Ishtar - Mesopotamian

Long ago, there was a queen named Ishtar who painted the world with color. When Ishtar was happy, the sun shone bright and warm, and pretty flowers would pop up from the ground to say hello. But one day, Ishtar had to go on a very important trip, a story people call the Descent of Ishtar. She wanted to visit her sister, Ereshkigal, who lived deep, deep down under the ground in a quiet, sleepy kingdom. Ishtar put on her shiniest crown and her sparkliest bracelets, ready for her long, long journey down into the earth.

To get to her sister, Ishtar had to go through seven sleepy gates, and each gate had a guard. At the first sleepy gate, the guard asked for her shiny crown, so Ishtar gave it to him. At the second sleepy gate, a guard took her sparkly necklace. She went deeper and deeper. At every sleepy gate, she left something beautiful and bright behind until she had nothing shiny left. As Ishtar went down, down, down, the world up above got sleepy, too. The flowers drooped their heads to sleep. The birds stopped singing their songs. Everything was quiet, waiting for Ishtar and her light to return.

When Ishtar finally reached her sister, the underground world was very gray and still. But up above, everyone missed Ishtar's warm sunshine and bright colors. A very clever friend sent a special message, and Ishtar's sister agreed it was time for her to come home. So Ishtar started her journey back up, up, up. At each gate, the guards gave her shiny things back. She got her bracelets, her necklace, and finally, her bright crown. When she popped back into the world, POP. The sun came out to play, the flowers woke up and stretched, and the world was full of color again. This story helps us understand why the world goes to sleep in winter and wakes up in spring.