English Original
Benjamin Franklin is remembered as an inventor, author, statesman, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. But all great people were kids once and got into mischief. In writing about his life, Franklin recalled a youthful event that he later regretted.
Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. His father, whom Ben admired and respected, was a soapmaker and candlemaker with a large family. At the age of ten, Ben was taken out of school and put to work in the shop.
Ben described his duties as "cutting wick for the candles, filling the dipping mold and the molds for cast candles, attending the shop, going on errands, etc." But of course he preferred playing outdoors with his friends.
The Franklin family lived near the water, so Ben learned to swim well and to handle small boats. He wrote that he was a leader among the boys in his neighborhood and "sometimes led them into scrapes." One such episode is told here in his own words.
"There was a salt-marsh that bounded part of the mill-pond, on the edge of which, at high water, we used to stand to fish for minnows. By much trampling, we had made it a mere quagmire. My proposal was to build a wharf there fit for us to stand upon, and I showed my comrades a large heap of stones, which were intended for a new house near the marsh, and which would very well suit our purpose. Accordingly, in the evening, when the workmen were gone, I assembled a number of my play-fellows, and working with them diligently like so many emmets [ants], sometimes two or three to a stone, we brought them all away and built our little wharf. The next morning the workmen were surprised at missing the stones, which were found in our wharf. Inquiry was made after the removers; we were discovered and complained of; several of us were corrected by our fathers; and, though I pleaded the usefulness of the work, mine convinced me that nothing was useful which was not honest."
中文翻译
本杰明·富兰克林作为发明家、作家、政治家和《独立宣言》的签署者而被铭记。但所有伟人都曾是孩子，也曾调皮捣蛋。在撰写自传时，富兰克林回忆了一件他后来深感懊悔的少年往事。
富兰克林于1706年出生在波士顿。他敬仰的父亲是一名肥皂和蜡烛制造商，有一个大家庭。十岁时，本被迫辍学，开始在父亲的店铺里工作。
本将自己的职责描述为“剪烛芯、给浸渍模具和铸造蜡烛的模具填料、照看店铺、跑腿等等”。但他当然更喜欢和朋友们在户外玩耍。
富兰克林一家住在水边，所以本学会了游泳和驾驭小船。他写道，他是邻里男孩中的领头人，并且“有时会把他们带入麻烦”。以下便是他用自己语言讲述的其中一个故事。
“磨坊池塘的一部分被一片盐碱沼泽所环绕，涨潮时，我们常站在沼泽边缘钓米诺鱼。由于频繁的踩踏，那里已变成一片纯粹的泥潭。我提议在那里建一个适合我们站立的码头，并指给伙伴们看一大堆石头，那些石头本是用来在沼泽附近建新房的，正好符合我们的目的。于是，傍晚工人们离开后，我召集了一群玩伴，我们像许多蚂蚁一样勤奋地工作，有时两三个人搬一块石头，把石头全搬走，建起了我们的小码头。第二天早上，工人们发现石头不见了，大吃一惊，结果在我们的码头上找到了它们。随后展开了调查，寻找搬石头的人；我们被发现了，遭到了投诉；我们几个人都受到了父亲的惩罚；尽管我辩解说这工程很有用，但我的父亲让我明白，任何不诚实的东西都是无用的。”