A HERDSMAN taking his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf from the fold.
After a long and fruitless search, he made a promise that, if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian Deities of the forest.
Not long afterwards, as he crossed a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf.
Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and
his hands to heaven, and said: "Just now I
promised to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities
of the forest if I could only find out who had
robbed me; but now that I have discovered the
thief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull
to the Calf I have lost, if I may only secure my
own escape from him in safety."