In the heart of the enchanting rolling meadows, lived a young shepherd. His existence was pure, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was essentially to look after his flock of sheep.
Their gentle baas and the whispering of the breezes among the solo tree on the hilltop were his main co-dwellers. Day in day, guarding his responsibilities inculcated in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. In one such instance from sheer monotony, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome scheme.
Narratives of wolves preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the town. So, the boy opted to exploit this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One afternoon he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but saw nothing threatening.
The boy chuckled at the confusion on their faces. This game persisted for a few days more. But, one morning, a real wolf did come to prey the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his sheep. Devastated, he returned to the village only to receive a reprimand on honesty and the consequences of dishonesty.
The story of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, here it stresses how trust once broken, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as pertinent today as it was then.