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."

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