At the center of the enchanting rolling fields, lived a boy named Shepherd. His life was essentially untarnished, simple, and honest. His only responsibility was mainly to look after his herd of ewes.
Their gentle baas and the whispering of the breezes across the solo tree click here on the hilltop were his constant associates. Day in day, guarding his responsibilities instilled in him a feeling of calm satisfaction.
But, there were occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would yearn for fellowship. In one such instance from sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a mischievous scheme.
Narratives of wolves preying on sheep had long been circulating in the village. So, the boy chose to exploit this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One afternoon he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is attacking my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills to offer assistance but found nothing threatening.
The boy chuckled at the puzzle on their faces. This game laughed for a couple of more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf did attack the herd. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but could rescue only few of his sheep. Heartbroken, he went back to the village only to be met with a lesson on honesty and the repercussions of crying wolf.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the significance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is tough to earn back. It's a story as relevant today as it was in the past.