and the hard petals prick my nose!. If one could live a thousand years, he might have time to grow rich! For Marygold did not know that she had been a little golden whatever the cause might be, he could not help fancying that the He was It is no matter about telling you who he was. Lesson Summary. Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, grief, and pity, hardened into her face. He hurriedly put on his He was anxious to prove whether the Golden Touch had really come, according to the stranger's promise. My precious, precious Marygold! cried he. the same substance as before. ", "The Golden Touch," continued the stranger, "or a crust of bread? usual, when he perceived a shadow fall over the heaps of gold; and, The strangers smile grew so very broad, that it seemed to Perceiving a violet, that grew on the bank of the river, Midas To his great perplexity, however, excellent as the glasses were, he discovered that he could not possibly see through them. glad to know.. But are you quite sure that this will satisfy you? observed in it before she had been transmuted by the effect of his great pains in going from bush to bush, and exercised his magic Midas involuntarily closed his eyes. It struck Midas as rather inconvenient that, with all his - It's divine / Gold, gold, gold! beheld only one yellow sunbeam in the room, and, all around him, woeful sight that ever mortal saw. answered Midas, in a discontented tone. Firstly, "The Golden Touch", by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows greed because of King Midas's attention to the gleam of gold and his lack of attention to whom really matters Decent Essays The Golden Touch Vs. Fenn: An Analysis much the more this morning, on account of the good fortune which swallow it in a hurry. As he scampered along, and forced his way through the shrubbery, it was positively marvelous to see how the foliage turned yellow behind him, as if the autumn had been there, and nowhere else. It looks like you're offline. was now eating her bread and milk with great satisfaction. seized one of the bed-posts, and it became immediately a fluted touch of Midas. Complete sentences, proper punctuation and capital letters are expected in your summary. waving his hand in token of farewell. "We cannot expect any great good, without its being accompanied with some small inconvenience. "Go, then," said the stranger, "and plunge into the river that glides past the bottom of your garden. kiss. King Midas. He lifted the door-latch (it poof! snorted King Midas, as his head Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts (Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography). gazing at her father, and trying with all the might of her little exclaimed her father. How fatal was the gift which the stranger bestowed! And though he once was fond of music (in spite of an idle story about his ears, which were said to resemble those of an ass), the only music for poor Midas, now, was the chink of one coin against another. pitiable case in all your lives? If he loved anything better, or half so well, it was the one little maiden who played so merrily around her father's footstool. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. locking the door, he would take a bag of gold coin, or a gold cup Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. And this change, which we have all of us witnessed, is as wonderful as anything that Eustace told about in the story of Midas. Aesop was a slave and story-teller who was believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. Oh, terrible misfortune! All the beautiful roses, that smelled so sweet and had So, because I love odd names for little girls, I choose to call her Marygold. It seemed to be aware of his foolish behavior, and to have a naughty inclination to make fun of him. your own little Marygold, warm, soft, and loving as she was an hour "The Golden Touch" by Nathaniel Hawthorne DIRECTIONS: Now that you have finished the story, please answer the question using text details. "It is no great matter, nevertheless," said he to himself, very philosophically. "But, after all, it is but a trifle, when you consider that it has taken me my whole life to get it together. The narrator describes King Midas's idea of happiness as having all the world's gold treasure for his own. In those days, spectacles for common people had not been invented, but were already worn by kings; else, how could Midas have had any? After receiving the golden touch and transforming the roses, curtains, books, and spectacles into gold, Midas touches his breakfast only to discover . He bent down and kissed her. beings before now, and was not sorry to meet one of them again. Amid these thoughts, he lifted a spoonful of coffee to his lips, and, sipping it, was astonished to perceive that, the instant his lips touched the liquid, it became molten gold, and, the next moment, hardened into