How the First Letter Was Written

Long, long ago, when people lived in caves and hunted with spears, there was a Neolithic man named Tegumai, and his wife Teshumai, and their little girl Taffy. Taffy went everywhere with her Daddy.

One day, Taffy and Tegumai went down to the river to spear fish. But right in the middle of fishing, Tegumai's spear snapped clean in half.

'Bother,' said Tegumai. 'I'll have to mend it. That will take hours.'

'You could send someone home for your other spear,' said Taffy helpfully.

'Send who?' said Tegumai. 'There's no one here.'

Just then, a Stranger came walking along the riverbank. He was from another tribe, and he did not speak a single word of Tegumai's language. He was very friendly, but he had no idea what anyone was saying.

Taffy had a big idea. 'I'll draw a picture!' she said. And she took a piece of birch-bark and the sharp shark's tooth from the Stranger's necklace, and she began to draw.

She drew her Daddy, and his broken spear. She drew the other spear, hanging in their cave. She drew a picture of Mummy waiting. She drew Beavers along the way, so the Stranger would know how to get there.

The Stranger took the picture, nodded three times, and ran off very fast towards Taffy's cave.

But when Mummy looked at the picture, she got quite the wrong idea. She saw a picture of Daddy with a spear near him. She saw the wobbly beavers (though Taffy meant them as directions). She saw a whole crowd of people around Daddy (Taffy had drawn them as friendly figures).

'HELP!' cried Mummy. 'My husband has been attacked!'

She rushed out and called all the tribe. Every hunter grabbed a spear. Every uncle grabbed a stick. They marched down to the river in a huge angry crowd, dragging the poor Stranger along with them.

When they got there, they found Tegumai peacefully fishing with his mended spear, and Taffy playing beside him.

Everyone stopped and stared.

'What is this?' said Tegumai. 'Why is the whole tribe here?'

'It's my letter,' said Taffy, going pink. 'I made a picture-letter. It was supposed to say I wanted Daddy's spare spear.'

There was a long silence. Then the Head Chief threw back his head and laughed. And then Tegumai laughed. And then everybody laughed, even the poor Stranger, who was much relieved.

'Well, little Taffy,' said the Head Chief, 'you have invented something truly wonderful. Pictures that can send a message! One day, people will call this writing. But for now, next time, please send someone with the picture who can also speak.'

And that is the story of how the very first letter in the world was written — by a little girl named Taffy.