How the Alphabet Was Made

The little girl called Taffy, and her Daddy, went fishing.

While Daddy fished, Taffy had a big idea.

'Daddy,' she said. 'What if we drew pictures for sounds?'

'Sounds?' said Daddy.

'Yes,' said Taffy. 'Open your mouth like a carp fish.'

'Aaaaah,' said Daddy.

'That,' said Taffy, drawing on the bark, 'is a carp-fish-mouth picture. And it means AAAAAH.'

She drew a little open mouth.

'Now the wiggly-hiss sound of a snake,' she said. 'Ssssss.'

She drew a wiggly line. 'That is S.'

'And a snake with an open mouth,' she said. 'That is SAAAH.'

Daddy laughed. 'You have made words out of pictures!'

They drew more pictures. A round eye for O. A pointy thing for T. A snake curled backwards for Z.

They drew and drew until they had a whole alphabet — a picture for every sound.

And that is how the very first letters were made. Long, long ago. By a little girl called Taffy, and her Daddy.