One bright morning, Hermes, the god with winged sandals who zoomed around delivering messages, had a thought. "I wonder," he mused, "just how much do humans really admire me?"

So, he decided to find out. He put on a simple traveler's cloak and hat so no one would recognize him, and flew down to a busy town on Earth. He walked into a sculptor's workshop, a place filled with amazing statues.

First, Hermes pointed to a grand statue of Zeus, the king of all the gods. "That's a wonderful statue!" he said to the sculptor. "How much would it cost?"
The sculptor puffed out his chest. "Ah, for Zeus, king of the heavens? That will be one hundred gold coins!"

Hermes nodded, impressed. Then he pointed to a beautiful statue of Hera, the queen of the gods. "And this lovely one? How much for Hera?"
"For the queen," the sculptor replied, "she is ninety gold coins."

Hermes smiled to himself. He was feeling pretty good. Surely, if Zeus and Hera were so valuable, he, the clever messenger of the gods, must be worth a lot too! He spotted a statue of himself, complete with his famous winged sandals and hat.
Trying to sound casual, he asked, "And what about this one? The one with the speedy shoes?"

The sculptor looked at the statue of Hermes and then back at the customer. "Oh, that one?" he said with a shrug. "Well, if you buy the statue of Zeus and the statue of Hera, I'll throw that one in for free!"

Hermes' jaw dropped. Free? He, Hermes, was just a free add-on?
He didn't say another word. He quietly thanked the sculptor and zipped back to Mount Olympus, feeling a little less puffed up than before. He learned that day that sometimes, what we think of ourselves isn't always what others think, and that was a rather surprising message, even for a messenger god.

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