Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Philipp had never been in the presence of immortality before. He didn’t quite know how to act.

“I’ve never been able to get rid of this initial awkwardness,” said Hermes. “You don’t just walk up and say, ‘Hi, I’m a god’ without expecting a bit of downtime, but—“

“What are you a god of?” asked Philipp.

Hermes blinked—hovering silently.

“Was that a bad question?”

The god scowled. “You tell me—if you were a god, and your sole purpose was to inspire the awe out of a bunch of empty-head mortals, what would you say?”

“I—I—don’t guess—“

“Exactly! I am made of the fabric of the cosmos! I set the laws of the world—and break them!” Hermes’ voice rose frantically, and he waved a wild finger at the Heavens. “I am one of the deathless gods!”

“I’m sorry,” stammered Philipp.

“Ah, don’t be,” said the god suddenly cooling as if nothing had happened. “I just get a bit jealous. Everyone knows Athena! Everyone knows Apollo! Where would they be without Wisdom and Light? But, me—nah, nobody needs me.”Philipp was almost afraid to ask it again, but he did. ”Well, what is it that you do?”

Hermes grumbled something in a voice too small to hear.

“What?”

“I said,” Hermes said pointedly, “I deliver messages.”

“Er…That’s not all bad,” said Philipp helpfully—struggling quickly to find a reason why. “At least they’re messages of gloom and doom, right?””No.”

“Threats of death and destruction?”

“No.”

“Strongly-worded requests?”

“No,” Hermes sighed. “Mainly they’re just, ‘Hey, how are you?’ ‘Fine.’ ‘How’s Hades this time of year?’ ‘Ah, can’t complain’—Boring.” The god slumped dejectedly almost touching the ground.

“You can fly,” said Philipp finally. “That’s got to count for something.”

“Well, I guess that is something.” Hermes stuck out his legs and tapped his toes together. “I do have these things.”

For the first time, Philipp noticed what fluttered on the edge of Hermes’ otherwise plain-looking sandals: two tiny wings.

The boy cried out for joy. “See! That’s something to be proud of!”

“Eh,” The god said—still unsure. “I have them on my cap too.” Releasing the tangle of brown hair from beneath it—he removed his floppy cap. Sure enough, two tiny wings twitched on either side of it as well. “It’s a unwritten rule—all clothes must maintain the same air-speed as you do—otherwise, you might end up surprising the people at the other end a bit more than you intended.”

The god laughed and so did Philipp.

Hermes put his cap back on. He sighed. “I still don’t suppose you recognize me now?”

“Sorry,” said Philipp good-naturedly. “But then again, I don’t know much about the Olympians. My mother was never one to me about the gods. I don’t think she likes you all very much.”

Hermes snorted. “Who can blame her? I don’t like us very much. Oh well. There’s always time to learn.”

“Learn?”

“Most definitely,” said Hermes—his original joyfulness returning. “For you see, my young Sheepboy, I am also a master thief.”

“A thief? You don’t seem like a thief,” the boy said. “I thought most thieves would seem more like—more like those shepherds back there.”

“Perhaps—but not I—I am a good thief. I mean, I’m good at what I do—I mean, I’m not a bad thief—oh, you get the idea…anyway, I’ve come here on an express mission.”

“To do what?” said Philipp breathlessly.

“To steal something, of course.”

It hit him. At once, it all made sense to the young shepherd boy. The lambs—the ones that he had forgotten all about—out in the open. He had been such a fool. Then the anger flooded in.

“You! You’ve come to steal my sheep!” Philipp cried out—raising himself from the rock.

“Your sheep?” Hermes laughed. “Haven’t you been listening? Why would I want to steal your sheep—“ He stopped mid-laugh. “Not that I couldn’t if I wanted to—you know.”

“Then what?”

Hermes chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “Isn’t it terribly obvious? I lured you down here for a purpose.””Lured me?”

“You counted four sheep, right?”

Then it hit Philipp again. “You were the lamb! You made yourself look like Achilles!”

“Achilles? Oooh, bad choice for a name,” the god furrowed his brow. “But, yes, that was I.”

"But the wolf! You could have been eaten!”

“Please! That was me as well. I’m sort of a visual ventiroloquist. I had to be. You were taking forever getting down that cliff.”

“I could have been killed!”

“Very probable, but have you guessed it yet? Think,Sheepboy, what is the item that I’ve come to steal?”

The answer flashed into Philipp’s mind, and it caused a gulp to form in his throat.

“You’ve come to steal me,” he said weakly.

“Pre-cisely,” said Hermes with a sideways smile.