On a bright morning when the world was still young and magic flowed as freely as mountain streams, a very special baby was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene. This was no ordinary child, for his father was Zeus, the mighty king of the gods, and his mother was the gentle nymph Maia. The baby’s name was Hermes, and from the moment he drew his first breath, it was clear he was destined for extraordinary things.

Most babies spend their first day sleeping and crying, but Hermes had other plans. As the golden sunlight filtered into the cave, the newborn sat up, stretched his tiny arms, and looked around with eyes that sparkled with mischief and intelligence.

“Well, this is interesting,” Hermes said to himself, his voice surprisingly clear for someone only hours old. “I seem to be a baby, but I feel quite ready for adventure.”

His mother Maia slept peacefully nearby, exhausted from childbirth. Hermes looked at her with affection, then quietly slipped from his cradle of soft moss and flower petals.

The first thing the baby god did was examine his surroundings. The cave was comfortable but simple, and outside, the world beckoned with all its wonders. But what caught Hermes’ attention was not the beauty of nature—it was the sound of lowing cattle in the distance.

“Those sound like very fine cattle,” Hermes mused, his divine mind already forming a plan. “I wonder who they belong to?”

With surprising stealth for a baby, Hermes crept from the cave and made his way toward the sound. What he discovered made his eyes widen with delight. There, grazing in a beautiful meadow filled with sweet grass and clear streams, was the most magnificent herd of cattle he had ever seen.

These were no ordinary cows. Their hides gleamed like polished gold in the sunlight, their horns were perfectly shaped, and they moved with a grace that spoke of divine breeding. Even more impressive, they seemed to glow with their own inner light.

“My, my,” Hermes whispered, crawling closer through the tall grass. “These must belong to someone very important indeed.”

What Hermes didn’t know was that these cattle belonged to his half-brother Apollo, the glorious god of the sun, music, and prophecy. Apollo treasured these cattle above almost all his possessions, for they were sacred and gave the finest milk in all creation.

But Hermes was not thinking about whose cattle they were—he was thinking about how clever it would be to take them on an adventure. After all, they looked rather bored just standing around eating grass all day.

The baby god surveyed the situation with the tactical mind of a born trickster. The cattle were guarded by Apollo’s loyal shepherds, but they were taking their afternoon rest under the shade of olive trees, drowsing in the warm sunshine.

“Perfect,” Hermes chuckled softly. “Time for my first great adventure.”

Despite being only hours old, Hermes displayed cunning that would have impressed the wisest philosophers. First, he gathered some branches and leaves, which he tied to his tiny feet like sandals. But these weren’t ordinary sandals—he put them on backwards, so that his footprints would point in the wrong direction.

“Anyone following my trail will think I was walking the opposite way,” he giggled to himself. “How terribly clever of me!”

Next, Hermes crept toward the sleeping shepherds. His divine nature gave him powers that even surprised him—he could move without making a sound, and somehow he knew how to make others sleep even more deeply. With a gentle touch of his tiny hand, he sent the shepherds into dreams so pleasant and deep that they would not wake until evening.

“Sweet dreams,” Hermes whispered kindly. “I’ll take good care of the cattle while you rest.”

Now came the tricky part. How does a baby who can barely walk convince an entire herd of divine cattle to follow him? Hermes discovered he had a gift for this too. When he spoke to the cattle in a low, musical voice, they found themselves eager to do whatever he suggested.

“Hello, beautiful cattle,” Hermes said in his most charming baby voice. “Wouldn’t you like to go on a lovely walk with me? I know the most wonderful places where the grass is even sweeter than here.”

The cattle, enchanted by something in the baby’s voice, began to move toward him. Soon, the entire herd of fifty magnificent animals was following the tiny god as he led them away from Apollo’s meadow.

But Hermes wasn’t done being clever. As they walked, he continued to cover his tracks in ingenious ways. He made the cattle walk backwards for part of the journey, so their hoofprints would be confusing. He led them through rocky areas where they would leave no prints at all. And whenever they had to cross soft ground, he used his budding magical powers to make the prints look older than they were.

“This is turning out to be the most delightful game,” Hermes laughed as he led the cattle through hidden valleys and secret paths that seemed to appear just when he needed them.

After many hours of travel, as the sun began to set, Hermes found the perfect hiding place—a large cave in a remote mountain, well-hidden by hanging vines and wild roses. He led the cattle inside, where they found sweet grass growing even in the dim light, and a clear spring of fresh water.

“There you are, my beautiful friends,” Hermes said, patting the nearest cow. “A lovely new home for you. Much more exciting than that boring old meadow, don’t you think?”

The cattle seemed content with their new surroundings, and Hermes settled down to rest from his big adventure. But he wasn’t quite finished with his mischievous plans.

Meanwhile, as evening approached, Apollo returned to check on his precious cattle. The god of the sun cut a magnificent figure as he strode into the meadow—tall and golden-haired, with a lyre in one hand and rays of light shimmering around his shoulders.

“Good evening, my faithful shepherds,” Apollo called cheerfully. “How are my beautiful—”

He stopped mid-sentence. The meadow was empty. Not a single cow remained.

