Deep within the enchanting rolling meadows, lived a shepherd boy. His existence was unadulterated, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was to care for his herd of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the whispering of the gales among the solo tree on the mountaintop were his only associates. Day after day, guarding his wards instilled in him a notion website of calm satisfaction.
However, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for company. In one such instance out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy conceived a mischievous plot.
Tales of wolves hunting on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy opted to exploit this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One morning he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The frightened villagers sprinted up the hills for rescue but discovered no wolf.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. However, one morning, a real wolf actually attack the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy ran for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the town only to be met with a lesson on honesty and the results of crying wolf.
The story of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the significance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the risks of crying wolf. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once broken, is hard to reclaim. It's a story as pertinent today as it was anciently.