ctricity from the
clouds through a pointed iron rod. But there was no high tower in
Philadelphia. There was not even a tall church spire.

At last he thought of making a kite and sending it up to the clouds. A
paper kite, however, would be ruined by the rain and would not fly to
any great height.

So instead of paper he used a light silk handkerchief which he fastened
to two slender but strong cross pieces. At the top of the kite he placed
a pointed iron rod. The string was of hemp, except a short piece at the
lower end, which was of silk. At the end of the hemp string an iron key
was tied.

"I think that is a queer kind of kite," said Franklin's little boy.
"What are you going to do with it?"

"Wait until the next thunder-storm, and you will see," said Franklin.
"You may go with me and we will send it up to the clouds."

He told no one else about it, for if the experiment should fail, he did
not care to have everybody laugh at him.

At last, one day, a thunder-storm came up, and Franklin, with his son,
went out into a field to fly his kite. There was a steady breeze, and it
was easy to send the kite far up towards the clouds.

Then, holding the silken end of the string, Franklin stood under a
little shed in the field, and watched to see what would happen.

The lightnings flashed, the thunder rolled, but there was no sign of
electricity in the kite. At last, when he was about to give up the
experiment, Franklin saw the loose fibres of his hempen string begin to
move.

He put his knuckles close to the key, and sparks of fire came flying to
his hand. He was wild with delight. The sparks of fire were electricity;
he had drawn them from the clouds.

That experiment, if Franklin had only known it, was a very dangerous
one. It was fortunate for him, and for the world, that he suffered no
harm. More than one person who has since tried to draw electricity from
the clouds has been killed by the lightning that has flashed down the
hempen kite string.

When Franklin's discovery was made known it caused great excitement
among the learned men of Europe. They could not believe it was true
until some of them had proved it by similar experiments.

They could hardly believe that a man in the far-away city of
Philadelphia could make a discovery which they had never thought of as
possible. Indeed, how could an American do anything that was worth
doing?

Franklin soon became famous in foreign countries as a philosopher and