托马斯·爱迪生出生于1847年。当他还是个孩子的时候，他喜欢发现事物是如何运作的。
当他五岁的时候，有一天，他的父亲看到他坐在一些鸡蛋上，问他为什么这样做。托马斯没有回答。相反，他问父亲，为什么他不能孵出小鸡，而母鸡却能。
小托马斯只上了三个月的学。在这三个月里，他问了很多问题。大部分都和他的功课无关。他的老师不明白为什么这个男孩有这么多奇怪的问题。他告诉托马斯的母亲，托马斯不聪明，不值得教。他母亲把他从学校带出来，亲自教他。
这个男孩读了很多书。他对科学产生了浓厚的兴趣。到他十岁的时候，他已经为自己建了一个化学实验室。他在自己的菜园里种上蔬菜，然后把蔬菜卖了，买些实验室需要的东西。
有一次，他的母亲病了，她派人去请医生。医生说她需要马上动手术。但这是晚上，房间里的灯光线不好。爱迪生苦思冥想。最后他有了一个主意。他把屋里所有的灯都收集起来，放在一张长桌上。然后他在它们身后放了一面大镜子。现在光线充足了，医生可以动手术了。爱迪生的母亲得救了。
十二岁时，爱迪生开始在火车上卖报纸。有空的时候，他就印报纸卖给铁路工人。
1862年8月的一天，爱迪生看见一个小男孩在车站的铁轨上玩耍。一列火车飞快地开过来，男孩吓得动弹不得。爱迪生冲了出去，把男孩抱到安全的地方。男孩的父亲非常感激，他教爱迪生怎样用铁路电报发送信息。爱迪生很快就很擅长这件事了。后来他离开家到不同的城市工作。这使他的生活有了开始。那时他只是一个十六岁的男孩。
EDISON’S BOYHOOD
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. When he was a child, he liked to find out how things worked.
One day when he was five, his father saw him sitting on some eggs, and asked what he was doing that for. Tom did not reply. Instead, he asked his father why he was not able to hatch chickens while hens could.
Young Tom was in school for only three months. During those three months, he asked a lot of questions. Most of them had nothing to do with his lessons. His teacher did not understand why the boy had so many strange questions. He told Tom’s mother that Tom was not bright and was not worth teaching. His mother took him out of school and taught him herself.
The boy read a lot. He became very interested in science. By the time he was ten, he had already built a chemistry lab for himself. He planted vegetables in his garden and sold them to buy what he needed for his lab.
Once his mother was ill and she sent for a doctor. The doctor said she needed an operation at once. But it was night and the lamp in the room gave poor light. Edison thought hard. Finally he had an idea. He collected all the lamps in the house and put them on a long table. Then he placed a big mirror behind them. Now there was enough light, so the doctor could operate. Edison’s mother was saved.
At the age of twelve, Edison began selling newspapers on a train. When he was free, he printed a newspaper and sold copies to the railway workers.
One day in August, 1862, Edison saw a little boy playing on the tracks at a station. A train was coming near quickly, and the boy was too frightened to move. Edison rushed out and carried the boy to safety. The boy’s father was so thankful that he taught Edison how to send messages by railway telegraph. Edison soon became very good at it and later he left home to work in different cities. This gave him a start in life. At that time he was just a boy of sixteen.
