Gilgamesh – A Myth from Mesopotamia – Part 1

This is one of the oldest stories in the world. It’s hero is a great king, warrior, and strongman called Gilgamesh who wanted to discover the secret of immortality, or living forever. He formed a strong bond with wildman called Enkidu.

Dedicated to Cara and Sophia who support us on Patreon
Adapted and illustrated by Bertie
Read by Richard Scott
Female Parts by Jana

Hello,
This is Richard, and I’m here with one of the oldest stories in the world. It is older than even the Bible. It’s hero is a great king, warrior, and strongman called Gilgamesh who wanted to discover the secret of immortality, or living forever. It was written down around 4000 years ago on clay tablets in letters called Cuneiform when the City of Babylon was at the height of its powers. Babylon was in the part of the world called Mesopotamia, which means between the two rivers, and is in modern day Iraq. The story goes back even further in time to when a civilisation called the Sumerians ruled Mesopotamia about 6000 years ago.

So here is the story of Gilgamesh, based on the ancient tales.
Adapted for Storynory, by Bertie.
Read by Richard.
Shamhat and Ninsun read by Jana.
Proofed, audio edited by Jana.

Of him who found out all things
Who experienced everything
Who went everywhere
I shall tell the tale.
He gained complete wisdom
He found out what was secret. He uncovered what was hidden.
He built the walled city of Uruk.

If you climb up onto its high battlements and take a walk around, you will see a glistening city one square mile in size. You will see green orchards just as big. You will see the vast quarries where they dug out the clay to build the houses. You will see the temple of Ishtar and its lovely grounds. He ordered all this to be built.
What was his name? What manner of men was he?
To find out, listen on, for now I shall take out the copper box.
Undo the bronze lock
Lift up the tablet made of blue Lapis Lazuli
And read the story of Gilgamesh.

He was king of Uruk. He walked out in front of vast armies. He fought with the ferocity of a wild bull. He opened up passes through the mountains. He dug wells and quarries in their sides. He crossed the vast oceans. Two thirds of him was divine and one third mortal.

Gilgamesh was the shepherd of his people. But he was also a bully. Young men, he beat up, girls he kissed against their will. Parents and elders he disrespected.

The gods received many complaints about him. They came up with a plan to tame the king with superhuman strength.

Anu, the Lord of the skies spoke to Aruru the goddess of Creation. He asked her to make a rival strong man to challenge the arrogance of Gilgamesh. Aruru took a piece of clay from her side and pinched it into the shape of a man and then she threw the manikin into the open countryside. As he lay on the grass, Lord Anu threw a skybolt at him. The lightning cursed through his body and brought him to life. The man’s name was Enkidu and he was wild and strong. His whole body was shaggy like a wolf and the hair on his head was long like a woman’s. He knew no people and he ate and drank with the cattle and the deer.

One day a hunter came face to face with the wild man by the river. Enkidu gave the hunter such a look that he almost died of fear. The hunter staggered in a daze back to his father. At first he was unable to speak. When eventually he recovered his strength and his witts, he managed to say:

“Father, there is a wild man. His body is shaggy like a wolf and his hair is long like a woman’s. He does not mix with people, but he lives with cattle and the deer. Today he saw me by the waterhole and gave me such a look that I almost died of fright. He is the one who has smashed my traps and chased away the animals that I hunt. I cannot fight him. He is too big, wild and strong, and he fills me with terror. What can I do?”

And his father replied:

“Son, this is what you must do. You must go to the glistening city of Uruk, speak to the great King Gilgamesh, and ask him to send a woman who will tame this wild man.”

The hunter listened to his father and did as he was told. He went to the glistening city of Uruk, and threw himself on the ground before the great king Gilgamesh.

“Great Lord!” he said, “There is a wild man. His body is shaggy like a wolf and his hair is long like a woman’s. He does not mix with people, but he lives with cattle and the deer. He saw me by the waterhole and gave me such a look that I almost died of fright. He is the one who has smashed my traps and chased away the animals that I hunt. I cannot fight him. he is too big, wild and strong, and he fills me with terror. What can I do?”

King Gilgamesh heard the hunter’s story and decreed, “My wise mother, Ninsun the cow-goddess, will choose a woman from the temple to return with you, and she will tame this wild man.”

