A retelling of the story HOW THE ALPHABET WAS MADE from the Rudyard Kipling stories.
Long, long ago, when all people lived in caves, there was a very special family. This was before smartphones and computers, books and pencils, and even kingdoms and cities. Back then, no one had houses like we do todayโeveryone’s home was a cozy cave!
This story is about a dad named Tegumai (say it like “Teh-goo-my”), a mom called Teshumai (“Teh-shoo-my”), and their curious little girl, Taffy.
Tegumai was careful, always taking his time. Teshumai was quick-witted and funny, her jokes bringing laughter to the whole cave.
And Taffy? Well, she was full of energy and sometimes forgot her manners, but her parents loved her more than anything in the world.
Taffy was her dad’s favorite adventure buddy. As soon as she could walk, she’d go exploring with him. They’d come home covered in mud and leaves with the biggest smiles on their faces.
Teshumai would look at them, hands on her hips, trying not to laugh. “Where on earth have you two been?” she’d ask. “You’re both filthy! Tegumai, you’re supposed to be the grown-up!”
But they were the happiest family you could imagine. Little did they know, Taffy was about to spark an idea that would change the world foreverโฆ
Now, listen closely to what happened next!
One sunny day, Tegumai decided to go fishing in the Wagai river. “Want to come, Taffy?” he asked. Taffy jumped up and down, shouting, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Off they went, through the swampy forest where beavers built their homes. Tegumai carried his special fishing spear. It was made of wood with a sharp point at the end.
But as soon as they reached the river, something went wrong. Tegumai jabbed his spear too hard into the river bottom, and CRACK! It broke in half!
“Oh, barnacles!” Tegumai grumbled. (That was cave-people talk for “Oh no!”) “We’re so far from home, and I didnโt bring a spare spear!”

“What about your big black spear at home, Daddy? Let me run back and get it!โ Taffy pleaded.
Tegumai shook his head. “No, sweetie. It’s too far, and the swamp is too dangerous. We’ll have to fix this one.” He pulled out his fix-it bag, full of string and sticky stuff, to repair the spear.
While Tegumai worked, Taffy sat by the river, wiggling her toes in the cool water. Her little brain was working hard on a big idea.
Suddenly, she burst out, “Daddy! Wouldn’t it be super useful if we send a message home for the new spear!”
Tegumai looked up, surprised. “Taffy, what have I told you about using words like ‘super’?” But then he smiled. “You know what? You’re right. It would be really helpful if we could write a note and send it home.”
Just then, something unexpected happened. A stranger appeared by the river! He came from a faraway tribe called the Tewaras. The funny thing was, he couldn’t understand a single word Tegumai or Taffy said.

The stranger smiled at Taffy. She reminded him of his own little girl back home. Meanwhile, Tegumai was busy fixing his spear, muttering to himself as he worked.
Taffy had an idea. She waved at the stranger. “Hey, you! Do you know where my Mummy lives?”
The stranger just said, “Um?” He didn’t understand!
“Oh, come on!” Taffy grumbled, stamping her foot. She was getting frustrated because she could see big fish swimming by, and her dad couldn’t catch them with his broken spear.
“Don’t bother the grown-ups, Taffy,” Tegumai said, not even looking up from his work.
“But Daaad,” Taffy whined, “I’m trying to get help, but he doesn’t understand me!”
Tegumai just kept working on his spear. The stranger sat down on the grass, watching curiously. Taffy tried to show him what her dad was doing.
In his head, the stranger thought, “Wow, what an amazing child! She must be the daughter of a great chief. That man working on the spear must be very important if he doesn’t even look at me!”
“Hey, mister!โ Taffy said, โYour legs are longer than mine. Could you go to my Mummy and ask for Daddy’s other spear? It’s the one with the black handle hanging above our fireplace.”
The stranger didn’t understand a word, but he thought, “This child seems to want something important. I better do what she says, or her father might get angry!”
He peeled off a big piece of bark from a nearby tree and gave it to Taffy. He was trying to show he was friendly, but Taffy had her own idea about what this meant.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “You want directions to our cave? I can’t write, but I can draw! Can I borrow that slender stone from your necklace?”
Without waiting for an answer, Taffy reached for the stranger’s necklace. It was beautiful, made of beads, seeds, and a river rock polished to a point.
The stranger was surprised. He thought, “This child is magical! Usually, anyone who touches my necklace without permission gets in big trouble. But nothing’s happening to her. Her father doesn’t seem worried either. I better be extra nice!”
The stranger handed Taffy the river rock. Excited, she flopped down on her tummy, legs kicking in the air, ready to start her drawing just like kids do today when they’re focused on creating something special.
“I’m going to draw you the best picture ever!” Taffy announced. “You can watch, but no bumping my arm, okay?”
She started scratching the bark with the stone. “First, here’s my Daddy fishing. It’s not exactly like him, but Mummy will know it’s Daddy because lookโhis spear is all broken!”

