Once upon a time there was a very goodking called Midas.

He only had a defect, that he wanted for

him all the gold in the world.
close
volume_off
 
One day he made a favour to a god. The god told him:

-I’ll grant you what you ask me.

- I want that everything that I touch would be turn into gold.

-What an stupid desire, Midas! That can bring you a lot of trouble. Think it, Midas, think it.

-That’s the only thing I want. -Let it be that way, then.

And the dresses that Midas was wearing turned into gold as well as a branch he touched or the
doors of his house. Even the dog who went to say hello turned into a golden statue.

And Midas started worrying. The most serious thing was that when he wanted to eat, all the food
turned into gold. Then Midas could not stand any more. He went running horrified looking for the
god.

-I told you, Midas- said the god- I told you. But now I can’t free you from the gift I gave you. Go to
the river and enter in the water. If when you go out you are not free, then there will be nothing to do.

Midas ran to the river and went into the water. He was there for a long time. Then he went out quite
scared. The branches of the tree he touched, remained green and fresh.

Midas was free! From then, the king lived in a hut that he had made by himself in the wood.And
there he died quietly as the humblest of the peasants.

FIN

Peter and the Wolf

Cuentos tradicionales para leer a los niños
Te presentamos este cuento tradicional en inglés para que tus hijos aprendan jugando.

Once upon a time, there was a little shepherd who spent most of his time walking and taking care of
his sheep in the field of a small village. Every morning, very early, he always did the same. He used
to go to the meadow with his flock and that was how he spent his time.
close
volume_off
 
Many times, while he watched his sheep graze, he thought about the things he could do to amuse
himself.

Since many times he used to get bored, one day, while he was resting under a tree, he had an idea.
He decided that he would spend a good time amusing himself at the people from the village’s
expense. He started to cry!

- Help, the wolf! The wolf is coming!

The village’s people took anything they had at hand and went to help the poor shepherd but when
they arrived there, they discovered that everything had been a practical joke from the shepherd,
who was cracking up laughing. The villagers got angry and decided to go back to their homes.

When they had gone, the shepherd had found the joke so funny that he repeated it. And when he
saw people far enough he started crying

- Help, the wolf! The wolf is coming!

People, hearing it again, started to run quickly thinking that this time the fierce wolf had appeared
and that the shepherd really needed their help. But when they arrived where the shepherd was,
they found him in the ground laughing at seeing how the villagers had come back to help him.

This time the villagers got angrier and they left terribly angry with the shepherd’s bad attitude and
upset with the situation.

The next morning, while the shepherd was grazing with his sheep in the same place he still laughed
when he remembered what had happened the previous day and he was not feeling remorse at all,
But he did not notice that a wolf was approaching. When he turned and saw it, the fear invaded his
body.

Cuento sobre la sinceridad

Seeing that the animal was getting nearer and nearer, he started crying desperately.

- Help, the wolf! The wolf is coming! He is going to eat all my sheep! Help!
But his cries were in vain. It was too late to convince the villagers that what he was saying was true.

The villagers, having learnt the lies of the shepherd, turned a deaf ear this time. And what
happened? The shepherd saw how the wolf leaped on his sheep while he tried to ask for help one
more time.

- Help, the wolf! The wolf!

But the villagers kept ignoring him, while the shepherd saw how the wolf ate some sheep and took
others for his dinner, without being able to do anything.

And so, the shepherd recognized that he had been very unfair with the people of the village and,
even though it was late, he regretted it and he never lied to people any more.

FIN