"The serpent complains to the sun god that the eagle has descended upon this young and has eaten them. On the advice of the god, the serpent hides in the carcass of an ox so that when the eagle flies down to eat of the carcass, the serpent catches him and breaks his wings. Later, however, when the hero Etana finds that his wife is about to die in childbirth, he frees and heals the eagle so that the great bird can carry him to heaven where he may secure a marvelous healing plant. The eagle carries Etana so high that the earth seems no larger than a cake and the sea looks the size of a breadbasket. Before they reach the throne of Ishtar the eagle falls exhausted to the depth below."