Offa Smith travels to the Garden of Eden to prevent Eve from eating the apple and thereby guarantee immortality for himself (and all mankind, though that’s beyond the point).
Let’s put it this way—if you do persuade the lady to take a bite, you lose your legs.

Variants

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  1. “The Lost Garden of Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, Lucy Atwell and the Rest of the Lads of the 32nd Parachute Regiment” by Garry Kilworth, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, March 1985.
  2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Garry Kilworth