And the wise Ninsun, the cow-goddess, sent a temple woman called Shamhat with the hunter. Shamhat walked three days to the water hole where the wild man used to drink along side the animals. They waited there three days while wild beasts drank at the water. Eventually Enkidu came to satisfy his thirst. He looked at Shamhat and she looked back at him. He saw her charms and wanted to live with her. From that day on, the cattle and the wild animals kept away from him. Shamhat clothed him, and taught him manners, and how to speak. She told him of the glistening city of Uruk and the temples of Anu and Ishtar. And she told him of the great King Gilgamesh, a man of fabulous strength, who raged like a wild bull.

One day Enkidu said to Shamhat, “Take me to the glistening city of Uruk, and the temples of Anu and Ishtar, and show me King Gilgamesh, a man of great strength who rages like a bull, for I want to fight him and prove that I am the strongest man in Uruk and that glory belongs to me.”

And Shamat replied, “Enkidu my love, I shall take you to the glistening city of Uruk and I will show you the young men who wear bright sashes, and the women who show off their figures. We shall sit down and eat the feasts that they hold there every day while the musicians play on drums, flutes and trumpets. But do not fight Gilgamesh. He is handsome and dignified. He has built the high walls of Uruk and the temples of Anu and Ishtar. He leads great armies out of the gates. He is a man who is two thirds divine and one third human and my love, he is stronger than even you are.”

Now it happened that before Shamhat had left the city of Uruk, she heard the following story. One night King Gilgamesh had a dream. He dreamed that a great axe fell like a thunderbolt of Anu from the sky. Gilgamesh found the great axe on the mountainside and with great difficulty he hauled it back to the city of Uruk and to the feet of his mother. She treated the axe like an equal to him and he cherished it like a wife.”

When Gilgamesh awoke he was troubled by this strange dream. He went to his wise mother, Ninsun, the cow-goddess, and he said:

“Mother, I am troubled by a strange dream. A great axe fell from the sky like a thunderbolt of Anu.I found the axe on the mountainside, and with great difficulty, I dragged it back to the city of Uruk and to your feet. You treated this axe like an equal to me and I cherished it like a wife. Wise mother, tell me, what is the meaning of this strange and troubling dream?”

And the wise mother of Gilgamesh, Ninsun the cow-goddess, replied:

“It means that soon a strong partner will come to you. Next to you, he shall be the mightiest in the land and he will support and save you from danger. In return you will love and care for him like a wife.”

The wise Ninsun told the story of the dream to Shamhat and Shamhat told it to Enkidu. “It means,” said Shamhat, “that you shall be like a brother to Gilgamesh. That is why I was sent to tame you and to fetch you to him.”

Shamhat and Enkidu began to walk to the glistening city of Uruk. The journey took three days and three nights. On the final night they camped near the walls of Uruk with a group of shepherds. They sat around the campfire and the shepherds wondered at Enkidu, how he was as strong as a thunderbolt of Anu, and equal to Gilgamesh. And they spoke of the arrogance and injustice of Gilgamesh, how he used his strength to bully the young men and women of the city of Uruk.

Then the shepherds put food and drink in front of Enkidu, but he refused to touch it. He narrowed his eyes, stared at the embers of the campfire, and brooded about the arrogance and violence of Gilgamesh, and he resolved to prove that he was more mighty than Gilgamesh and deserved the glory, and would rule in his place and be wise and just.

The next day Shamhat and Enkidu entered through the great lion gates of the glistening city of Uruk. They saw the temples of Anu and Ishtar and the young men who wore bright sashes and the women who showed off their figures and feasted every day while the musicians played.

And then Enkidu went to the house of Gilgamesh’s father-in-law and stood before the door. When the king arrived at the house of his father-in-law, with his soldiers around him, Enkidu barred the way and would not allow him to enter.

The two men, as mighty as thunderbolts of Anu, began to fight. The door frames of the great city of Uruk shook, and the mighty walls trembled. They fought and they grappled, they pushed, and they shoved, and they punched, they wrestled, and they clawed, and they bit and they scratched. In the end, Gilgamesh, who was two thirds god and one third human, proved that he was the strongest, but only just.

And the wise mother of Gilgamesh, Ninsun the all knowing, spoke to her son and said:

“Here is Enkidu, who grew up on the mountainside where he grappled with wolves. His body was shaggy his hair grew as long as a woman’s. He lived among the cattle and deer until Shamat the temple-woman tamed him. He is the axe that you saw in your dream. He is strongest of all men after you. He shall be your friend and supporter, and you shall cherish him like a wife. I shall treat him as equal to you, and I hereby adopt him as my son, even though he was not born to me. From henceforth Enkidu shall be your brother.”

