2 Young Ben

Chapter 2 Young Ben Benjamin Franklin was born in a house on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. There wasn't any United States yet. Massachusetts belonged to England. It was one of England's thirteen American Colonies.

Ben's family was large—very large! He was number fifteen in a family with seventeen children. As often happened back then, four of the children died young. His parents, Josiah and Abiah Franklin, were not rich. Still, they got by. Josiah ran a shop called the Blue Ball. He made and sold candles and soap there. Next to the shop was the family

home. It had just two rooms downstairs and two upstairs. Young Ben shared a bed with a brother or two.

Josiah and Abiah wanted Ben to become a minister. But Ben had two strikes against him. First, he had been born on a Sunday. Many people believed that a Sunday baby was a child of the devil. Also, he was left-handed. That was said to be another mark of the devil. His father punished Ben when he caught him throwing a ball or writing with his left hand. It didn't work. Ben was a lefty for life. Something else made his parents doubt that Ben would make a good minister. He was a smart aleck. For example, every evening Josiah said a long prayer before supper. One day Ben's father was packing fish into a barrel. Why didn't his father say grace over all the fish in the barrel at once? Ben suggested. Then Josiah would not

have to waste time saying grace at each evening meal! For his smart remark, Ben received a slap.

Ben went to school for just two years, starting at age eight. He failed arithmetic but did well at handwriting and reading. Ben loved books. He read the few books that his family owned. Then he borrowed books from his neighbors. Often he sat up reading most of the night. He also loved the outdoors. Swimming and kite-flying were his favorite sports. Ben's first