King Midas hastened back to the palace; and, I suppose, the
servants knew not what to make of it when they saw their royal
master so carefully bringing home an earthen pitcher of water.
But that water, which was to undo all the mischief that his
folly had wrought, was more precious to Midas than an ocean of
molten gold could have been. The first thing he did, as you need
hardly be told, was to sprinkle it by handfuls over the golden
figure of little Marygold.
No sooner did it fall on her than you would have laughed to see
how the rosy color came back to the dear child's cheek!--and how
astonished she was to find herself dripping wet, and her father
still throwing more water over her!
"Pray do not, dear father!" cried she. "See how you have wet my
nice frock, which I put on only this morning!"
For Marygold did not know that she had been a little golden
statue; nor could she remember anything that had happened since
the moment when she ran with outstretched arms to comfort her
father.
Her father did not think it necessary to tell his beloved child
how very foolish he had been, but contented himself with showing
how much wiser he had now grown. For this purpose, he led little
Marygold into the garden, where he sprinkled all the remainder of
the water over the rosebushes, and with such good effect that
above five thousand roses recovered their beautiful bloom. There
were two circumstances, however, which, as long as he lived, used
to remind King Midas of the Golden Touch. One was, that the sands
of the river in which he had bathed, 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 changed by the
effect of his kiss. This change of hue was really an improvement,
and made Marygold's hair richer than in her babyhood.
When King Midas had grown quite an old man, and used to take
Marygold's children on his knee, he was fond of telling them this
marvelous story. And then would he stroke their glossy ringlets,
and tell them that their hair, likewise, had a rich shade of
gold, which they had inherited from their mother.
"And, to tell you the truth, my precious little folks," said King
Midas, "ever since that morning, I have hated the very sight of
all other gold, save this!"
--From "A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls."