Papyrus

Hello. My name is Papyrus. I am a tall, green plant, and I love to sway in the sunshine by the big Nile River. A long, long time ago, in a sunny land called Egypt, people wanted to write down their stories. But they only had heavy stones to write on. It was so hard to carry heavy stones around. I watched them and wished I could help. I knew my strong stalks could be useful. I wanted to become something light and easy for them to use for their beautiful words and pictures.

One day, some very clever people in Egypt found me. This was a long, long, long time ago, around the year 3000 BCE. They looked at my strong green stalks and had a wonderful idea. They carefully cut my stalks and peeled off my green skin. Inside, I was soft and white. They sliced my insides into thin little strips. Then, they laid my strips next to each other, and put more strips on top, like they were making a little mat. They pressed me down flat and let me dry in the warm, warm sun. I felt myself changing from a squishy plant into a smooth, light sheet, ready for brand new stories.

Soon, special writers called scribes used me. They dipped their pens, which were made from reeds, into black ink. They drew beautiful pictures and wrote amazing stories all over me. They wrote about kings and queens and all their wonderful adventures. Because I was so light, they could roll me up into a scroll. People could carry me everywhere. I helped them share secrets and tell tales to all their friends. I am the great-great-grandparent of the paper you use for drawing today. I am so happy and proud that I helped people share their amazing ideas with the whole world.