344- The Golden Touch

In the seventies, I was visiting the Copts in one of the cities in the lands of immigration. In that city the Copts were less than forty families. I was asked to visit three families whose breadwinners had heart problems. The three came to the New World and each had three jobs to secure the future of their families. They did not get more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep. They did not spend enough time with their families. They were in their thirties. That reminded me of the famous Greek story about king Midas of Feregia (Turkey), who lived around 800 B. C.

Midas was the richest man in the world. He loved collecting gold and never had any rest just working and collecting gold. For his great love for gold, he named his only daughter Mary of Gold, the one he loved dearly.

The little princess did not care about gold, which her father collected. She cared about her golden hair. She used to enjoy the golden rays of the sun at sunrise and sunset. She used to go to the garden to enjoy the beautiful flowers and go fruit picking. She had a love for nature that God created for her.

One day Midas went to his stores, closed the doors carefully and started to examine the boxes of gold, touching the gold with great joy. Suddenly, he broke his silence and started talking to himself in a loud voice, “Truly Midas you’re the richest man in the world. Who has this amount of gold except you! I’m rich but I won’t be satisfied until I collect all the gold in the world. If there is one gram of gold with someone else I won’t be happy.”

He felt then that a cloud came by and an angel appeared to him and said to him, “You have lots of gold, are you satisfied? This gold you have is so little compared to the gold in the whole world. Do you feel that you aren’t satisfied with what you have?”

Midas replied, “Satisfied no way, I spend my nights thinking how I can collect more gold; I wish that every thing I touch turns into gold.”

The angel responded, “Do you really want to have this wish?”

“Yes I do and nothing would make me any happier,” said Midas.

“Tomorrow when the golden sunrays come through your window, you’ll have your wish come true,” said the angel.

The angel disappeared. Midas opened his eyes and realized that what he saw was a desire of his heart. The king said, “What I saw is just a dream, but who knows it might come true?”

The king woke up and touched the bed cover and waited but nothing happened. He became upset and he tried to remember the details about the dream. Sunrays started to enter his window; the bed cover turned into gold. The king was very pleased. He started to touch the bed; the rug and every thing turned to gold.

He looked from the window; he saw the garden in which his beloved daughter spent most of her day. He said to himself, I’ll offer my daughter a nice surprise.”

He went to the garden and touched the trees; they all turned to gold. He returned to his palace, touched the bread and it turned to gold; the cup of water also turned to gold.

Midas was happy with all the gold that surrounded him but he could not eat nor drink. He shouted, “What can I do? I’m hungry and thirsty, I can’t eat or drink gold.”

Suddenly the young princess came home crying.

“What happened my little one?” he asked.

She replied, “O my father, every flower became dead with no smell no life; they all turned to gold.”

He said, “Don’t you think that they’re now more beautiful and more precious than before?”

“No father, they’re without smell and they don’t grow. I prefer living flowers.”

“I see you didn’t eat father. Tell me I see you look sad. What happened?” She ran to her father with tears in her eyes. He tried to hug her but she turned into a golden statue. She was no longer the happy princess. Her beautiful blue eyes turned to gold. All her body and even her clothes.

The father fell down to the ground, not knowing what to do. He felt that someone was shaking him, telling him, “Is this not that what your heart desired? Are you not the happiest man on earth?”

“How can I be happy? I’m the most miserable person in the whole world. I hate gold, do you think I’ll eat gold. And where is my beloved daughter?”

“Which do you prefer, O king? The golden priceless statue, or the little princess that is full of life and love?”

“Get me back my daughter and take all my gold.”

“Go to the river that runs at the end of your garden, get some water from it and pour it on every thing that became gold. It’ll return to its original form.”

The king rushed to the river and did as the angel told him. He was very glad when his daughter came back to life and every thing returned to its original form.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: اللمسة الذهبية.

The love of money changes every thing to rigidity.

It makes me loose my food and drink, my love and rest.

Let me have You. You are the Secret behind life. You are my Treasure and my Riches.

You are the Satisfaction of my soul. Give me Your wisdom to only seek Your will.

May I live to be content and glad with You.

With the Bus Driver

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Broken Pieces of Glass