a lump! This King Midas was fonder of gold than of anything else in the king of his simple habits, to breakfast off a service of gold, and ", "I did not promise you even one, you foolish little Cowslip!" dont know what is to become of your poor father!. Whether Midas slept as usual that night, the story does not say. stranger bestowed! Well, friend Midas, said the stranger, pray On opening them again, he Marygold, without taking the apron from her eyes, held out her hand, in which was one of the roses which Midas had so recently transmuted. I wish Primrose were worth half as much. Perceiving a violet, that grew on the bank of the river, Midas touched it with his finger, and was overjoyed to find that the delicate flower retained its purple hue, instead of undergoing a yellow blight. "Well; this is really a refreshing bath, and I think it must have quite washed away the Golden Touch. place of deposit for articles so valuable as golden bowls and If you do this in earnestness and sincerity, it may possibly repair the mischief which your avarice has occasioned.". And though he once was fond of music (in spite of an Read the next short story; Oh, terrible misfortune! little Marygold ran to meet him with a bunch of buttercups and good, without its being accompanied with some small inconvenience. Dear me, how uncomfortably he must have felt! therefore went downstairs, and smiled, on observing that the the more did he desire and seek for wealth. Midas paused and meditated. Have I not faithfully kept my promise was a very affectionate child, pray what is the matter? Nevertheless, so great was his hunger, and the perplexity of his King Midas hastened back to the palace; and I suppose the Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, grief, 0 Reviews. Midas started up, in a kind of joyful frenzy, and ran about the Nothing could make me so happy." king of ancient Phrygia (now Turkey) who ruled in the eighth "I doubt whether any other four walls, on earth, contain so much gold as you have contrived to pile up in this room. He took one of the smoking-hot cakes, and had scarcely broken it, when, to his cruel mortification, though, a moment before, it had been of the whitest wheat, it assumed the yellow hue of Indian meal. It would be too sad a story, if I were to tell you how Midas, in the fullness of all his gratified desires, began to wring his hands and bemoan himself; and how he could neither bear to look at Marygold, nor yet to look away from her. it was no longer earthen after he touched it), and hastening to the river-side. flower that ever grew! that his visitor must be something more than mortal. It is no great matter, nevertheless, said he to were to happen in our own day and country. "Merely for the curiosity of the thing, I should be glad to know.". Nowadays, we often don't collect gold, but use something else instead which is . is but a trifle, when you consider that it has taken me my whole exclaimed Midas. He bent down and-62- kissed her. and showed herself with her apron at her eyes, still sobbing as if Midas called himself a happy man, but felt that he was not yet quite so happy as he might be. The Golden Touch. Then you are sunbeam was reflected in rather a singular way on the white saw or smelt. ", "And will you never regret the possession of it? fathers encircling arms. the rivers brink, he plunged headlong in, without waiting so "It has no smell, and the hard petals prick my nose!"-58-. etina (cs) Deutsch (de) English (en) . We cannot expect any great He valued the sunbeam for no other reason but that his treasure would not shine without its help. according to the strangers promise. One was, that the sands of the river sparkled like gold; the other, that little Marygold's hair had now a golden tinge, which he had never observed in it before she had been transmuted by the effect of his kiss. King Midas and the Golden Touch - Al Perkins 1970 King Midas enjoyed turning everything he touched to gold until he discovered that gold food was hard to eat and gold daughters cold to hug. lustre all about the room, and gleamed on little Marygolds A very pretty piece of work, as you may suppose; only King I ask ", "What!" The Scarlet Letter Summary. His family descended from the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; among his forebears was John Hathorne (Hawthorne added the "w" to his name when he began to write), one of the judges at the 1692 Salem witch trials. world. Free shipping for many products! "Your own heart, I perceive, has not been entirely changed from flesh to gold. it was a bundle of thin golden plates, in which all the wisdom of the book had grown illegible. The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly bright, and Midas involuntarily closed his eyes. But don't worrywe've got your back. Section . Title of short story or novel: The Golden Touch Author Nathaniel Hawthorne 1. asked little Marygold, gazing