Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans Part 3

He wanted to find out if this were true or not. There was no-body who knew, so there was no-body to ask. But Franklin thought that he would ask the suns.h.i.+ne. Maybe the suns.h.i.+ne would tell him whether a black thing would heat more quickly than a white thing.

But how could he ask the suns.h.i.+ne?

There was snow on the ground. Franklin spread a white cloth on the snow. Then he spread a black cloth on the snow near the white one.

When he came to look at them, he saw that the snow under the black cloth melted away much sooner than that under the white cloth.

That is the way that the suns.h.i.+ne told him that black would take in heat more quickly than white. After he had found this out, many people got white hats to wear in the summer time. A white hat is cooler than a black one.

Some time when there is snow on the ground, you can take a white and a black cloth and ask the suns.h.i.+ne the same question.

FRANKLIN AND THE KITE.

When Franklin wanted to know whether the ants could talk or not, he asked the ants, and they told him. When he wanted to know some-thing else, he asked the suns.h.i.+ne about it, as you have read in another story. That is the way that Franklin came to know so many things. He knew how to ask questions of every-thing.

Once he asked the light-ning a question. And the light-ning gave him an answer.

Before the time of Franklin, people did not know what light-ning was.

They did not know what made the thunder. Franklin thought much about it. At last he proved what it was. He asked the lightning a question, and made it tell what it was. To tell you this story, I shall have to use one big word. Maybe it is too big for some of my little friends that will read this book. Let us divide it into parts. Then you will not be afraid of it. The big word is e-lec-tric-i-ty.

Those of you who live in towns have seen the streets lighted by e-lec-tric-i-ty. But in Franklin's time there were no such lights.

People knew very little about this strange thing with a big name.

But Franklin found out many things about it that n.o.body had ever known before. He began to think that the little sparks he got from e-lec-tric-i-ty were small flashes of lightning. He thought that the little cracking sound of these sparks was a kind of baby thunder.

So he thought that he would try to catch a little bit of lightning.

Perhaps he could put it into one of the little bottles used to hold e-lec-tric-i-ty. Then if it behaved like e-lec-tric-i-ty, he would know what it was. But catching lightning is not easy. How do you think he did it?

First he made a kite. It was not a kite just like a boy's kite. He wanted a kite that would fly when it rained. Rain would spoil a paper kite in a minute. So Franklin used a silk hand-ker-chief to cover his kite, instead of paper.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Franklin's Discovery.]

He put a little sharp-pointed wire at the top of his kite. This was a kind of lightning rod to draw the lightning into the kite. His kite string was a common hemp string. To this he tied a key, because lightning will follow metal. The end of the string that he held in his hand was a silk ribbon, which was tied to the hemp string of the kite.

E-lec-tric-ity will not follow silk.

One night when there was a storm coming, he went out with his son.

They stood under a cow shed, and he sent his kite up in the air.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

After a while he held his knuckle to the key. A tiny spark flashed between the key and his knuckle. It was a little flash of lightning.

Then he took his little bottle fixed to hold e-lec-tric-i-ty. He filled it with the e-lec-tric-i-ty that came from the key. He carried home a bottle of lightning. So he found out what made it thunder and lighten.

After that he used to bring the lightning into his house on rods and wires. He made the lightning ring bells and do many other strange things.

FRANKLIN'S WHISTLE.

When Franklin was an old man, he wrote a cu-ri-ous letter. In that letter he told a story. It was about some-thing that happened to him when he was a boy.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Here is the story put into verses, so that you will re-member it better. Some day you can read the story as Franklin told it himself.

You will hear people say, "He paid too much for the whistle." The saying came from this story.

TOO MUCH FOR THE WHISTLE

As Ben with pennies in his pocket Went strolling down the street, "Toot-toot! toot-toot!" there came a whistle From a boy he chanced to meet,

Whistling fit to burst his b.u.t.tons, Blowing hard and stepping high.

Then Benny said, "I'll buy your whistle;"

But "Toot! toot-toot!" was the reply.

But Benny counted out his pennies, The whistling boy began to smile; With one last toot he gave the whistle To Ben, and took his penny pile.

Now homeward goes the whistling Benny, As proud as any foolish boy, And in his pockets not a penny, But in his mouth a noisy toy.

"Ah, Benny, Benny!" cries his mother, "I cannot stand your ugly noise."

"Stop, Benny, Benny!" says his father, "I cannot talk, you drown my voice."

At last the whistling boy re-mem-bers How much his money might have bought "Too many pennies for a whistle,"

Is little Benny's ugly thought.

Too many pennies for a whistle Is what we all pay, you and I, Just for a little foolish pleasure Pay a price that's quite too high.

JOHN STARK AND THE INDIANS.

John Stark was a famous gen-er-al in the Rev-o-lu-tion. But this story is not about the Rev-o-lu-tion. It is about Stark before he became a soldier.

When he was a young man, Stark went into the woods. His brother and two other young men were with him. They lived in a camp. It was far away from any houses.

The young men set traps for animals in many places. They wanted to catch the animals that have fur on them. They wanted to get the skins to sell.

The Indians were at war with the white people. One day the young men saw the tracks of Indians. Then they knew that it was not safe for them to stay in the woods any longer. They began to get ready to go home.