Ben smiled at me and jumped into the pool. He threw one arm over his log, leaned back, and let the kite pull him across the pool.

"I do," Ben said. His blue eyes were shining.

"Who goes swimming with a kite?" I asked.

That summer was a hot one in Boston. Almost every afternoon, I went swimming in a nearby swimming pool with my best friend, Ben Franklin. We loved those long, hot days.

Ben smiled at me and said, "We need the kite for swimming."

On one pleasant afternoon, Ben was late. I went to his house and climbed upstairs to his small bedroom. He was sitting there making a kite.

With such a clever friend, I got used to hearing crazy ideas. I just shook my head, "I'd like to see how you do it."

"What's with the kite?" I said, "I thought we were going swimming."

"This is fantastic! " I shouted.

Half an hour later, we were standing on the bank of the pool. Ben held his crazy kite in one hand and a log in the other. He sat on the bank, took off his shoes, and tied the end of the kite thread to his foot. Then he flew the kite into the air and let the wind catch it. The kite rose over the swimming pool.

"Oh, I get it! " I cried, "It's a flying sail!"