In 500 Words Or Less

And the Cock Crowed

Abi-lil crouched in the darkness and prayed to Nihursag, the Mother Goddess, that the beating of his heart would not give him away. Of course, it was his own fault that this had happened. Abu-lil had ignored the warnings of his elders and stayed out past sunset, and so he had come to the attention of the edimmu - the undead that haunted the funeral plains around the city of Sumer.

"Come to us, boy!" The voices of the edimmu sounded over the night breeze. "We only wish to touch you!"

"Aye," Abu-lil muttered. "And then you'll suck the breath from me."

The breeze grew stronger, bringing with it the stench of the charnel house. "Over here!" hissed a spectral voice. "I hear him!"

Abu-lil scuttled from his hiding place, keeping as close to the stony ground as he could, feeling his way through the stony night. He knew that his only hope lay in being able to avoid the edimmu until morning. The light of Shamash the Sun would drive the edimmu back to their tombs; but first Abu-lil had to live that long. There were dwelling nearby, including that of his family, where Abu-lil could have sought shelter. However, no-one would dare open their door at this time of night. There were too many stories of what happened to those who took pity on a nighttime wanderer.

The breeze became a wind, and the sighing voices of the edimmu became louder. A rough stone wall blocked Abu-lil's flight. Rather than go around it, the young man vaulted the wall and landed on a patch of ammoniac soil. A flock of chickens, disturbed from their slumber by Abu-lil's arrival, cackled angrily.

"This way! Over here!" The ghostly voices of the edimmu were all around him! Abu-lil tried desperately to silence the chickens, but his efforts only roused them more. As the young man shushed and flapped his hands, the king of the coop - a magnificent cock bird - stuck its head out of its roost. Frightened by Abu-lil and thinking him to be a predator, the rooster began crowing a warning to his hens.

"Aiee!" From all around there was a ghastly keening. "Cock crow! The sun! Flee!" The wind changed direction, and the foul stink of the edimmu was taken away.

Abu-lil sank to the ground in relief, then picked up the cock and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," he said to the startled and still crowing bird. Then he bowed his head to the earth. "And thank you, Mother Ninhursag. I shall make a sacrifice to you. But not, I think, of this bird."