Hermes smiled. “I knew a boy once … oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really.”Hermes ignored them. “One night, when this boy’s mother wasn’t watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo.””Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?” I asked.”Hmm … no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he’d invented-a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry.”So what’s the moral?””The moral?” Hermes asked. “Goodness, you act like it’s a fable. It’s a true story. Does truth have a moral?””Um …””How about this: stealing is not always bad?””I don’t think my mom would like that moral.”, suggested George. Martha demanded..”I’ve got it,” Hermes said. “Young people don’t always do what they’re told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How’s that?
Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters