Page 90 - English Class 07

After some time, Edison found that he needed more money to carry on his experiment.

And he wanted more books as he had read all the books he had at home. He wanted to go
out and see new places and new people. He wanted to read new books and to improve his
knowledge. So, he decided to take up a job in the railway. At first, his parents did not like
this idea as he was just twelve years old. But, they agreed when he gave them good reasons

for his decision. So, Edison became a newspaper boy and travelled up and down the train to
Detroit. He sold newspapers, sweets and fruits and earned two dollars on the first day. He
said to his mother at supper that night, “Take this dollar, mother, Every night I shall give you
a dollar from what I earn.” And he kept his promise.

A year or two later, Edison decided to produce his own newspaper. He bought an old
printing press and set it up in his railway wagon . He edited and printed his paper, sold a

number of copies and made more money.
supper : dinner
With the money he got, he set up a small
wagon : an open railway truck for carrying goods
laboratory in his railway wagon.

When he was fifteen, he met with an accident that affected his career. While he was
doing an experiment in his laboratory, the train turned round a corner. There was a sudden
jolt and bit of phosphorus fell on the floor of his carriage and it caught fire. Before he could

put it out, the newspapers had caught fire. The fire spread and Edison shouted for help. The
guard came in and together they were able to put out the fire, but that was the end of
Edison’s service on train. He was dismissed at the next station.

English-7 90