"Once an old man, who was coming back from cutting wood, carried it on his back and walked a long way. Upon unloading the weight, exhausted, he called Death. Death appeared and asked him why he was calling her. The old man said, 'To take the burden off me."

"A rascal, who bet with another that he would prove the fortune-teller Tiresias was lying, caught a little sparrow in his hand; hiding it, he went to the temple and asked if what he had in his hand was something alive or lifeless. He wanted, if he was told 'lifeless', to show the sparrow alive, and if he was told 'alive', to show it after he had drowned it. The fortune-teller noticed his trickery and said to him: 'Hey, you, stop! Because it's up to you whether what you have is dead or alive."

"Hermes wanted to know how highly people valued him, so he took on the appearance of a man and went to the workshop of a sculptor. Upon seeing a statue of Zeus, he asked, 'How much?' The sculptor replied, 'One hundred drachmas.' Smiling, Hermes asked, 'And how much for Hera?' The sculptor said it was a bit more expensive. When he saw his own statue, suspecting that as the messenger and advocate of commerce, he would be highly valued by people, he inquired about it: 'And how much for Hermes?' The sculptor said, 'Well, if you buy the other two, I'll give you this one for free.'"