All his body is matted with hair, I 105
he bears long tresses like those of a woman:
the hair of his head grows thickly as barley,
he knows not a people, nor even a country.
Coated in hair like the god of the animals,
with the gazelles he grazes on grasses, I 110
joining the throng with the game at the water-hole,
his heart delighting with the beasts in the water.
A hunter, a trapper-man,
did come upon him by the water-hole.
One day, a second and then a third, I 115
he came upon him by the water-hole.
When the hunter saw him, his expression froze,
but he with his herds - he went back to his lair.
[The hunter was] troubled, subdued and silent,
his mood [was despondent,] his features gloomy.
In his heart there was sorrow, I 120
his face resembled [one come from] afar.
The hunter opened [his mouth] to speak, saying [to his father:]
'My father, there was a man came [by the water-hole.]
Mightiest in the land, strength [he possesses,]
[his strength] is as mighty [as a rock] from the sky.
'Over the hills he [roams all day,]
[always] with the herd [he grazes on grasses,]
[always] his tracks [are found] by the water-hole,
[I am afraid and] 1 dare not approach him.
'[He fills in the] pits that 1 [myself] dig, I 130
[he pulls Up] the snares that 1 lay.
[He sets free from my grasp] all the beasts of the field,
[he stops] me doing the work of the wild.'
[His father opened his mouth to] speak, saying to the hunter:
'[My son, in the city of] Uruk [go, seek out] Gilgamesh! I 135
......... in his presence,
his strength is as mighty [as a rock from the sky
'[Take the road,] set your face [toward Uruk,]
[do not rely on] the strength of a man!
[Go, my son, and] fetch [Shamhat the harlot,] I 140
[her allure is a match] for even the mighty!
'[When the herd comes] down [to] the water-hole,
[she should strip off] her [raiment to reveal] her charms.
[He will] see her, and will approach her,
his herd will spurn him, [though he grew up] amongst it.' I
.