Tablet of Cattle & Grain

Chapter - 1

1	After on the mountain of heaven and earth,
2	An (the heaven-god) had caused the Anunnaki (his followers) to be born
3	Because the name Ashnan (the grain-goddess) had not been born, had not been fashioned,
4	Because Uttu (the goddess of plants) had not been fashioned,
5	Because to Uttu no temenos had been set up,
6	There was no ewe, no lamb was dropped,
7	There was no goat, no kid was dropped,
8	The ewe did not give birth to its two lambs,
9	The goat did not give birth to its three kids.
10	Because the name of Ashnan, the wise, and Lahar (the cattle-god),
11	The Anunnaki, the great gods, did not know,
12	The . . . grain of thirty days did not exist,
13	The . . . grain of forty days did not exist,
14	The small grains, the grain of the mountain, the grain of the pure living creatures did not exist.
15	Because Uttu had not been born, because the crown (of vegetation) had not been raised,
16	Because the lord . . . had not been born,
17	Because Sumugan, the god of the plain, had not come forth,
18	Like mankind when first created,
19	They (the Anunnaki knew not the eating of bread,
20	Knew not the dressing of garments,
21	Ate plants with their mouth like sheep,
22	Drank water from the ditch.
23	In those days, in the creation chamber of the gods,
24	In their house Dulkug, Lahar and Ashnan were fashioned;
25	The produce of Lahar and Ashnan,
26	The Anunnaki of the Dulkug eat, but remain unsated;
27	In their pure sheepfolds milk, . . ., and good things,
28	The Anunnaki of the Dulkug drink, but remain unsated;
29	For the sake of the good things in their pure sheepfolds,
30	Man was given breath.
31	In those days Enki says to Enlil:
32	Father Enlil, Lahar and Ashnan, 33 They who have been created in the Dulkug, 34 Let us cause them to descend from the Dulkug.
33	At the pure word of Enki and Enlil,
34	Lahar and Ashnan descended from the Dulkug.
35	For Lahar they (Enlil and Enki) set up the sheepfold,
36	Plants, herbs, and . . . they present to him;
37	For Ashnan they establish a house,
38	Plow and yoke they present to her.
39	Lahar standing in his sheepfold,
40	A shepherd increasing the bounty of the sheepfold is he;
41	Ashnan standing among the crops,
42	A maid kindly and bountiful is she.
43	Abundance of heaven . . . ,
44	Lahar and Ashnan caused to appear,
45	In the assembly they brought abundance,
46	In the land they brought the breath of life,
47	The decrees of the god they direct,
48	The contents of the warehouses they multiply,
49	The storehouses they fill full.
50	In the house of the poor, hugging the dust,
51	Entering they bring abundance;
52	The pair of them, wherever they stand,
53	Bring heavy increase into the house;
54	The place where they stand they sate, the place where they sit they supply,
55	They made good the heart of An and Enlil.

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