THE SCENE: This 3,000 year old message from a son to his mother demonstrates that the hard living of ancient Mesopotamian world was no safeguard against your child becoming a brat.
THE TEXT: From year to year, the clothes of the young gentlemen here become better, but you let my clothes get worse from year to year. Indeed, you persisted in making my clothes poorer and more scanty. At a time when in our house wool is used up like bread, you have made me poor clothes. The son of Adad-iddinam, whose father is only an assistant of my father, has two new sets of clothes, while you fuss even about a single set of clothes for me. In spite of the fact that you bore me, and his mother only adopted him, his mother loves him, while you, you do not love me!
– From Letters from Mesopotamia edited by A Leo Oppenheim
