At the center of the mesmerizing rolling fields, dwelt a shepherd boy. His existence was pure, simple yet virtuous. His primary duty was to look after his flock of rams.
Their low murmuring and the whispering of the gales among the single tree on the peak were his constant co-dwellers. Day upon day, looking out for his responsibilities inculcated in him a notion of calm satisfaction.
Yet, there were at times moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for company. On one such day because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous scheme.
Stories of wild beasts hunting on sheep had long been circulating in the town. So, the boy opted to leveraged this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One morning he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but saw no wolf.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This prank persisted for a few more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf did charge at the flock. 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 village only to be met with a scolding 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 importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the perils of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once broken, is difficult to The shepherd boy story reclaim. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.