One of the most curious of these petitions is a prayer after a bad dream, of which a fragment only has been found. This reads as follows: 'May the lord set my prayer at rest, (may he remove) my heavy (sin). May the lord (grant) a return of favour. By day direct unto death all that disquiets me. O my goddess, be gracious unto me; when (wilt thou hear) my prayer? May they pardon my sin, my wickedness, (and) my transgression. May the exalted one deliver, may the holy one love. May the seven winds carry away my groaning. May the worm lay it low, may the bird bear it upwards to heaven. May a shoal of fish carry it away; may the river bear it along. May the creeping thing of the field come unto me; may the waters of the river as they flow cleanse me. Enlighten me like a mask of gold. Food and drink before thee perpetually may I get. Heap up the worm, take away his life. The steps of thy altar, thy many ones, may I ascend. With the worm make me pass, and may I be kept with thee. Make me to be fed, and may a favourable dream come. May the dream I dream be favourable; may the dream I dream be fulfilled. May the dream I dream turn to prosperity. May Makhir, the god of dreams, settle upon my head. Let me enter Beth-Saggil, the palace of the gods, the temple of the lord. Give me unto Merodach, the merciful, to prosperity, even unto prospering hands. May thy entering (O Merodach) be exalted, may thy divinity be glorious; may the men of thy city extol thy mighty deeds.' Along with these prayers, the Assyrians possessed a collection of penitential psalms, which were composed at a very remote period in Southern Babylonia. The most perfect of those of which we have copies is the following:— My Lord is wroth in his heart: may he be appeased again. May God be appeased again, for I knew not that I sinned. May Istar, my mother, be appeased again, for I knew not that I sinned, God knoweth that I knew not: may he be appeased. Istar, my mother, knoweth that I knew not: may she be appeased. May the heart of my God be appeased. May God and Istar, my mother, be appeased. May God cease from his anger. May Istar, my mother, cease from her anger. The transgression (I committed my God) knew. [The next few lines are obliterated.]