king became sad and depressed. He no longer had food for his night, and couldn’t put drops of water in his stomach, as everything he had had indeed turned to gold.
A few days passed, and the king couldn’t eat any food. He felt all his dreams beginning to collapse. Gold was no longer his biggest dream, while a little food was what he wished for at that time. He sat crying, shouting and weeping: His daughter heard his voice while sitting in the garden that had turned to gold.
She hurried toward him, then embraced him and kept crying like him. The king raised his hands beseeching with words to Silenus: Please Silenus… I beseech you… I don’t want gold. It has caused me much suffering, and I can’t complete my life like this. I want to touch the flowers, embrace my daughter, feel the scent of roses and food… Please, remove that curse from me.
Silenus listened to the king’s pleas and didn’t hesitate again to accept his request, as he felt regret and pain in his eyes. He said to him: Midas… I agreed to your request because I felt the sincerity of your words and regret. For everything to return to its nature, you must go to the Nusiman River and drown all the things that have turned to gold.
The king did what Silenus ordered him, and everything returned to its nature. The scent of roses and food wafted. The king embraced his daughter in joy and delight, saying: All the gold and money in the world cannot give the happiness I feel now while I am with you in this calm and beauty.
The story is translated from Spanish Title: El Rey Midas