And that is where we will leave the story of Gilgamesh for now, but I will be back soon with the next part of the heroic tale from ancient Mesopotamia in which Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight the monster called Humbaba.
For now, from me, Richard, at Storynory.com, goodbye.

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Six Honest Serving Men

A puzzling poem by Rudyard Kipling, read by Richard Scott for Storynory
Image: Butler Cartoon Set vy ivector from Adobe Stock.

I KEEP six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small—
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes—
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!

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Halloween Ghosts at Hampton Court Palace

Warning - Spooky Stories !!

Jana visits the wonderful Hampton Court Palace by the River Thames to get into the mood for Halloween. Hampton Court Palace belonged to England’s King Henry VIII in the 16th century - and as you may know he had six wives, two of whom, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were executed up the river at the Tower of London. This is a really beautiful palace, packed with history and ghosts.

Jana toured the palace with Sheila, a State Apartment Warder at Hampton Court, who conducts ghost tours around the palace. Sheila tells us some amazing stories that mingle history with spookiness including:

The Haunted Gallery - and the tragic last days of Henry the VIII's fifth wife, the young Catherine Howard. (It is a fascinating but quite a heart rending story - so be WARNED).

The very spooky story of The Grey Lady, Sybil Penn, who was the nursemaid of Prince Edward (the son of Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour) who later became King Edward VI while still young. Sybil's ghost involves a mysterious spinning wheel.

The Door to Henry VIII's private prayer room in chapel at Hampton Court (Haunted Gallery)The story of the skeletons of two builders who died while building the Fountain Court of Hampton Court in the time of King William and Queen Mary.

These are VERY SPOOKY stories and they are Packed with History.

And if you want more spookiness, Sheila recommends you check out the video of the skeletor of Hampton Court that was filmed in 2003 by a security camera.

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Birdy and the Seagulls

Birds and the Seagulls
This story is dedicated to Jeanne and Antoine who support Storynory on Patreon.
Read by Richard.
Mum read by Jana.
Proofed and audio edited by Jana.
Story written and illustrated by Bertie.
Music by Storynory

Hello, this is Richard, and I’m here with a story about a black crow called Birdy. Birdy is the best friend of a boy called Jake - and one of the many special things about Birdy is that he can talk. The thing is - nobody else in Jake’s life believes that Birdy can communicate with him.

One morning, very early, Jake was lying in bed, listening to the rain pitter pattering on the roof.

“Too bad. Football will be cancelled today,” he thought. “We’ll have to stay indoors and play table tennis - only there are only two tables, so we will sit around for most of the time.”

As he was lying there, he felt something cold on his nose. He rubbed it with his finger. It was wet, like a drop of water. And then:

Plop!

Another drop landed on his nose.

He looked up and saw yet another drop of water clinging to the ceiling.

Plop!

The drop let go of the ceiling and dripped onto Jake’s forehead.

“Yuck!” he said. And then he called out:

“Mum!!!! There’s water coming through the ceiling!”

Mum was still asleep and did not hear him. Jake got out of bed and watched the water dripping quite steadily now onto his pillow. When it was getting-up time, and Mum arrived, his bed was already soaking.

“Oh Jake! Why didn’t you call me? There’s a hole in the roof.”

“I did call out,”replied Jake, “but you were asleep.”

“Well someone will have to go up to the roof and take a look,” she said.

That someone was Dad.

Their house had a butterfly roof, which means it slopes inwards and the water collects in a gully. Dad climbed out through a hatch and looked around for a hole. It was raining hard and he was getting extremely wet and the roof was rather slippery.

He was about to give up and go back down the hatch when a bird, sheltering from the wind by the chimney, cawed at him.

“I know you,” said Dad. “You’re Birdy, the crow that Jake likes to talk to.”

The bird flapped its wings and hopped across the sloping roof. He stopped where some tiles were out of place and even worse, the felt underneath them was torn.

“Caw!” he said.

“You’re right,” said Dad. “That must be where the leak is coming from.”

And then he recalled that a man had been up on the roof at the end of summer to look for a wasp’s nest. He must have accidentally broken some tiles and not mentioned it. That was why the rain was now leaking into Jake’s bedroom.

“Well thank you, Birdy,” said Dad. “That’s really helpful.”

Just as he was about to lower himself down through the hatch, a large bird flew just over his head, almost touching him.

