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