Once a herdsman was tending to his flock in the forest when he realised that he had lost a bull calf. He searched long and hard for it everywhere but could not find it. Finally, he vowed that if he could find the thief who had stolen his calf he would be very grateful and would sacrifice a lamb to the guardian deities of the forest—Hermes and Pan.
Some time later, while climbing up a small hillock, he saw a lion eating his lost calf. He was terrified that the lion would kill him too and raising his hands in despair, he declared, “Athough I vowed just now that I would offer a sacrifice to the gods of the forest if I found the robber of my bull calf, but now I promise that I will add a fat bull in addition to my calf to please the guardian deities if I can safely get away from here.”