“Eek!” it said.

“Stop that Birdy!” called out Dad.

A moment later, he thought to himself, “Birdy doesn’t usually go ‘eek!’ he goes ‘caw!’ but he did not stop to ponder the question for long, because he had more urgent things to do, like getting out of the rain.

When he arrived at work, Dad looked on the internet and found a roofing company. He called and arranged a visit. That evening, a man from the company came round. He had an extremely large tummy. Jake said:

“How are you going to get through the hatch onto the roof?”

“Oh you won’t catch me going up on the roof,” said the man. “Far too dangerous. I’ll just stick my head out and take a look.”

Which is what he did. He stood on the step ladder and put his head through the hatch. When he had been looking for a couple of minutes, there was a very loud cry from somewhere above his head.

‘EEEEK!”

He ducked down quickly. “Seagulls!” he said, alarmed.

“Seagulls?” We’re miles from the sea,” said Jake.

“Yes, but that doesn’t stop ‘em coming inland and making their nests in the chimneys of town houses,” he said. “A real hazzard they are, those seagulls. Crazy aggressive!”

“Oh come on, you’re not afraid of some birds, are you?” asked Mum.

“I’m not, but the lad that has to go up on the roof will be. How would you like to be working high up with those great big angry birds buzzing around your head? It ain’t nice, is it?”

“My best friend is a bird,” said Jake.

“Good for him!” said the man.

Jake’s bedroom ceiling continued to drip for the next three days. Mum replaced his pillow with a plastic tub and he went to sleep in the spare room. Towards the end of the week, when the sun was shining, three roofers came over to fix the tiles. Fortunately they were slim enough to climb through the hatch. But all day, the seagulls, who were nesting in a chimney pot, swooped over their heads, scratched their scalps with their claws, and even pecked at them.

“Ere, clear off!” called the men, along with some bad words that we won’t repeat here.

When Jake returned home from school, the roofers were packing up their van.

“Did you fix the roof?” he asked. “Because it’s been leaking onto my bed.”

“Sorry,” said one of the men. “We couldn’t get much done today. The seagulls were bothering us non-stop.”

Jake saw mum rolling her eyes. She clearly thought these roofers were rather pathetic to be bothered by seagulls. One of the men saw her expression.

“It’s alright for you Mrs. You don’t have to go up there and fight em off.”

“Come back tomorrow. They won’t bother you. I promise,” said Jake.

“We’ll give it a try,” said the chief roofer. “But if they won’t give us any peace, we will pack up by lunchtime.”

When they were gone, Mum asked, “What makes you think the seagulls won’t be as naughty tomorrow as they were today?”

“Cos I’m going to talk to Birdy,” said Jake.

He went up to his room, and waited for his friend to call round, which he usually did in the early evening.

Just after six, Birdy tapped at the window.

“What’s up?” he cawed.

“The seagulls keep attacking the roofers,” said Jake. “And my ceiling is still dripping every time it rains.”

“Caw!” said Birdy. “I’d better speak to them.”

“I’m not sure the roofers will understand you,” said Jake.

“Not the roofers. The seagulls, you silly,” said Birdy.

He went off to negotiate with the family of gulls. Fifteen minutes later he returned and said:

“They’ve agreed to let the roofers work tomorrow so long as they don’t come near the chimney.”

“Great thanks,” said Jake.

“And they say that if you have any sardines, they would be glad for you to leave them on the garden table. They’re miles away from the sea and it’s hard to find decent fresh fish. The scraps from the bin outside the fish and chip shop really don’t cut it.”

“Right, I’ll ask Mum.” said Jake. He went downstairs and passed on the message about the sardines.

“Well it’s not a bad idea,” she said. “It might distract the seagulls from attacking the men. The only problem is, when they’ve finished eating, they might go back to annoying them.”

“Birdy says they won’t,” said Jake.

“Well oh-kay,” said Mum, doubtfully. “I suppose it’s worth a try.”

And so the next morning, after she had dropped Jake off at school, she stopped by at the supermarket and bought some sardines for the seagulls, and lots of teabags and chocolate digestive biscuits for the roofers.

The seagulls were extremely grateful for the sardines. Tibby, the nextdoor cat, was somewhat disappointed that they would not share their meal. The roofers were pleased because it did not rain and they were not attacked by the gulls. Instead they noticed a friendly crow watching over them while they worked. When Jake came home, the roof was fixed. His ceiling still smelt a little damp, but Mum said that after it had dried out in a week or so, the decorator would come round and fix it.

