Narration: The Last Quest of Gilgamesh

[This is a narration exercise, based on a book we just read. L is dictating back what she remembers of the story.]

TITLE: The Last Quest of Gilgamesh
AUTHOR: Ludmila Zeman

STORY: Gilgamesh's friend died. He went on a last adventure. He met a lion who almost fell off a cliff. He took the lion on his adventure with him. Shamhat told them she would tell them where to go and then they went through a long long tunnel. And then they went into a beautiful garden, it was the Sun God's garden. He told them to rest there but Gilgamesh wanted to go on. Then the lion cub got so tired he collapsed on the desert floor. Then Gilgamesh, he picked him up on to his head and they went to a very nice house that was owned by a very nice lady who said they could not cross the sea unless they had a boat. And they took a boat and they sailed to Noah. The sea was very deadly and full of bones, dead animal bones. He cut down 120 trees and he used them as oars. He needed them because the sea would devour whatever would go in there. Finally he reached Noah's ark (I don't remember his real name, there are lots of names for him so I call him Noah because that's the name I know him more) and then he tried to pass the test. The test was to stay awake six days and seven nights while Noah read his story. And then when Noah was finished, he was asleep. So he lost the test and he had to go to the bottom of the sea and get the plant. The plant, whenever you take a bite of it, it would never let you grow old. So he got the plant and took a nap on the island. But then Ishtar (she was the goddess of love) ate up the plant. She was a serpent goddess. She was mad at Gilgamesh because he refused her marriage to him. She ate up the plant. Enkidu's ba [the spirit form of the soul that looks like a bird--K] flew them to Uruk, where Gilgamesh saw the wall that he had builded and he was happy forever. The end.

REVIEW: I have read five versions of this book and I really like it. But I don't like that Enkidu died because he was a really nice friend to Gilgamesh.

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P.S. -- It's the end of the day but I still love my family. And my blog.