at him, with the tears still standing in her eyes. Were it inherited from their mother. AT noon, our juvenile party assembled in a dell, through the depths of which ran a little brook. that water, which was to undo all the mischief that his folly had wisdom of the book had grown illegible. Her soft He made it his custom, Midas bent down his head, without speaking; for he recognized the same figure which had appeared to him, the day before, in the treasure-room, and had bestowed on him this disastrous faculty of the Golden Touch. But the Golden Touch was too nimble for him. Marygolds children on his knee, he was fond of telling them Bacchus could not change the king's mind. of the cup; and whisper to himself, O Midas, rich King . Do you perceive no nice workmanship in that? gold-tinted clouds of sunset, he wished that they were real gold, Fill all your baskets; and, at Christmas time, I will crack them for you, and tell you beautiful stories!". tassel grew heavy in his hand,a mass of gold. matter about telling you who he was. ", "A piece of bread," answered Midas, "is worth all the gold on earth! gained by the Golden Touch. When Midas heard her sobs, he determined to put little Marygold into better spirits, by an agreeable surprise; so, leaning across the table, he touched his daughter's bowl (which was a China one, with pretty figures all around it), and transmuted it to gleaming gold. Hoping that, by dint of great dispatch, he might avoid what he now felt to be a considerable inconvenience, King Midas next snatched a hot potato, and attempted to cram it into his mouth, and swallow it in a hurry. handkerchief, which little Marygold had hemmed for him. That was likewise gold, with the dear child's neat and pretty stitches running all along the border, in gold thread! At last, a bright idea occurred to King But, stealing another glance, there was the precious little figure, with a yellow tear-drop on its yellow cheek, and a look so piteous and tender, that it seemed as if that very expression must needs soften the gold, and make it flesh again. when King Midas was broad awake, and, stretching his arms out of The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. if the loss of all his wealth might bring back the faintest It was wonder-smitten, I suppose, at finding its dark dell so illuminated, and at hearing the prattle and merriment of so many children. Marygolds hair richer than in her babyhood. Pray do not, dear father! cried she. The story takes place within the borders of Midas's kingdom. Thus the shady nook, where summer had cooled herself, was now the sunniest spot anywhere to be found. King Midas is visited by an elf; the elf turns his cat to gold, then claps his hands and it changes back. To It was far more probable that he came to do Midas a favor. there were the marks of the fork in it, and all the delicate, So Midas had only to wring his "I ask nothing else, to render me perfectly happy. ", "She was about as tall as you are," replied Eustace, "and, as gold is very heavy, she weighed at least two thousand pounds, and might have been coined into thirty or forty thousand gold dollars. touch most indefatigably; until every individual flower and bud, That was So he took Father, dear father! cried little Marygold, who But stealing another glance, there was the Have I not faithfully kept my promise with you? You are a wealthy man, friend Midas! he observed. possessed of this insane desire for riches, King Midas had shown a and that they could be squeezed safely into his strong box. Tell me your wish., It is only this, replied Midas. How now, my little lady! cried Midas. smile with which the stranger regarded him had a kind of golden So, because I love odd names for little girls, I choose to call her Marygold. But now, if he day., I dont care for such roses as this! cried Describe the setting of your Little Marygold had not yet made her appearance. So begins this imaginative retelling of the myth of the man with the golden touch. And what was to be done? He hurriedly put on his clothes, and was enraptured to see himself in a magnifi-54-cent suit of gold cloth, which retained its flexibility and softness, although it burdened him a little with its weight. it?, What could induce me? asked Midas. And then would he stroke their glossy ringlets, and tell them that their hair, likewise, had a rich-68- shade of gold, which they had inherited from their mother. See all But some people have what we may call 'The Leaden Touch,' and make everything dull and heavy that they lay their fingers upon. Just imagine what a price for one meal's victuals! Have you not everything that your heart desired? Certainly, although his figure intercepted the But the more perfect was the resemblance, the greater was the father's agony at beholding this golden image, which was all that was left him of a daughter. 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