The Adventures of King Midas

Be sure it’s not raining! The magician’s mocking last words sounded again in Midas’ ears.

Midas made one heroic effort to go out. He was drenched to the skin in two seconds. The lightning struck at his feet again, making him jump back into the dining-room – he couldn’t stop himself. He slammed the windows behind him, locked them, and leant against them, trembling with fright.

There was a strange silence. He raised his eyes. The french windows, glass and all, had turned to gold. The storm, the night, the garden, were closed off from his sight. When he tried tentatively to open them, he found they had fused into a solid gold wall. Of course, there were other ways out, but …

“I shall wait until tomorrow,” he muttered.

He went slowly upstairs to his bedroom, his head down, dragging his feet, and not even noticing how his magic made the gold shoot along the banisters. He was trying to keep from weeping because Stray was not trotting up after him, and then he thought of something even worse.

Delia!

Of course there was no question of going to her room as he always did, every night, to chat to her and tuck her into bed. Though he had never, ever needed her more … But the danger! No, he mustn’t, anything could happen!

What, then, am I never to see her again –? But he couldn’t face that terrible thought.

“I’ll try to sleep,” he told himself. “Tomorrow the weather will be better. I’ll go to the rose-garden and say –” For one appalling second he thought he’d forgotten the magic words, but then they came back to him: “‘Red rose, bloom again’. He’ll come, that fiend – no, no, not fair, mustn’t blame him, he gave me a chance to think and I didn’t, I didn’t! Oh, was there ever a man so stupid! – Anyway, he’ll return, and heaven alone knows what he’ll want as a fee this time, but whatever it is he shall have it, even if it’s half my kingdom or ten years of my life, just so I can be rid of this ghastly curse I’ve brought down on my idiotic old head!”

Biffpot was waiting in the King’s dressing-room. The servants’ quarters were alive with the most terrible rumours. Several of the staff had packed up and left. But Biffpot was devoted to the King, and determined that he would be the last to desert his employer, who had always been very good to him.

“Are you retiring early, Sire?” he asked, trying to keep his voice quite normal.

“Yes, Biffpot,” said the King, and then, as the man made a step towards him, he suddenly shouted:

“Keep back, man, don’t come near me!”

Biffpot started back. The King was very agitated and kept his hands behind him. They stared at each other.