33 Hermes

Immediately after he was born，Hermes was appointed godof thieves at Olympus．And a thief he became when he was barely a few hours old．Feeling hungry，the infant left his cradle after nightfall to hunt for food．He chanced uponApollo's oxen grazing on a meadow and drove a number ofthese animals away，tying tree branches around the feet of thecattle to make their footsteps dim．He killed two of these oxenand had a magnificent dinner．Then he slipped back into his littlebed in his mother's house．When Apollo came to question himHermes pretended to be innocent．The angry sungod draggedhim up to Olympus，where he was accused of the stealing andmade to return the cattle to their master．In reconciliation little Hermes gave Apollo the lyre he had made out of a tortoise shell，and Apollo was so pleased with the gift that he presented his little brother with a magic stick．The stick could pacify hostileforces．

In due time Hermes was appointed messenger o...