Reading Questions 7

Required readings: “Grain vs. Sheep” (ETCSL); “The Date Palm and the Tamarisk” (WLBA); “Poor Forlorn Wren” (BDP)

“Grain vs. Sheep” is a Sumerian disputation from before 2000 BCE. There was a Sumerian version of the “Date Palm and the Tamarisk,” but this Akkadian version is from the Syrian city of Emar in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BCE). The “Poor Forlorn Wren” is an Akkadian tale from Babylonia in the late first millennium BCE. So these 3 tales are each separated by close to a thousand years!

1. In what time period does “Grain vs. Sheep” start? Why do these two characters start arguing?
2. Why does Grain think she is better? Why does Sheep think she is better?
3. Who ends up as the winner? What does this suggest to you about Sumerian society?
4. In what time period does “Date Palm and Tamarisk” start? (page 181)
5. What are two reasons why Tamarisk thinks he is better? What are two reasons why Date Palm thinks he is better?
6. Who does the “Poor Forlorn Wren” seem to be complaining about, and what have they done that bothers her? (pages 335, 337)
7. Who wins out in this situation? What do you think the moral of the story is? (page 339)