At the center of the mesmerizing rolling hills, resided a young shepherd. His being was mostly untarnished, simple, and honest. His primary duty was to care for his herd of rams.
Their gentle baas and the rustling of the gales through the single tree on the mountaintop were his constant co-dwellers. Day upon day, looking out for his charges inculcated in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
Yet, there were occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. During one such occasion because of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome plot.
Narratives of wild beasts prowling 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 raced into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to help but saw no wolf.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This trick continued for a couple of more days. But, one day, a real wolf actually attack the flock. more info The shepherd boy raced for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his sheep. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the results of crying wolf.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once violated, is hard to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.