Oliver Twist

Among other public buildings in a certain town there stands a workhouse. In this workhouse was born Oliver Twist.

The doctors doubted at first whether the child would survive to have any name at all. In that case, this story would never have appeared,or would have been the shortest and simplest biography ever written.

Being born in a workhouse is not a good thing in itself. But for Oliver Twist it was probably the best thing that could have occurred.Young Oliver seemed most reluctant to begin the hard work of breathing for himself.If he had been surrounded by careful relations and wise doctors, all trying to help him, the boy would never have learned to do it for himself. But there was nobody there except a poor and drunk old woman, and a local surgeon who was paid by the hour.And so it was all left up to Oliver to decide if he was going to live or die. After a few struggles, Oliver breathed and sneezed. Then he cried as loudly as anyone could expect of a baby of only three and a quarter minutes old.