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Art by Sebastià Serra
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King Midas
King Midas loves his gold more than anything on Earth—until he loses everything else.
By By Sari Bodi and Karen Trott | Art by Sebastià Serra
From the September 2026 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will read a play and identify its genre-defining characteristics.
Narrators 1, 2, 3 (N1, N2, N3)
King Midas, a greedy king
Marigold, Midas’s daughter
Bacchus (BA-kuhss), a god
Servants 1, 2
Lords and Ladies:
Lady Caroline
Lord Elderberry
Lady Curry
Lord Sage
Scene 1
An ancient city called Gordium
N1: Long ago, there was a king named Midas.
N2: He was the richest man in all the land.
N3: But that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to be even richer.
N1: And that’s what got him into trouble.
N2: Every day, King Midas sat in his treasure room counting his gold coins.
Midas: One billion, four hundred million, three thousand, four hundred and seventy- two . . .
N3: He loved gold more than anything.
N1: More than ice cream?
N2: Yes! And even more than his own daughter.
N3: Here she comes now.
Marigold: Father, come see my garden. The roses are blooming.
Midas: One billion—oh, Marigold, you made me lose my count!
Marigold: That’s all you care about. You hardly ever leave this room.
Midas: Everything I love is here.
Marigold: Then I’ll leave you to your treasure.
N1: Hiding her tears, Marigold runs back to her garden.
N2: And King Midas goes back to his gold.
N3: Watching from Mount Olympus, where the Greek gods live, the god Bacchus decides to pay a visit to King Midas.
Bacchus: This greedy king must be taught a lesson.
Scene 2
The treasure room
N1: That afternoon, as Midas continues counting his treasure, Bacchus appears.
Midas: Who are you?
Bacchus: Someone who could make you happy.
Midas: I’ll never have enough gold to be happy!
Bacchus: Maybe you should share some of your gold. You’d still be quite rich.
Midas: Share? But then I wouldn’t be the richest.
Bacchus: Will nothing satisfy you?
Midas: Yes, something could. If everything I touched turned to gold, then I’d be happy.
N2: Bacchus forms a plan to teach Midas a lesson.
Bacchus: I will grant you this wish.
N3: Bacchus places his hand on the king’s head and chants.
Bacchus: King Midas, whose heart is cold, I hereby grant you all the gold.
N1: Bacchus snaps his fingers and disappears.
N2: Climbing over piles of gold, King Midas stumbles out of his treasure room. But as he touches the door . . .
Midas: It’s turned to gold!
N3: He touches the wall.
Midas: More gold!
N1: Midas begins touching everything in his castle.
Midas: And now my torches, my windows, my curtains are all gold. I will be the richest man of all!
Scene 3
The garden
N2: King Midas races to the garden to find his daughter.
Midas: Marigold!
Marigold: Father, look at my lovely roses. They’re so red, and the scent is delightful.
Midas: If you think your flowers are lovely now, just wait.
Marigold: What could possibly make them more beautiful?
N3: Midas touches a rosebush. It quickly turns to gold.
Midas: See how beautiful your roses are now?
Marigold: Father, how could you? They’re horrible. Please don’t touch another flower.
N1: Ignoring his daughter’s wishes, Midas runs around the garden, touching all the flowers and trees.
Marigold: The roses are no longer red! They’ve lost their smell. Ow! The petals are hard.
N2: The king’s servants arrive.
Servant 1: Marigold’s garden is entirely gold.
Servant 2: Your Majesty, can this be real?
Midas: This is only the start. I will hold a banquet in honor of my new power.
Servant 1: Shall we invite all the lords and ladies of Gordium?
Midas: Yes, at once.
Scene 4
The banquet room
N3: That night, the lords and ladies of Gordium gather at the castle of King Midas.
N1: They are dressed in fine gowns and jewels.
Midas: I have something to reveal. Lady Caroline, hand me your dish.
N2: The king touches Lady Caroline’s dish.
Lady Caroline: Oh my! It has turned to gold!
Lord Elderberry: King Midas, touch my fork!
Lady Curry: It has turned to gold too!
N3: Before their very eyes, King Midas transforms all the dishes and utensils into gold.
N1: Even the flames on the candles harden into gold.
Lord Sage: A toast! A toast to our host!
Lady Caroline: Gordium will be the richest city in the land!
Lord Elderberry: Thanks to your golden touch.
Lady Curry: The Midas Touch!
Midas: Amazing, isn’t it?
Servant 2: Let me fill your glass.
N2: King Midas puts the glass to his lips.
N3: The liquid hardens into golden ice.
N1: His face turns pale.
N2: He reaches for bread.
N3: As his fingers touch the loaf, it becomes a golden brick.
N1: Marigold sees the worried look on her father’s face.
Marigold: Father, what’s wrong?
N2: She rushes into his arms. The moment she touches him, she turns to gold too.
Midas: Noooo!
Lord Sage: Marigold has become a golden statue!
Lady Curry: We must run before King Midas reaches for one of us!
N3: King Midas falls to the ground next to the statue of his daughter.
Midas: How wrong I was. This blessing is a curse!
Scene 5
From the palace to the river and back
N1: Hours later, Midas still kneels beside his daughter.
Midas: Bacchus, help me.
N2: Bacchus appears before him.
Bacchus: What will happen if I do?
Midas: I’ll give my treasure to the poor. I’d much rather bring my daughter back to life and eat and drink again. These things are more important to me than gold.
Bacchus: I see you’ve learned your lesson. To reverse the spell, come with me and bathe in the river.
N3: As Midas steps into the river, gold washes off him.
N1: Midas races back to the castle.
N2: In the garden, he discovers that the roses are once again red and lovely.
Midas: Marigold!
N3: Marigold rushes out to meet him.
Marigold: Father!
N1: She jumps into his arms and they hug.
Midas: You mean everything to me.
Marigold: Even more than gold?
Midas: More than anything in the world. I’m so sorry.
N2: And so, King Midas shared his gold with his kingdom.
N3: Which wasn’t hard, since he never wanted to touch it again.
Think and Write
Think about the myth you just read and what you learned about myths. Then write a paragraph that explains what makes the play a myth. Use examples from the story.
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