Tomas Edison was born in 1847. Edison was in school for only three months, but he asked a lot of strange questions. His teacher did not understand him and said that he was not bright and was not worth teaching. His mother took him out of school and taught him herself. The boy was soon reading books for grow-ups. He showed special interest in science.
Once his mother was ill. The doctor said she needed an operation at once. But it was night and the oil lamp in the room gave poor light. Edison thought hard and had an idea. He put all the oil lamps he could find on a long table. Then he placed a big mirror behind them. The room became quite bright. So the doctor could operate and his mother was saved.
At the age of twelve, Edison began selling candy, sandwiches and newspapers on a train. In his spare time, he printed a newspaper on the train and sold copies to the railway workers.
One day in August, 1862, Edison saw a 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 the station master. He was so thankful that he taught Edison telegraphy(电报学). Edison soon became very good at it and later he left home to work in different cities. This gave him a start in his life. He was then just a boy of sixteen.