Taffy kept drawing, “Now, here’s the spear we need – the one with the black handle. Oops! It looks like it’s sticking in Daddy’s back, but that’s just because I slipped. This bark is kind of small!”
She giggled and kept going. “Here’s me, explaining everything to you. My hair doesn’t stick up like that, but it’s easier to draw. And here you are! You’re nice, but I’m not very good at drawing people yet, so don’t feel bad if it doesn’t look like you.”
The stranger smiled and nodded, even though he didn’t understand a word. In his head, he was thinking, “This must be about a big battle! This child is asking me to bring the chief’s whole tribe to help. Her father must be a great leader!”
Taffy kept explaining her drawing. “Look, I’ve put the spear in your hand to remind you to bring it. Now, let me show you how to find our cave.”
She drew some more. “See these? They’re trees. Go past them, then over this hill. After that, you’ll come to a swampy area full of beavers. I only drew their heads because that’s all you’ll see when you’re there. Be careful not to fall in!”
Taffy was on a roll now. “Our cave is just past the beaver swamp. It’s not as big as I drew it, but I can’t draw things very small. Oh, and that’s my Mummy outside. She’s the most beautiful Mummy ever, even if my drawing isn’t perfect. She’ll be so happy to see my picture!”
“And look, I drew the spear Daddy needs outside our cave. It’s really inside, but this way you’ll remember to ask Mummy for it. See how I drew her with her hands up? That’s because she’ll be so excited to see you!”
Taffy sat back, admiring her work. “Isn’t it great? Do you understand everything, or should I explain it again?”
The stranger nodded his head hard, even though he hadn’t understood a single word. He thought, “I must hurry and bring this chief’s tribe to help him! His enemies are coming from all sides with spears. Now I see why the great chief ignored me – he was afraid his enemies might see him talking to me. His clever child drew this picture to show me the danger without anyone knowing. I must get help right away!”
The stranger ran into the forest, clutching Taffy’s drawing. Taffy sat back, feeling very proud of herself.
Tegumai had finished fixing his spear. He waved it back and forth, making sure it was strong again. Then he noticed Taffy.
“What have you been up to, Taffy?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Taffy grinned mysteriously. “Oh, just a little plan I came up with, Daddy dear,” she said, trying to sound grown-up. “If you don’t ask questions, you’ll find out soon enough. And boy, will you be surprised!”
“You have no idea how surprised you’ll be, Daddy! Promise me you’ll act really, really surprised when it happens!”
Tegumai chuckled and shook his head. “Alright, alright,” he said. “I promise I’ll be surprised.” Then he turned back to the river and started fishing again.
The stranger ran as fast as he could with Taffy’s drawing. He ran and ran until, by chance, he found Teshumai, Taffyโs mom, at the entrance of their cave. She was chatting with some other cave-mom friends who had come over for lunch.
Now, Taffy looked a lot like her mom, especially around the eyes. So when the stranger saw Teshumai, he smiled politely and handed her the bark with Taffy’s drawing. He was out of breath, and his legs were all scratched up from running through the bushes, but he tried his best to be nice.

But oh boy, when Teshumai saw the drawing, she let out a scream that could wake a sleeping mammoth! She flew at the stranger like an angry mama bear. Her friends quickly knocked the poor man down and sat on him – all six of them in a row! – while Teshumai pulled his hair.
“Look at this!” Teshumai shouted, waving the drawing. “This horrible man has hurt my Tegumai and scared my poor Taffy! And he has the nerve to bring me a picture of how he did it!”
She showed the drawing to her friends. “See? Here’s my Tegumai with a broken arm. There’s a spear in his back! And look – there’s a man ready to throw another spear and another one throwing a spear from a cave! And all these people coming up behind Tegumai!” (That was actually Taffy’s beaver drawings, but they did look a bit like people.) “Isn’t it awful?”
“Terrible!” her friends agreed. They started putting mud in the stranger’s hair (which confused him a lot) and beating on their drums. They called for all the important people in their tribe to come – the chiefs, the medicine men, the wise women, everyone!
All these important people decided that before they punished the stranger, he should take them to the river and show them where he was hiding Taffy.
By this time, the stranger was getting pretty annoyed. His hair was full of mud. He’d been rolled on pointy rocks, sat on by six women, and pushed and shoved until he could barely breathe. He didn’t understand what they were saying, but he was pretty sure the cave moms were calling him some not-very-nice names.

