In ancient Greek, there was a king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and was a very happy man. He also had a beautiful daughter.

Although Midas was crazy for his gold, he loved his daughter more than anything else. One day, Dionysus and his companion – a satyr named Silenus were passed by Midas’s rose garden.

Silenus was not feeling well so he decided to take some rest there. Midas saw this and allowed him as believed that Satyrs bring good luck and so he let the satyr rest in his kingdom until he felt better, against the wishes of his wife and daughter.

Silenus was a friend of Dionysus, the god of wine and celebration. When he learned that Midas showed kindness towards his friend, Dionysus decides to reward the king.

When asked to wish for something, Midas says “I wish everything I touch turns to gold”. Although Dionysus knew it was not a great idea, he granted Midas his wish. Midas was very happy that his wish came true and went around touching random things in the garden and his palace and turned them all into gold.

He touched an apple, and it turned into a shiny gold apple. His subjects were astounded but they were also happy to see so much gold in the palace.

In his happiness, Midas went and hugged his daughter, and before he realized it, he had already turned her into a lifeless, golden statue! Panicked, Midas ran back to the garden and called for Dionysus.

He begged God to take away his power and save his daughter. Dionysus being a god, felt pity for Midas and gave him a solution to change everything back to how it was before the wish. Midas learned his lesson and lived the rest of his life contended with what he had.