“Where are my cattle?” Apollo demanded, shaking the shepherds awake from their unnaturally deep sleep.

The shepherds rubbed their eyes in confusion. “My lord Apollo,” stammered their leader, “we… we were just resting for a moment. The cattle were right here, I swear it!”

Apollo’s eyes flashed with divine anger. “A moment? The sun has nearly set! My cattle have been missing for hours!”

The shepherds fell to their knees in terror. “Forgive us, great Apollo! We don’t know what happened. It was as if sleep magic overcame us!”

Apollo’s anger cooled slightly as he realized this was no ordinary theft. “Sleep magic,” he repeated thoughtfully. “This was the work of a god.”

He began to search for clues, and soon found the strange backward footprints and confused hoofprints that Hermes had left. Apollo was known for his wisdom and prophecy, but even he was puzzled by the odd trail.

“These prints make no sense,” he muttered, following them for a while before losing the trail completely on rocky ground. “It’s as if whoever did this wanted to be very sure they wouldn’t be followed.”

As the god of prophecy, Apollo had ways of finding answers to mysteries. He consulted the omens, read the flight patterns of birds, and even asked the wind spirits for information. Slowly, a picture emerged that seemed impossible to believe.

“A baby?” Apollo said aloud, staring at the signs in disbelief. “The omens say my cattle were stolen by a baby? That’s ridiculous!”

But divine omens were rarely wrong. Following their guidance, Apollo found himself traveling toward Mount Cyllene and the cave where Maia lived with her newborn son.

Back in the cave, Maia had woken to find her baby son sleeping peacefully in his cradle, looking like the most innocent child in the world. She had no idea he had spent the day on a great cattle-rustling adventure.

When Apollo arrived at the cave, his golden radiance lit up the dim interior. Maia woke with a start, clutching her baby protectively.

“Great Apollo,” she said, bowing her head respectfully. “What brings you to our humble cave?”

Apollo looked stern and magnificent in his anger. “Someone has stolen my sacred cattle, and the omens point to this place. I seek the thief.”

Maia looked genuinely confused. “A thief? But there’s no one here except myself and my newborn son, who was born only yesterday.”

Apollo’s eyes fell on the baby Hermes, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully, sucking his thumb and making soft baby noises. It seemed impossible that this innocent infant could be the clever cattle thief he sought.

“Perhaps the omens were wrong,” Apollo muttered, but then he noticed something. The baby’s eyes were open just a crack, and there was definitely a gleam of intelligence—and amusement—in them.

“You there, baby,” Apollo said, approaching the cradle. “Do you know anything about some missing cattle?”

Hermes opened his eyes wide and gave Apollo the most innocent baby look imaginable. “Goo goo,” he said sweetly. “Ba ba ba.”

But Apollo was not fooled. “I am the god of truth and prophecy,” he said sternly. “I can see through deceptions. You may be a baby, but you’re no ordinary child. Where are my cattle?”

Hermes sat up in his cradle and fixed Apollo with a direct gaze. When he spoke, his voice was clear and surprisingly mature. “Brother Apollo—for we are both sons of Zeus—I’m just a baby. What would I know about cattle? I can barely walk!”

“Brother?” Apollo repeated, his anger momentarily forgotten. He looked more closely at the child and indeed saw the resemblance to their father Zeus. “You’re Zeus’s son?”

“I am,” Hermes said proudly. “Born yesterday, as you can see. And I’ve spent my entire short life right here in this cave with my mother. How could I possibly steal anyone’s cattle?”

But even as he spoke, Apollo noticed that Hermes couldn’t quite keep the mischievous twinkle out of his eyes. There was something about this baby that was definitely not ordinary.

“If you’re so innocent,” Apollo said, “then you won’t mind if I search the area for any sign of my cattle.”

Hermes shrugged his tiny shoulders. “Search all you like, brother. You’ll find nothing here but rocks and baby things.”

Apollo spent the next hour searching the immediate area around the cave, but found no trace of his cattle. Hermes watched with apparent interest, occasionally offering unhelpful baby comments like “Pretty flowers!” and “Ooh, shiny rocks!”

Finally, frustrated but unable to find any evidence, Apollo was about to leave when he heard a very faint sound in the distance. It was the soft lowing of cattle, echoing from somewhere deep in the mountains.

“Aha!” Apollo spun around to face Hermes. “What was that sound?”

Hermes tilted his head as if listening carefully. “I don’t hear anything, brother. Perhaps it’s just the wind in the rocks?”

But Apollo’s hearing was divinely sharp, and he knew the sound of his own cattle. Following the faint echoes, he made his way through the hidden paths that Hermes had used, until he found the secret cave where the cattle were contentedly chewing grass and drinking from the clear spring.

“My beautiful cattle!” Apollo cried, rushing to embrace his beloved animals. “Thank the fates you’re safe!”

The cattle looked up at him with bovine innocence, as if to say, “We’ve been having a lovely vacation, thank you very much.”

Apollo was relieved to have his cattle back, but he was also curious about the baby god who had managed such an elaborate theft on his very first day of life. He returned to the cave where Hermes was still sitting in his cradle, now playing with what appeared to be a small musical instrument.

