Hermes was known to be a cunning trickster, stealing things from the other gods and hiding them in unbelievable locations.

Back in the days when Hermes was still an infant, he once went out his cradle and decided to go to Pieria in Northern Greece and steal the cattle from his half-brother Apollo.

Hermes discovered the herd very soon, and started pulling the hoofs out of the cows’ feet one by one and re-attaching them in the reverse order; the same he did to his own sandals. Then he took the herd, which now seemed to be walking backwards, hid them inside a cave and quickly returned to his cave in Mount Cyllene in Arcadia.

Apollo soon discovered his herd was missing and he went out searching all around. The traces he saw on his way were nothing but confusing and led the god to dispair. However, Apollo was the god of prophecy, so he soon found out the thief and went furiously to Mount Cyllene to find Hermes in his cave. Little Hermes was peacefully sleeping inside his cradle, but Apollo didn’t bother. He grabbed the infant and took him up to Mount Olympus to be judged by their master Zeus, the king of the gods.

Before the eyes of Zeus, Hermes first denied everything, but in the end he had to confess. Zeus had found the story quite amusing so he didn't punish Hermes; he only asked from him to return the herd. Regretful of what he had done, Hermes then offered Apollo his lyre as a present, a musical instrument he had created all by himself out of the shell of a tortoise.

To compensate Hermes for his kindness, Apollo returned the gesture by giving Hermes a golden rod to guide the herds. From that moment on, there was peace again in Mount Olympus and a strong friendship began between Hermes and Apollo.