Вот, собственно сокращение:

Can you believe that the history of the hot-air balloon all began with a sheep, a duck and a chicken?

One day in 1777, Joseph Montgolfier, relaxing in front of the fire, noticed that one of his shirts had started to float upwards. Than young man  threw some small pieces of paper into the fireplace to see what will happen to them. Finally, he came to the conclusion that smoke had the power to lift things up and carry them through the air. Joseph started trying to think of a craft that would be able to capture smoke and lift people off the ground. He began  performing experiments and invented the first hot-air balloon with his brother, Jacques. 
 Brothers quickly realised that it was heat that had the power to lift things. On 19th September 1783 the first hot-air balloon, which was made from paper and cloth was presented . Heat helped the balloon to float. The Montgolfier brothers were too nervous to go up in the balloon themselves. So, instead they put a sheep, a duck and a chicken in the basket that hung below the balloon.
The invention was a great success and the animals landed safe and sound. A huge crowd, including some members of the French Royal Family gathered to watch that. The brothers asked the king for permission to send men up in the balloon. The first flight consisting of human passengers took place in Paris with great success. The 150- metred balloon started a long tradition of hot-air ballooning.