But he didn’t say anything. When everyone was ready, he led them all back to the river. And what did they find there?
Taffy was sitting happily in the grass, making a daisy chain. Tegumai was nearby, using his newly fixed spear to catch small fish.
Everyone froze, completely confused. What in the world was going on?
“Wow, that was fast!” Taffy said, looking at all the people. “But why did you bring the whole village? Daddy, this is my surprise! Are you surprised?”
“Very,” said Tegumai, scratching his head. โTaffy, the entire tribe is here!”
And boy, was he right! There was Teshumai, Taffy’s mom, and all her friends, dragging along the poor mud-covered stranger. Behind them came well, everyone – the oldest grandparents, the youngest babies, the best hunters, the skilled toolmakers, the talented storytellers, and even the tribe’s jokers. The whole tribe was hopping and shouting; you could bet there wasn’t a fish left within miles!
Tegumai tried to thank them all for coming, even though he had no idea why they were there.
Teshumai ran to Taffy and gave her a big hug and kiss. But the Head Chief grabbed Tegumai by his feathered headdress and shook him!
“Explain! Explain! Explain!” everyone shouted.
“Oh, for goodness sake!” Tegumai grumbled. “Let go of my feathers! Can’t a guy break his fishing spear without the whole village showing up? You’re all being very nosy!”
Taffy looked confused. “Wait, didn’t you bring Daddy’s black-handled spear?” Then she noticed how they were treating the stranger. “Hey! What are you doing to my new friend?”
The tribe was pushing and poking the poor stranger. He could only point at Taffy, his eyes spinning.
“Where are the bad people who hurt you, sweetie?” Teshumai asked Tegumai.
“What bad people?” Tegumai asked. “The only visitor I’ve had is that poor man, you’re all squashing! Are you all feeling okay?”
The Head Chief held up Taffy’s drawing. “He came with this scary picture. It shows you full of spears!”
Taffy’s eyes went wide. “Um… I think I better explain. I drew that picture,” she said in a small voice.
“YOU?” the whole tribe gasped. “Little Miss Naughty-Who-Needs-a-Time-Out? You did this?”
Tegumai put his arm around Taffy. “Sweetie, I think we might be in a bit of trouble here,” he said. But Taffy felt safe with her dad’s arm around her.
“Explain! Explain! Explain!” the Head Chief demanded.
Taffy took a deep breath: “I just wanted the nice stranger to fetch Daddy’s spear. So I drew a picture! There was only one spear, but I drew it three times to make sure he got it. I couldn’t help that it looked like it was sticking in Daddy’s back – the bark was too small! And those things Mummy thought were bad people? They’re just beavers! I drew them to show the way through the swamp.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I think you’re all being very silly. This man is nice! Why did you put mud in his hair? You should say sorry and help him clean up!”
For a long time, nobody said anything. Then, suddenly, the Head Chief started to laugh. The stranger joined in, and then Tegumai laughed so hard he fell over! Soon, the whole tribe was laughingโexcept for Teshumai and her friends, who shook their heads with a sigh of relief.
When everyone calmed down, the Head Chief said, “Oh, Taffy, you little rascal! You’ve just invented something amazing!”
Taffy looked confused. “I did? But I only wanted Daddy’s black-handled spear.”
The Head Chief smiled. “Never mind that. This is a great invention! Someday, people will call it โwriting.’ Right now, it’s just pictures, and as we’ve seen today, pictures can be misunderstood. But one day, Taffy, we’ll have letters – 26 of them! We’ll be able to read and write and always say exactly what we mean without any mix-ups.”

He turned to the tribe. “Now, let’s help clean up our new friend!”
In the end, the tribe welcomed the stranger as one of their own. He was even a good sport about the mud in his hair!
That’s the story of how writing was invented. From that day on, children everywhere became curious about making picture messages. Many worked on creating new ways to share their thoughts, just like Taffy did.
Next time you have a clever idea, don’t be afraid to try it out. You never know what wonderful discoveries might come from it!
The End
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