At the center of the captivating rolling fields, lived a young shepherd. His being was essentially pure, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was essentially to look after his flock of rams.
Their gentle baas and the murmuring of the wind among the solo tree on the mountaintop were his constant co-dwellers. Day in day, looking out for his responsibilities imbued in him a feeling of tranquil contentment.
However, there were occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would pine for company. During one such occasion out of sheer monotony, the shepherd boy orchestrated a naughty plot.
Narratives of wild beasts hunting on sheep had been around for a while in the town. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a joke on the townsfolk.
One day he ran into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf attacking my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills to help but found nothing threatening.
The boy laughed at the puzzle on their faces. This prank persisted for a couple of more days. However, one morning, a real wolf actually come to prey the flock. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his flock. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the repercussions of crying wolf.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the value of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of false alarms. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once broken, is difficult to regain. It's read more a story as relevant today as it was in the past.