Deep within the mesmerizing rolling hills, dwelt a shepherd boy. His being was mostly untarnished, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was mainly to care for his herd of sheep.
Their soft bleating and the murmuring of the breezes across the lone tree on the peak were his only companions. Day upon day, guarding his charges inculcated in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
However, there were at times moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would yearn for fellowship. On one such day out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome plan.
Narratives of predators hunting on sheep had been heard times and again in the village. So, the boy opted to check here used this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One afternoon he ran into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is attacking my sheep!” The frightened villagers rushed up the hills to help but saw no beast.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This prank persisted for a few more days. However, one day, a real wolf did attack the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his flock. Heartbroken, he went back to the town only to receive a reprimand on honesty and the consequences of false alarms.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as pertinent today as it was in the past.