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How Ahk-Uk invented writing by Robert Reiser Thousands of years ago, in a land called Sumeria, there lived a farmer named Ahk-Uk. His farm was on the edge of the great river Eurphates, where things would grow and the weather was nice. In the springtime, the melting snow from the big Zargos mountains would flow down the rivers and flood the whole world. It wasn't really the whole world, but it seemed like it to Ahk-Uk. The great, big flood would wash away everything for miles around, so Ahk-Uk and his family would leave their farm and live on the edge of the desert for many weeks, until the water went back into the river. Each year, after the floods, Ahk-Uk and his family would come back to their farm, mark out their fields, and begin planting again. Ahk-Uk's farm wasn't very large, but it was important to him. The flood would leave dark, fertile soil on his farm, so plants could grow well. His whole family helped on the farm, spreading the seed, chasing the birds, and gathering the harvest of wheat to make bread. Ahk-Uk's family had neighbors, too. Erin-Ba lived on a farm next to Ahk-Uk, and they were friends. They would help each other prepare the ground and plant the seeds every year after the floods. After the planting, Ahk-Uk and Erin-Ba would help each other make new houses out of mud bricks, to keep the hot sun out and stay cool. It was hard work, because all of the bricks had to be the same size so they would stack up right. Making mud bricks was a sloshy and gooey job. Ahk-Uk's family thought it was fun to squish the thick mud between their toes, or make little dolls and let them dry in the sun. It takes hundreds of bricks to make a house, almost a thousand. Ahk-Uk and Erin-Ba would make bricks for a whole week, laying them out in rows to dry. One day, Ahk-Uk had made two hundred perfect bricks, and was very proud of himself. He sat down on a dry mat to rest, while the bricks baked in the sun. It was a perfect day, and tired Ahk-Uk fell asleep. Then, a large flock of birds came flying over head. They were squawking and flapping, and they swooped down. Ahk-Uk woke up, and saw the birds walking all around the mud pit, and the rows of bricks, picking out bugs from the muddy ground. Ahk-Uk's perfect bricks were ruined. They had bird tracks all over-them, and he would have to start over again the next day. In the morning, Erin-Ba came over to see how Ahk-Uk was doing. He saw Ahk-Uk standing in the middle of his rows of bricks, staring at the mess. The bricks were dry, and covered with bird tracks everywhere. Erin-Ba laughed at Ahk-Uk's bricks. "Couldn't you keep the birds away yesterday, while your bricks dried," Erin-Ba asked. "Now your bricks will look funny." "How did you know the birds came?" asked Ahk-Uk. "There are bird tracks everywhere. The birds flew by my bricks yesterday, but I scared them away," Erin-Ba replied. "But you weren't here to see them, Erin-Ba, and yet you know they came." said Ahk-Uk. "You must be magic!" "No," said Erin-Ba, "I can just tell because there are bird tracks in your bricks." That gave Ahk-Uk an idea. If Erin-Ba could tell what happened yesterday, because of the bird tracks, maybe he could figure out a way to tell someone what happened last week, or last year, too! Ahk-Uk walked over to the mud-pit and picked up a handful of the gooey, sloshy mud. He squished it in his hands to make a small brick. Then he found a stick, and drew lines in it that looked like bird tracks, and showed it to Erin-Ba. "What does it look like?" Ahk-Uk asked. "Bird tracks." said Erin-Ba. Then Ahk-Uk laughed. "They're not bird tracks, Erin-Ba. I made this myself!" Ahk-Uk showed Erin-Ba how he made the brick with bird-tracks. "I can draw tracks on this brick, to tell people about the birds. I could draw other things too! Like how many bricks to make a house, or how much seed to save for next year. I can make all kinds of bricks that will help people remember where to mark their farms after the flood." Ahk-Uk was very excited. Erin-Ba was excited too. Every year, Erin-Ba couldn't remember where to put his house, but Ahk-Uk's bricks with tracks could help him remember. That year, Ahk-Uk taught all his neighbors how to make bricks with tracks on them. They all learned how to draw the tracks with sticks, and made up pictures to mean land, seed, birds and many more things. They even made up pictures for their names. When the floods came the next year, all of the farmers in Ahk-Uk's village looked at the pictures on their bricks, and knew exactly where to put their houses. They knew how much seed to spread on their farms. And they remembered to keep the birds off their bricks as they dried in the sun. Everyone except Ahk-Uk, that is. He made his house with bricks covered in bird tracks, and it looked great.
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