nce a poor peasant named Gordius thought he would give himself and his
family a holiday in the city. He had no horses, but his yoke of oxen
could draw the heavy wagon very well. He fastened them to his cart and,
putting in his wife and boy, climbed in himself.

When near the city, the capital of Phrygia, he thought it would look
better for him to walk and drive his oxen. This he did. As he approached
the city he heard a great noise in the marketplace. He hurried his oxen
to find out what it was all about. He had to jump into his wagon to
avoid the crowd that was following him, and so drove to a great oak in
the public square.

Such a welcome as this poor countryman had!

"Here comes our king!" was the cry from everyone. "We were told he
should come this day in a wagon drawn by oxen, and here he is!"

Gordius could not believe what he heard. But the chief men brought the
crown and put it on his head and declared him king, and he agreed to do
his best to deserve the honor.

The oak near which he had stopped was in front of a temple. Gordius gave
away his oxen and, taking a heavy rope, tied his wagon with a tremendous
knot to the oak. The priest came out and declared that whoever in times
to come should be able to untie that knot would be king of all Asia. No
one ever did untie it. But Alexander the Great came to Phrygia many
years after and, failing to untie it, he took his sword and dealt the
rope such a blow that one stroke cut through the magic knot.

A short time after he left Phrygia all Asia owned Alexander the Great as
king, and maybe that was the way the knot was to be undone. Anyway, he
did not give it up, and that is a good thing for us to remember. Cut the
Gordian knots if they will not be untied.

The little boy who rode in the wagon with Gordius was Midas. After his
father Gordius died, Midas was chosen King of Phrygia.