LIGHTNING.

Mr. Franklin was one of the greatest men that ever lived. He could carry a loaf of bread in each hand and eat another, all at the same time, and he could invent anything that anybody wanted, without hurting himself or cutting his fingers. His greatest invention was lightning, and he invented it with a kite. He made a kite with sticks made out of telegraph¹ wire, and sent it up in a thunder-storm till it reached where the lightning is. The lightning ran down the string, and Franklin collected it in a bottle, and sold it for ever so much money. So he got very rich after a while, and could buy the most beautiful and expensive kites that any fellow ever had.

I read about Mr. Franklin in a book that father gave me. He said I was reading too many stories, and just you take this book and read it through carefully and I hope it will do you some good anyway it will keep you out of mischief².

I thought that it would please father if I should get some lightning just as Franklin did. I told Tom McGinnis[Pg 210] about it, and he said he would help if I would give him half of all I made by selling the lightning. I wouldn't do this, of course, but finally Tom said he'd help me anyhow, and trust me to pay him a fair price; so we went to work.

We made a tremendously⁴ big kite, and the first time there came a thunder-storm we put it up; but the paper got wet, and it came down before it got up to the lightning. So we made another, and covered it with white cloth that used to be one of Mrs. McGinnis's sheets, only Tom said he knew she didn't want it any more.

We sent up this kite the next time there was a thunder-storm, and tied the string to the second-story window where the blinds hook⁵ on, and let the end of the string hang down into a bottle. It only thundered once or[Pg 211] twice, but the lightning ran down the string pretty fast, and filled the bottle half full.

It looked like water, only it was a little green, and when it stopped running into the bottle we took the lightning down-stairs to try it. I gave a little of it to the cat to drink, but it didn't hurt her a bit, and she just purred. At last Tom said he didn't believe it would hurt anything; so he tasted some of it, but it didn't hurt him at all.

The trouble was that the lightning was too weak to do any harm. The thunder-shower had been such a little one[Pg 212] that it didn't have any strong lightning in it; so we threw away what was in the bottle, and agreed to try to get some good strong lightning whenever we could get a chance.

It didn't rain for a long time after that, and I nearly forgot all about Franklin and lightning, until one day I heard Mr. Travers read in the newspaper about a man who was found lying dead on the road with a bottle of Jersey⁶ lightning, and that, of course, explains what was the matter with him my dear Susan. I understood more about it than Susan did, for she does not know anything about Franklin being a girl, though I will admit it isn't her fault. You see, the cork⁷ must have come out of the man's bottle, and the lightning had leaked⁸ out and burned him to death.

The very next day we had a tremendous³ thunder-shower, and I told Tom that now was the time to get some lightning that would be stronger than anything they could make in New Jersey. So we got the kite up, and got ourselves soaked⁹ through with water. We tied it to the window-ledge just as we did the first time, and put the end of the string in a tin pail¹⁰, so that we could collect more lightning than one bottle would hold. It[Pg 213] was so cold standing¹¹ by the window in our wet clothes that we thought we'd go to my room and change them.
WE HURRIED INTO THE ROOM.

All at once there was the most awful flash of lightning and the most tremendous clap of thunder that was ever[Pg 214] heard. Father and mother and Sue¹² were down-stairs, and they rushed up-stairs crying the darling boy is killed. That meant me. But I wasn't killed, neither was Tom, and we hurried into the room where we were collecting lightning to see what was the matter. There we found the tin pail knocked into splinters and the lightning spilled all over the floor. It had set fire to the carpet, and burned a hole right through the floor into the kitchen, and pretty much broke up the whole kitchen stove.

Father cut the kite-string and let the kite go, and told me that it was as much as my life was worth to send up a kite in a thunder-storm. You see, so much lightning will come down the string that it will kill anybody that stands near it. I know this is true, because father says so, but I'd like to know how Franklin managed. I forgot to say that father wasn't a bit pleased.

1 telegraph   

n.电报，电报机；v.打电报，显示

参考例句：

• A new telegraph line has been set up between the two cities.那两个城市之间架设了一条新的电报线。
• Telegraph communication was broken off.电讯中断了。

2 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

3 tremendous   

adj.巨大的，极大的；很好的，非常好的

参考例句：

• This book was the outcome of a tremendous amount of scientific work.这本书是大量科学研究工作的成果。
• There is a tremendous difference between them.他们之间有着极大的差别。

4 tremendously   

adv.极大地；极端地；极其；非常

参考例句：

• The experience has been tremendously educational. 这一经历极富教育意义。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The spectacle of Xerxes's defeat tremendously reinforced the traditional conviction that pride goes before a fall. 泽克西斯战败的景象极其使人信服“骄兵必败”这句源远流长的老话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

8 leaked   

v.漏( leak的过去式和过去分词 )；渗入，漏出；使泄露

参考例句：

• When the pipe leaked, we sent for a plumber. 煤气或水管漏了的时候，我们就派人去找一位管子工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have leaked the information out to the press. 他们已经把消息泄露给了新闻界。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 soaked   

adj.被湿透的，浸泡的；淋透的v.浸( soak的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He woke up soaked with sweat. 他醒了，浑身大汗淋漓。
• He soaked himself in the atmosphere of the place. 他沉浸在那一场合的气氛中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pail   

n.桶，提桶

参考例句：

• There was a pail of water on the ground.地上有一桶水。
• She can lift a pail of water from the ground.她能把一桶水提起来。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 sue   

vt.控告，起诉；vi.请求，追求，起诉

参考例句：

• If you don't pay me the money,I'll sue you.如果你不付给我钱，我就告你。
• The war criminals sue for peace.战犯求和。