(单词翻译:单击)
At length Midas had become so exceedingly foolish that he could scarcely bear to see or touch any object that was not gold. He made it his custom, therefore, to pass a large part of every day in a dark and dreary apartment, underground in the basement of his palace. It was here that he kept his wealth. To this dreary hole — for it was little better than a dungeon—Midas betook himself whenever he wanted to be particularly happy. Here, after carefully locking the door, he would take a bag of gold coin, or a gold cup as big as a washbowl, or a heavy golden bar, or a peck-measure of gold-dust, and bring them from the dark corners of the room into the one bright and narrow sunbeam that fell from the narrow window. He valued the sunbeam for no other reason but that his treasure would not shine without its help. And then would he count the coins in the bag; toss up the bar, and catch it as it came down; sift the golddust through his fingers; look at the funny image of his own face in the polished surface of the cup; and whisper to himself, “O Midas, rich King Midas, what a happy man art thou!”
最后,迈达斯变得非常愚蠢,他几乎不能看到或触摸任何不是金子的东西 。因此,他把每天的大部分时间都花在他宫殿地下室阴暗沉闷的公寓里,这成了他的习惯 。那里都是他的财富 。到这个阴森的洞里去——因为它比地牢好不了多少——迈达斯想要特别快乐的时候就到这里去 。在小心地锁好门之后,他会拿一袋金币,或者像脸盆那么大的金杯,或者一根沉重的金条,或是一配克金粉,把它们从房间黑暗的角落带到从狭窄的窗户射下来的明亮狭窄的阳光下 。他珍视阳光的唯一原因就是,没有它的帮助,他的财宝就不会发光 。然后他会数袋子里的硬币;把铁棒向上抛,落下时抓它;筛过手指间的金粉;看看他自己的脸在抛光的杯子表面的滑稽形象;对自己低语:“噢,迈达斯,富有的迈达斯国王,你是一个多么幸福的人啊!”