35. "Why is there lamentation in thy heart?"
And she went on to tell him that he had the appearance of one who had travelled far, that he was a painful sight to look upon, that his face was burnt, and finally seems to have page 52suggested that he was a runaway trying to escape trom the country. To this Gilgamish replied:
39. "Why should not my cheeks be wasted, my face bowed down,
40. "My heart sad, my form dejected?"
And then he told the goddess that his ill-looks and miserable appearance were due to the fact that death had carried off his dear friend Enkidu, the "panther of the desert," who had traversed the mountains with him and had helped him to overcome Khumbaba in the cedar forest, and to slay the bull of heaven, Enkidu his dear friend who had fought with lions and killed them, and who had been with him in all his difficulties; and, he added, "I wept over him for six days and nights ... before I would let him be buried." Continuing his narrative, Gilgamish said to Sabîtu-Siduri:
57. "I was horribly afraid....
58. "I was afraid of death, and therefore I fled through the country. The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me,
59. "Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country.
"The fate of my friend lieth heavily upon me,
60. "Therefore am I travelling on a long journey through the country.