De jonge Mercurius steelt runderen van Apollo’s kudde
Having been banished from Olympus, Apollo now toils as a cowherd. Engrossed in playing the flute, he is unaware that his half-brother Mercury is busy pilfering his cattle. The little thief has wings on his feet. The lyre, a stringed instrument, hanging from a tree trunk is believed to have been invented by Mercury and served as a medium of exchange for the stolen cattle.