251 words
On April 15, 1452, in a small town in Italy, a baby boy was born. His father was a successful businessman, and his mother was a poor young girl. Their baby was named Leonardo. Because the town was called Vinci, he was known as Leonardo da Vinci, which means Leonardo from Vinci.
Leonardo’s parents weren’t married. His father was ashamed of the baby and left him with his mother. The mother didn’t want to keep the baby, either. She cared for him for only a year or two.
So what was to become of little Leonardo?
His father’s answer was to leave the baby with his parents. However, Leonardo’s grandparents were old—his grandfather was 85 at the time. At their age, what did they want with a little child? Still, they took him in. They fed him, clothed him, and gave him a home, but they did little else. No one loved the boy. The only person who showed interest in him was an uncle.
His uncle was a farmer and he loved the beautiful countryside around Vinci. He would take long walks in the hills, which were covered with olive trees.
Leonardo would go with him. It was there on these walks that Leonardo grew to love the natural world: the rolling shapes of the hills, the shiny leaves of the olive trees, the birds flying, and the soft misty sunlight. Everywhere he went, Leonardo took a little notebook with him. He made drawings of anything that interested him.