III
1.Suddenly，in the midst of his despair，he beheld the stranger standing near the door.
“Well，friend Midas，”said he，“pray，how are you getting on with the Golden Touch？”
“I am very miserable，”said he.“I have lost all that my heart really cared for.”
2.“Ah！So you ha ve lear ned something since yesterday？”observedthe stranger.“Let us see，then.
Which of these two things do you think is really worth most-the Golden Touch，or one cup of clear cold water？”
“Oh，blessed water！”exclaimed Midas.“It will never cool my burning throat again！”
“The Golden Touch，”continued the stranger，“or a crust of bread？”
“A piece of bread，”answered Midas，“is worth all the gold on earth！”
3.“The Golden Touch，”asked the stranger，“or yourown little Marigold-warm，soft，and loving as she was an hour ago？”
“Oh，my child，my dear child！”cried poor Midas，wringing his hands.“I would not have done anything to hurt her，not even for the power of changing this whole big earth into a solid lump of gold！”
4.“You are wiser than you were，King Midas，”said the stranger，looking calmly at him.“Your heart，I see，is not now entirely filled with the love of gold.Tell me，now，do you really wish to rid yourself of this Golden Touch？”
“It is hateful to me！”replied Midas.
5.“Go，then，”said the stranger，“and plunge into the river that flows past the bottom of your garden.Take also a jar of the same water，and sprinkle it over any object that you wish to change back again from gold to its former state.If you do this，you may undo the mischief of which your greed has been the cause.”
6.King Midas bowed low，and when he lifted his head the stranger was gone.
Midas lost no time in catching up a great earthen pitcher-no longer earthen after he touched it-andhastening to the river side.He plunged in at once，without even waiting to pull off his shoes.
7.Then he dipped his pitcher into the water，and he was glad to see it change from gold into the same good，plain，earthen vessel which it had been before.A cold，heavy weight seemed to be lifted from his heart.The love of gold had left him，and he was no longer a miser ，but a man.
8.King Midas hastened back to his palace.The first thing he did，as you need hardly be told，was to sprinkle the water by handfuls over the golden figureMarigold.
No sooner did it fall on her than the rosy colour came back to her cheek again，and she began to sneeze and sputter.She was astonished to find that she was dripping wet，and that her father was throwing water over her！
9.“Pray，do not，dear father！”cried she.“See how you have wet my nice frock，which I put on only this morning.”For Marigold did not know that she had been a little golden statue.
10.Her father did not care to tell his dear child how foolish he had been；but he led her into the garden，and sprinkled the rest of the water over the rose-bushes，and gave the roses back their bloom.
11.When King Midas had grown quite an old man，he was fond of telling Marigold’s children this very strange story.And he would stroke their glossy curls，and tell them that their hair had a rich shadelike that of their mother.
“And to tell you the truth，my precious little folks，”King Midas often said，“ever since the time I have been speaking of，I have hated the very sight of all other gold，except this！”