Gilgamesh Part 6, The Plant of Immortality.

Hello, this is Richard, and I'm here with the sixth and final part of our epic story from ancient Mesopotamia, Gilgames.

King Gilgamesh, who had suffered and travelled so much, had listened to the story of the

great flood and the God's gift of immortality from the lips of Utnafshhtim, the far distant.

He had listened with great interest, but he was exhausted after his long, hard journey and his eyelids weighed heavy.

Uttner Fishtim saw that his guest was extremely weary and said,

King Gilgamesh, you wish to live forever.

But let's try this test.

Let's see if you can manage without sleep for seven days.

For if you have not the strength to stay awake for a week, how can you hope to live for all time?

Gilgamesh's eyes were now closed and his chin was sinking to his chest.

Utnerfishtim said to his wife,

Let us keep count of how many days he sleeps.

Every morning bake a loaf of bread for his breakfast and leave it by his resting head. If he does not awake to eat it,

do not take it away, even though it might be hard and stale, but leave it there, and the next

day bake a fresh one. And the wife of Utnifishdim did as he suggested. After Gilgamesh had slept for a whole day and

night, she left a loaf of bread by his head. And then he slept for another night and day. And even

after that, he slept on and on, sometimes snoring like thunder. When the king finally awoke, after a week of sleep,

seven loaves of bread were waiting by his head, six of them were hard and stale, and only the

seventh was fresh.

Gilgamesh stretched out his great arms with a yawn and said,

Oh, I must have done it off for a moment.

...