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A1 · Beginner For children

Greek Myths: Midas, Icarus and Other Stories

by Josephine Preston Peabody · graded reader

  • 6 chapters
  • 1,944 words
  • about 14 min
  • myths

King Midas wants everything he touches to turn into gold. Prometheus brings fire to people. Icarus flies too near the sun, Arachne says she is better than a goddess, and an artist falls in love with his own statue. Six famous Greek myths, told simply.

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Long ago in Greece, there is a rich king. His name is Midas. He has a big palace, a beautiful garden and a lot of gold. But he always wants more gold.

One day, King Midas helps a friend of the god Dionysus. The god is happy. He comes to the king and says, "Thank you, Midas. You can have one wish. What do you want?"

Midas thinks for a moment. Then he says, "I want everything I touch to turn into gold."

Dionysus smiles a little. "Is that really your wish?" he asks.

"Yes!" says Midas.

"Then you have it," says the god.

Midas touches a small tree in his garden. The tree turns into gold! He touches a flower. The flower turns into gold too. He touches a stone. He touches a door. Gold, gold, gold! Midas laughs and runs through his palace. Soon the walls are gold, the tables are gold and the beds are gold.

Words you will learn

Common A1 words in this book. Tap one for its note and the sentence it comes from.

Chapters

  1. The Golden Touch · 3 min
  2. The Ears of a Donkey · 3 min
  3. The Gift of Fire · 3 min
  4. Wings of Wax · 2 min
  5. Arachne the Spider · 1 min
  6. The Statue That Comes Alive · 2 min

Translations

Word notes in Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Hindi. Paragraph translations in Turkish and Spanish. More languages are being added.

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