El rey Midas (King Midas): free A2 Spanish story
Level A2 (Elementary) · Classics · about 3 minutes
A rich king gets exactly the gift he asks for, and then he gets hungry.
Adapted from Metamorphoses (Book XI) by Ovid (8 AD).
In the app you can tap any word for its meaning, listen to natural narration with each word highlighted, and switch between Latin American and Spain Spanish. Read it in the app, free.
The story in Spanish
Hace muchos años, en un país llamado Frigia, vivía un rey que se llamaba Midas. Midas tenía un palacio enorme, jardines llenos de rosas y mucho dinero, pero siempre quería más.
Un día, unos campesinos encontraron a un anciano dormido en el campo y lo llevaron al palacio. Era Sileno, el viejo maestro del dios Baco. Midas lo recibió muy bien: le dio comida, vino y una cama cómoda durante diez días. Después, se lo devolvió a Baco.
El dios estaba muy contento. —Gracias por cuidar a mi maestro —le dijo a Midas—. Te voy a dar un regalo: puedes pedir cualquier cosa. Midas no lo pensó mucho. —Quiero convertir en oro todo lo que toco —respondió. —Muy bien —dijo Baco, pero no parecía feliz.
Midas volvió a casa y probó su nuevo poder. Tocó una rama de un árbol, y la rama se convirtió en oro. Tocó una piedra, una manzana y la puerta de su palacio: todo brillaba como el sol. —¡Soy el hombre más rico del mundo! —gritó.
Esa noche, los criados le prepararon una cena enorme. Midas tomó un trozo de pan, pero el pan se convirtió en oro duro en su boca. Quiso beber vino, pero el vino también se convirtió en oro. Tenía mucha hambre y mucha sed, y no podía comer ni beber nada. Entonces el rey entendió su error.
Levantó los brazos al cielo y llamó a Baco. —¡Perdóname, por favor! —dijo—. Fui un tonto. Quítame este regalo. El dios sintió pena por él. —Ve al río Pactolo y lávate las manos y la cabeza en el agua —le dijo.
Midas fue al río y metió la cabeza en el agua fría. Su poder pasó al río, y desde ese día la arena del Pactolo brilla con oro. Y el rey, ¿qué hizo después? Desde entonces, Midas odió el oro y prefirió vivir en el campo, con una vida sencilla.
English translation
Many years ago, in a country called Phrygia, there lived a king named Midas. Midas had an enormous palace, gardens full of roses and a lot of money, but he always wanted more.
One day, some peasants found an old man asleep in the fields and took him to the palace. It was Silenus, the old teacher of the god Bacchus. Midas welcomed him warmly: he gave him food, wine and a comfortable bed for ten days. Afterward, he returned him to Bacchus.
The god was very pleased. “Thank you for looking after my teacher,” he said to Midas. “I am going to give you a gift: you can ask for anything.” Midas didn’t think about it for long. “I want to turn everything I touch into gold,” he replied. “Very well,” said Bacchus, but he didn’t look happy.
Midas went home and tried out his new power. He touched a branch of a tree, and the branch turned into gold. He touched a stone, an apple and the door of his palace: everything shone like the sun. “I am the richest man in the world!” he shouted.
That night, the servants prepared an enormous dinner for him. Midas took a piece of bread, but the bread turned into hard gold in his mouth. He tried to drink wine, but the wine turned into gold too. He was very hungry and very thirsty, and he couldn’t eat or drink anything. Then the king understood his mistake.
He raised his arms to the sky and called out to Bacchus. “Forgive me, please!” he said. “I was a fool. Take this gift away from me.” The god felt sorry for him. “Go to the river Pactolus and wash your hands and your head in the water,” he told him.
Midas went to the river and put his head in the cold water. His power passed into the river, and since that day the sand of the Pactolus has shone with gold. And the king, what did he do afterward? From then on, Midas hated gold and preferred a simple life in the countryside.
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