Do you lie awake at night wondering what was the first story ever written? I do. =) In all seriousness, the answer to that question is the Epic of Gilgamesh. The epic tale relates the story of a Sumerian king and is frequently cited in history texts as our oldest, surviving story on Earth. If you appreciate storytelling, you will probably appreciate this bit of information.
The Epic of Gilgamesh originated from Ancient Sumeria and was originally written on 12 clay tablets in cunieform script. The story is about the adventures of the historical King of Uruk (somewhere between 2750 and 2500 BCE). The translator chose to eliminate Tablet XII for personal reasons with support from many literary, archaeological, and linguistic experts.
If you want to read the entire story, you can read all the tablets here and in many other places on the web.