“You see, I told you that Birdy had negotiated a truce with the gulls,” he said.

“Yes, you did,” agreed Mum.

Some time went by, and the decorator came round and repainted Jake’s ceiling. He returned to his room one saturday morning.

He had not seen Birdy for a week, and was delighted when he tapped on the window. He seemed excited and was hopping back and forth from one leg to the other. This time it was Jake who asked, “What’s up?”

“I’ll say what’s up,” said Birdy. “Some burglars cut through the French doors round the back of number 14 and are looking around for stuff to steal.”

“Wow!” said Jake. “I’ll get Mum to call the police.” And he immediately ran downstairs and called out, “Mum! Birdy says there are burglars climbing into number 14. Call the police!!”

“I can’t do that,” said Mum. “If I say a little bird told us that burglars are at work, they’ll think I’m a loony and time waster.”

“Oh,” said Jake. “But Birdy’s right. He always is.”

“Oh Jake!” said Mum. “I can’t go by what a bird says.”

Just then, Jake heard Dad come in through the front door with the shopping from the supermarket. “Dad, Birdy says there are burglars at number 14. What shall we do?”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a long week and want to go back to bed for a nice nap,” said Dad.

“OOOOHH! This is no good! Grownups don’t know anything!” said Jake. When he returned to his room, Birdy was gone. Jake fixed his gaze on Number 14. It was not long before two men came out wearing motorbike helmets. They were both carrying bags and soon jumped onto mopeds. They started to speed down the road, but before they could reach the t-junction...

EEEEEEK !
Three seagulls dive bombed them. The men tried to fight off the aerial attack, but it wasn’t easy to ride a moped when a seagull was attacking your head, even if you were wearing headgear. One gull flapped in front of the lead biker’s visa, and another swooped down and crashed into the side of his head with its talons, while a third pecked at the second biker’s gloves. It wasn’t long before the burglar came off his bike and the second went skidding across the road and crashed into a gatepost. A Georgian silver teapot rolled out of one bag followed by an antique French carriage clock, which landed on the pavement and smashed into pieces.

The bikers’ got to their feet and ran, leaving the loot behind.

Jake called out of his window: “Go-on Gulls, get’em.” His dad came into the room to ask what was going on. “Look!” said Jake. Dad looked out onto the street and saw the men fighting off the gulls who were trying to cut off their retreat.

“Well I never,” said Dad. “I never knew seagulls could be so aggressive.”

“Only against roofers and burglars,” said Jake.

“What makes you think the are burglars?” asked Dad.

“Because they took Mr Joseland’s clock and his teapot,” said Jake.

“Ah, come on!” said Dad.

But just then, two police cars with blue flashing lights skidded around the corner. Four officers jumped out and pounced on the burglars.

“Cawww!” said Birdy,” who had just landed on Jake’s window sill.

“Well done Birdy, you called the gulls and told them to catch the burglars.”

“Caw!”agreed the black feathered bird.

“Which is a lot more than Mum or Dad would do,” added Jake.

“Well,” said Dad, “well, err….” but he did not know what to say, so he sheepishly left Jake’s room and went to lie down. “Those gulls,” he muttered to himself. “Really aggressive. Who would have thought it?”

And that was the story of Bridy and the Seagulls written for Storynory by Bertie and read by me, Richard Scott. And we have the full text and Berties original illustration for this story at Storyory.com where you can also leave comments. And before I go, I’m going to hand you over to Jana, for a short message.

Thanks Richard. We are delighted to dedicate this story to Jeanne aged 6 and Antoine aged three in California. Their mother Susanne writes

I wanted to say thank you for imagining wonderful stories that not only please the children but us parents as well! I personally love the wittiness and I get quite into them too - wicked uncle and ripoff airlines made me laugh out loud.

Our kids - Jeanne and Antoine- love listening to your stories every morning on the way to school and are almost done with all of them, but no worries we'll start all over again. They asked us to support you on patreon and we happily oblige.

Well thank you Susanne Jeanne and Antoine for supporting us ! We really appreciate it and are glad you enjoy our stories.

And I also wanted to say that Bertie and I are working a special song about Birdy - and we are planning to publish it soon on Storynory, and also on Spotify and Pandora very soon.

Richard
Thanks Jana, we’ll look out for that. For now, from me, Richard, goodbye.