Children of the Past

Ancient Mesopotamia - Just an Act of Kindness

It is the year 3500 BC. Sumer became more advanced by the day. My family and I live in a small and quiet, wooden house, in the rural part of the city-state, Ur. Since we live in the Fertile Crescent, the soil is rich. The silt from the Euphrates River also made land good for farming. We have lived here since I was born, and we always felt close to nature here.

I'm Inanna and I am tall for an eleven-year-old. I was named after the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility, and war. I am the second oldest in my family, with one older brother, and a younger sister. My brother, Enkimdu, is sixteen and is old enough to help Father with his farming work. My annoying sister, Aea, is just two years younger than me. We don't always get along well, but we still care for each other. My Father is a farmer and earns just enough money to keep us all well-fed, and sheltered. Mother usually stays at home to cook and clean the house.

During dinner one night, Father didn't touch his food at all and had a worried look on his face. When Mother asked him what was wrong, he replied that the rain had caused a flood which destroyed our crops. I noticed that Aea hadn't complained about the plain taste of vegetables and rice today. She had realized that vegetables and rice were better than nothing. That night, I couldn't sleep at all. My head was filled with worries about the flood. How else would our family earn money? Where would we get food? I tried to get those worries out of my head and slowly started to fall asleep.

Days came and went, but that was not the same for our food. Each day left us with less food than the last. Until one morning, Mother woke me up and said that we would be traveling to the market in the city to sell some of our prized possessions for money. The city was loud and crowded with fancy architecture. People were everywhere, selling goods or trading. No one paid attention to us. Sometimes that is just how it is. You can spend a whole day at the market and not be able to trade away your goods. The sun was close to setting to set so we started to pack up and return home empty-stomached. Fortunately, a tall, wealthy-looking man came towards us and offered us a large baskets of food for our beautifully carved chairs and table. They were the furniture that my grandparents had left for my parents. Though I was sad to see it go, it would be for the better. At least our family would survive. He even gave us a potter wheel and told us it could help us earn money while we wait for the next harvest. We traded, thanked him gratefully, and journeyed back home. I was relieved that we finally found another way to earn money.

Now, Mother, Aea, and I take turns using the potter wheel to make vases and cups out of clay, while Father and Enkimdu go to the river for clay. Slowly, we earned more money and were soon able to pay for our own food. We even had some extra money from selling vases. Thanks to that kind man, our family is now known for selling pottery. We also continued our farming business. Having two ways to earn money made it easier for us to survive. Hopefully, we will never encounter another flood like that one.