“Very well, little brother,” Apollo said, no longer angry but rather impressed. “I’ve found my cattle. But I have to ask—how did you manage all of this? You’re barely a day old!”

Hermes looked up from his toy and grinned—a grin full of mischief and charm. “Maybe I’m a very advanced baby?”

Apollo laughed despite himself. “Indeed you are. But that doesn’t explain how you moved fifty cattle without leaving a clear trail, or how you managed to make my shepherds sleep so deeply.”

“Well,” Hermes said, suddenly looking eager to share his cleverness, “it was really quite simple. I put branches on my feet backwards to confuse the footprints, and I made the cattle walk backwards part of the way, and I found paths where they wouldn’t leave tracks, and I may have used just a tiny bit of sleep magic on the shepherds—but only because they looked so tired!”

Apollo stared at his baby brother in amazement. “You did all that? In one day? At your age?”

Hermes nodded proudly. “It was my first great adventure! I thought the cattle looked bored in that meadow, so I decided to show them something new. They seemed to enjoy the cave—there’s fresh water and sweet grass there too.”

“But why didn’t you just ask me if you wanted to play with my cattle?”

Hermes looked genuinely puzzled by this question. “Where would be the fun in that? The best part was figuring out how to do it without getting caught. Well, mostly without getting caught,” he added with a sheepish grin.

Apollo found himself laughing. “You know, little brother, I should be furious with you. Those cattle are sacred and very precious to me.”

“I took good care of them,” Hermes said earnestly. “I made sure they had everything they needed. I would never hurt them.”

Looking at his baby brother’s sincere expression, Apollo realized that Hermes had indeed meant no real harm. The cattle were uninjured and had even seemed to enjoy their adventure. And he had to admit, the cleverness of the theft was actually quite impressive.

“What’s that you’re playing with?” Apollo asked, noticing the small instrument in Hermes’ hands.

Hermes held it up proudly. “I made it myself while you were looking for the cattle. I found a turtle shell and stretched some sinew across it. Listen!” He plucked the strings, and the most beautiful music filled the cave.

Apollo’s eyes widened in wonder. As the god of music, he recognized extraordinary talent when he heard it. The melody Hermes was playing was unlike anything he had ever heard—wild and joyful and somehow perfectly suited to the mischievous baby who had created it.

“That’s… that’s incredible,” Apollo breathed. “What do you call this instrument?”

“I don’t know,” Hermes said, still playing. “I just invented it this morning. Maybe… a lyre?”

Apollo felt a familiar stirring in his heart—the same feeling he got when he encountered something truly beautiful and new. “Hermes, would you… would you consider trading that lyre for something?”

Hermes stopped playing and looked at his brother with interest. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Apollo said slowly, “I’m still a bit upset about the cattle theft. But I’m also incredibly impressed by your cleverness and your musical talent. What if we made a deal? You give me that wonderful lyre, and I’ll give you something in return. And we’ll call it even about the cattle.”

“What would you give me?” Hermes asked, clearly intrigued by the idea of making a deal.

Apollo thought for a moment. “I have a golden staff—a caduceus—that has special powers. And I could teach you about herding and trade. In fact, I think you’d make an excellent messenger and guide for the gods. Your cleverness and quick thinking would be perfect for it.”

Hermes’ eyes lit up with excitement. “A messenger for the gods? That sounds like it would involve lots of traveling and adventures!”

“Indeed it would,” Apollo laughed. “And probably plenty of opportunities for the kind of clever problem-solving you seem to enjoy.”

Hermes considered the offer carefully. “It’s a fair trade,” he decided. “The lyre for a new career and that magic staff. But I want to add one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I want us to be friends, not just brothers. Real friends who look out for each other and share adventures.”

Apollo felt his heart warm at his baby brother’s words. “I would like that very much, Hermes. You may be the most unusual baby in creation, but you’re also quite wonderful.”

And so the two gods made their trade. Hermes gave Apollo the lyre that would become one of the most famous musical instruments in all mythology, and Apollo gave Hermes the golden caduceus that would become his symbol as the messenger of the gods.

But more importantly, they gained something that would last far longer than any magical item—they became the best of friends. From that day forward, Apollo and Hermes shared countless adventures, always looking out for each other and always ready to appreciate each other’s unique talents.

Hermes grew up to become the cleverest messenger in all the cosmos, known for his quick wit, his ability to travel between worlds, and his talent for getting out of (and sometimes into) trouble. Apollo became the greatest musician among the gods, and his lyre—the one Hermes had invented—was heard in the most beautiful melodies ever created.

And whenever the two brothers got together, they would laugh about that first day when baby Hermes had stolen the cattle, beginning a friendship with one of the most audacious pranks in the history of the gods.

The story of Hermes and the cattle teaches us that cleverness and mischief aren’t always bad, especially when they come from a playful heart rather than a mean spirit. It shows us that sometimes the most unexpected friendships are the strongest ones, and that it’s possible to turn even conflicts into the beginning of something wonderful.

Most of all, it reminds us that some of the best adventures begin with a little bit of harmless mischief and a lot of creative thinking.