"Well, it's a bargain," said the boy; and he gave the whistle to
Benjamin, and took the pennies.

Little Benjamin Franklin was very happy; for he was only seven years
old. He ran home as fast as he could, blowing the whistle as he ran.

"See, mother," he said, "I have bought a whistle."

"How much did you pay for it?"

"All the pennies you gave me."

"Oh, Benjamin!"

One of his brothers asked to see the whistle.

"Well, well!" he said. "You've paid a dear price for this thing. It's
only a penny whistle, and a poor one at that."

"You might have bought half a dozen such whistles with the money I
gave you," said his mother.

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.

"Never mind, my child," said his mother, very kindly. "You are only
a very little boy, and you will learn a great deal as you grow bigger.
The lesson you have learned to-day is never to pay too dear for a
whistle." Benjamin Franklin lived to be a very old man, but he never