0:00:08.786,0:00:12.646
With his harebrained schemes [br]and asinine dealings with the gods,

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King Midas ruled the ancient kingdom [br]of Phrygia with an uneven hand.

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He was known in Greek mythology [br]as a rogue ruler

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whose antics bemused his people [br]and distracted the gods.

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Midas spent his days [br]in a stupor of splendor,

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spoiling himself and his beloved daughter[br]and gorging himself on feasts and wine.

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Unsurprisingly, he felt [br]an affinity with Dionysus,

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god of wine, carnival, and performance.

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One day, Midas discovered a satyr

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dozing in his rose garden and drunk [br]on more than the scent of flowers.

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Midas recognized the satyr [br]as one of Dionysus’s followers

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and let him nurse [br]his hangover at the palace.

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Pleased with the king’s hospitality,[br]Dionysus offered to grant him one wish.

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Midas cast a greedy eye [br]over his surroundings.

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Despite the luxury in which he lived,

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no amount of precious jewels, finest silk [br]or splendid decor felt like enough.

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His life, he thought, was lacking luster;[br]what he needed was more gold.

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The god sent the power to turn anything[br]the king touched to gold

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surging through Midas.

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Ecstatic, he turned to his possessions.

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At his lightest touch, [br]the palace walls transformed,

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stone statues shone,

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and goblets glittered.

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He galloped through his home in a frenzy,

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handling each item until [br]it took on a lustrous sheen.

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Soon the palace heaved with gold,

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and Midas’s delirious[br]laughter echoed off the walls.

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Exhausted and hungry from his rampage,

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Midas picked up a bunch of grapes from [br]his newly gilded fruit bowl.

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But he nearly shattered his teeth,

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for the fruit had turned [br]to metal in his mouth.

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When he picked up a loaf of bread, [br]the crumbs hardened in his hand.

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Flinging himself onto [br]his bed in frustration,

0:02:22.063,0:02:27.721
Midas discovered his plush pillows [br]had morphed into solid gold.

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Hearing his cries of frustration, [br]his daughter entered the room.

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But when Midas reached out to her,

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he saw with horror that he had frozen her [br]into a golden statue.

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Horrified at what he had done,

0:02:40.942,0:02:45.152
Midas begged the gods [br]to rid him of his power.

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Taking pity on the foolish king,

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Dionysus told Midas to wash [br]his hands in the River Pactolus.

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When Midas reached into the river, [br]the gold drained from his fingertips.

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Midas returned home [br]to find his daughter alive

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and his palace back to normal, [br]and he rejoiced.

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You’d think he would’ve learned [br]his lesson,

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but just a few weeks later,[br]Midas blundered again,

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insulting the music and sun god Apollo [br]when he declared Pan a greater musician.

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Apollo scornfully declared that the king [br]must have the ears of an ass

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to make such a misjudgment,[br]and transformed Midas accordingly.

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Once again regretting his behavior,

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Midas kept his hairy ears [br]hidden in public.

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They were seen only by his barber,

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who was sworn to secrecy during [br]a very awkward grooming session.

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The barber stifled his laughter [br]and fought the desire to tell someone,

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yet the secret consumed him.

0:03:47.522,0:03:52.223
One day, he walked outside the city [br]and dug a hole in the ground.

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Plunging his head into the earth,

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the desperate barber whispered,[br]“Midas has ass’s ears.”

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Soon after, a clump of reeds sprang up

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in the spot where the barber [br]had buried his words.

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When the wind blew, they carried the [br]echoes of his whisper through the breeze:

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"Midas has ass’s ears."

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At the sound, donkeys in the fields raised[br]their heads in recognition

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and people chuckled to themselves [br]at the follies of their king.

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With his golden touch and ass’s ears, [br]Midas was not the most respected ruler.

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And where other leaders were honored [br]through statues and temples,

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his people remembered him [br]a little differently:

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in the depths of the glittering river [br]and the rustle of the Phrygian wind.