Benjamin Franklin's birthday was on January 17. This is a great time to talk about him. Here are a few stories from his life that you could tell at bedtime, or any other time.
They come from an old book called, Four Great Americans, by James Baldwin. The red link above will take you to the book online, where you can find other great stories too!
You might want to update the language in some places, but this will get you off to a good start!
(If you can't see any more stories, click on the tiny "Read More" link below.
THE WHISTLE: Nearly two hundred years ago, there lived in Boston a little boy whose name was Benjamin Franklin.
On the day that he was seven years old, his mother gave him a few pennies.
He looked at the bright, yellow pieces and said, "What shall I do with these coppers, mother?"
It was the first money that he had ever had.
"You may buy something with them, if you would like," said his mother.
"And will you give me more when they are gone?" he asked.
His mother shook her head and said: "No, Benjamin. I cannot give you any more. So you must be careful not to spend them foolishly."
The little fellow ran out into the street. He heard the pennies jingle in his pocket as he ran. He felt as though he was very rich.
Boston was at that time only a small town, and there were not many stores. As Benjamin ran down toward the busy part of the street, he wondered what he should buy.
Should he buy candy or toys? It had been a long time since he had tasted candy. As for toys, he hardly knew what they were.
If he had been the only child in the family, things might have been different. But there were fourteen boys and girls older than he, and two little sisters that were younger.
It was as much as his father could do to earn food and clothing for so many. There was no money to spend for toys.
Before Benjamin had gone very far he met a boy blowing a whistle.
"That is just the thing that I want," he said. Then he hurried on to the store where all kinds of things were kept for sale.
"Have you any good whistles?" he asked.
He was out of breath from running, but he tried hard to speak like a man.
"Yes, plenty of them," said the man.
"Well, I want one, and I'll give you all the money I have for it," said the little fellow. He forgot to ask the price.
"How much money have you?" asked the man.
Benjamin took the coppers from his pocket. The man counted them and said, "All right, my boy. It's a bargain."
Then he put the pennies into his money drawer, and gave one of the whistles to the boy.
Benjamin Franklin was a proud and happy boy. He ran home as fast as he could, blowing his whistle as he ran.
His mother met him at the door and said, "Well, my child, what did you do with your pennies?"
"I bought a whistle!" he cried. "Just hear me blow it!"
"How much did you pay for it?"
"All the money I had."
One of his brothers was standing by and asked to see the whistle. "Well, well!" he said, "did you spend all of your money for this thing?"
"Every penny," said Benjamin.
"Did you ask the price?"
"No. But I offered them to the man, and he said it was all right."
His brother laughed and said, "You are a very foolish fellow. You paid four times as much as it is worth."
"Yes," said his mother, "I think it is rather a dear whistle. You had enough money to buy a whistle and some candy, too."
The little boy saw what a mistake he had made. The whistle did not please him any more. He threw it upon the floor, and began to cry. But his mother took him upon her lap and said: "Never mind, my child. We must all live and learn; and I think that my little boy will be careful, after this, not to pay too dear for his whistles."
SCHOOLDAYS: When Benjamin Franklin was a boy there were no great public schools in Boston as there are now. But he learned to read almost as soon as he could talk, and he was always fond of books.
His nine brothers were older than he, and every one had learned a trade. They did not care so much for books.
"Benjamin shall be the scholar of our family," said his mother.
"Yes, we will educate him for a minister," said his father. For at that time all the most learned men were ministers.
And so, when he was eight years old, Benjamin Franklin was sent to a grammar school, where boys were prepared for college. He was a very apt scholar, and in a few months was promoted to a higher class.
But the lad was not allowed to stay long in the grammar school. His father was a poor man. It would cost a great deal of money to give Benjamin a college education. The times were very hard. The idea of educating the boy for the ministry had to be given up.
In less than a year he was taken from the grammar school, and sent to another school where arithmetic and writing were taught.
He learned to write very well, indeed; but he did not care so much for arithmetic, and so failed to do what was expected of him.
