Having once tasted the delights of travel, he could not endure the thought of a quiet humdrum life in the little cave at Kyllene, and he besought the King to send him on some foreign mission.
Zeus, pleased with the boy's adventurous spirit, appointed him his special Ambassador.
Light of foot and light of heart was the bright-haired messenger of the gods, the very merriest tramp that ever walked, or flew, or ran.
Sometimes he showed to travellers the road they had lost, and sometimes he led them far out of the way, stealing their purses, and then laughing at their tears.
On one occasion, having found Zeus in great distress because the Queen had determined to kill Io, a lovely young girl of whom the King was very fond, he declared that he alone would save her.
Zeus at first changed Io into a heifer, but the Queen discovered the secret, and sent Argus, a monster with a hundred eyes, to watch her.
It seemed impossible that the lovely Io could escape, and the poor old King was in despair.
"Trust me," said the cheerful Hermes, "I will manage the matter."
Swifter than a cloud that flies before the wind, he glided through the air until he reached the spot where the monster lay in wait for Io.
With one touch of his wand Hermes put the beast to sleep, and before he had time to wink even one of his hundred eyes Argus was dead.