When King Midas had grown quite an old man, and used to trot Mary gold’s children on his knee, he was fond of telling them this marvellous story, pretty much as I have now told it to you.  And then would he stroke their glossy ringlets, and tell them that their hair, likewise, had a rich shade of gold, which they had inherited from their mother.

“And to tell you the truth, my precious little folks,” quoth King Midas, diligently trotting the children all the while, “ever since that morning, I have hated the very sight of all other gold, save this!”

CHAPTER V

THE GORGON’S HEAD

Perseus was the son of Danae, who was the daughter of a king.  And when Perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his mother and himself into a chest, and set them afloat upon the sea.  The wind blew freshly, and drove the chest away from the shore, and the uneasy billows tossed it up and down; while Danae clasped her child closely to her bosom, and dreaded that some big wave would dash its foamy crest over them both.  The chest sailed on, however, and neither sank nor was upset; until, when night was coming, it floated so near an island that it got entangled in a fisherman’s nets, and was drawn out high and dry upon the sand.  The island was called Seriphus, and it was reigned over by King Polydectes, who happened to be the fisherman’s brother.

This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceedingly humane and upright man.  He showed great kindness to Danae and her little boy; and continued to befriend them, until Perseus had grown to be a handsome youth, very strong and active, and skilful in the use of arms.  Long before this time, King Polydectes had seen the two strangers—­the mother and her child—­who had come to his dominions in a floating chest.  As he was not good and kind, like his brother the fisherman, but extremely wicked, he resolved to send Perseus on a dangerous enterprise, in which he would probably be killed, and then to do some great mischief to Danae herself.  So this bad-hearted king spent a long while in considering what was the most dangerous thing that a young man could possibly undertake to perform.  At last, having hit upon an enterprise that promised to turn out as fatally as he desired, he sent for the youthful Perseus.

The young man came to the palace, and found the king sitting upon his throne.

“Perseus,” said King Polydectes, smiling craftily upon him, “you are grown up a fine young man.  You and your good mother have received a great deal of kindness from myself, as well as from my worthy brother the fisherman, and I suppose you would not be sorry to repay some of it.”

“Please, Your Majesty,” answered Perseus, “I would willingly risk my life to do so.”