When he was ten years old he had to leave school altogether. His father needed his help; and though Benjamin was but a small boy, there were many things that he could do.
He never attended school again. But he kept on studying and reading; and we shall find that he afterwards became the most learned man in America.
Benjamin's father was a soap-boiler and candle-maker. And so when the boy was taken from school, what kind of work do you think he had to do?
He was kept busy cutting wicks for the candles, pouring the melted tallow into the candle-moulds, and selling soap to his father's customers.
Do you suppose that he liked this business?
He did not like it at all. And when he saw the ships sailing in and out of Boston harbor, he longed to be a sailor and go to strange, far-away lands, where candles and soap were unknown.
But his father would not listen to any of his talk about going to sea.
THE BOYS AND THE WHARF: Busy as Benjamin was in his father's shop, he still had time to play a good deal.
He was liked by all the boys of the neighborhood, and they looked up to him as their leader. In all their games he was their captain; and nothing was undertaken without asking his advice.
Not far from the home of the Franklins there was a mill pond, where the boys often went to swim. When the tide was high they liked to stand at a certain spot on the shore of the pond and fish for minnows.
But the ground was marshy and wet, and the boys' feet sank deep in the mud.
"Let us build a wharf along the water's edge," said Benjamin. "Then we can stand and fish with some comfort."
"Agreed!" said the boys. "But what is the wharf to be made of?"
Benjamin pointed to a heap of stones that lay not far away. They had been hauled there only a few days before, and were to be used in building a new house near the mill pond.
The boys needed only a hint. Soon they were as busy as ants, dragging the stones to the water's edge.
Before it was fully dark that evening, they had built a nice stone wharf on which they could stand and fish without danger of sinking in the mud.
The next morning the workmen came to begin the building of the house. They were surprised to find all the stones gone from the place where they had been thrown. But the tracks of the boys in the mud told the story.
It was easy enough to find out who had done the mischief.
When the boys' fathers were told of the trouble which they had caused, you may imagine what they did.
Young Benjamin Franklin tried hard to explain that a wharf on the edge of the mill pond was a public necessity.
His father would not listen to him. He said, "My son, nothing can ever be truly useful which is not at the same time truly honest."
And Benjamin never forgot this lesson.
CHOOSING A TRADE: As I have already said, young Benjamin did not like the work which he had to do in his father's shop.
His father was not very fond of the trade himself, and so he could not blame the boy. One day he said: "Benjamin, since you have made up your mind not to be a candle-maker, what trade do you think you would like to learn?"
"You know I would like to be a sailor," said the boy.
"But you shall not be a sailor," said his father. "I intend that you shall learn some useful business on land; and, of course, you will succeed best in that kind of business which is most pleasant to you."
The next day he took the boy to walk with him among the shops of Boston. They saw all kinds of workmen busy at their various trades.
Benjamin was delighted. Long afterwards, when he had become a very great man, he said, "It has ever since been a pleasure to me to see good workmen handle their tools."
He gave up the thought of going to sea, and said that he would learn any trade that his father would choose for him.
His father thought that the cutler's trade was a good one. His cousin, Samuel Franklin, had just set up a cutler's shop in Boston, and he agreed to take Benjamin a few days on trial.
Benjamin was pleased with the idea of learning how to make knives and scissors and razors and all other kinds of cutting tools. But his cousin wanted so much money for teaching him the trade that his father could not afford it; and so the lad was taken back to the candle-maker's shop.
Soon after this, Benjamin's brother, James Franklin, set up a printing press in Boston. He intended to print and publish books and a newspaper.
"Benjamin loves books," said his father. "He shall learn to be a printer."
And so, when he was twelve years old, he was bound to his brother to learn the printer's trade. He was to stay with him until he was twenty-one. He was to have his board and clothing and no other wages, except during the last year. I suppose that during the last year he was to be paid the same as any other workman.
Read More Stories: Four Great Americans