P.T. Barnum
The Tremendous, Stupendous, Life Of Showman P.T. Barnum
Barnum's Childhood
In 1810, Bethel, Connecticut was a tiny village, cut off to the world. A baby boy was born to Philo Barnum and Irena Barnum. His parents named him Phineas Taylor, after his favorite Uncle Phin. When Phineas was just a child, his family simply called him Tale. He also grew to the name, P.T Barnum. When Tale was two years old, he was able to see the island his grandfather handed down to him. But when he was twelve, he finally got the opportunity to see his land. Tale's father led him to the meadow called East Swamp. Tale sneaked away from his father, and lead himself into boggy wet grounds. He found himself struggling through waist-deep water.He pulled himself onto a snake infested piece of land. Turns out, it was all a joke ! The joke was meant to strip Tale from his boyhood. "I became," the boy confessed, a "chip off my grandfather's block" . From that day on, Tale became a young man.
The Young Businessman
Tale saved up plenty of money, starting from when he was five years old. On his sixth birthday, Grandfather Phin took him to exchange all his coins into a dollar. He was stunned and felt as if he was wealthy. From that day on, Tale was in love with money ! He even promised himself he would make fortunes. When Tale was eight years old, he came up with a surefire way to make money. The young boy became a peddler. When the hungry soldiers came to Bethel, he made dollars and dollars. He began selling ginger bread, cookies, sugar candies, and cherry rum. Seeing his sons small fortune, Tale's father allowed Tale to start paying for his own clothing. "This arrangement kept my pile reduced to a moderate size." Tale enjoyed having his own business.
Head-Work
Tale had the opportunity of making his fortune grow by working for his neighbors. Folks around his town always offered him money for a good lawn-cutting or cleaning cow stalls. But, Tale hated farm work. He also hated chores. He always found a way out of them. "Head-work I was excessively fond of." Tale bragged. He was so good at "head-work," he excelled in school.
Life expanding
Tale's life became a huge fiasco. He eventually fell in love with the life of the show. He became a... showman. He even had his own partner. Together they were, Barnum & Bailey. Their shows were amazing. They had Madame Clofulia-the bearded lady , Anna Swan- the Giantess, The Mammoth Boys, and even the Siamese twins that were stuck together by their stomachs, Chang and Eng. His career was a huge success. Barnum grew old in the life of the show. He never wanted to let go. Eventually, Barnum passed away. But, the show must go on and it did.