In the heart of the enchanting rolling meadows, lived a young shepherd. His life was untarnished, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was essentially to care for his flock of get more info rams.
Their low murmuring and the rustling of the wind across the solo tree on the mountaintop were his only companions. Day after day, watching over his charges imbued in him a sense of calm satisfaction.
But, there were at times moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would yearn for fellowship. During one such occasion out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome plan.
Tales of wild beasts prowling on sheep had long been circulating in the village. So, the boy opted to used this fear and played a trick on the villagers.
One morning he dashed into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills to help but found no beast.
The boy giggled at the confusion on their faces. This prank laughed for a couple of more days. Yet, one day, a real wolf did come to prey the flock. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
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 repercussions 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 stresses how trust once broken, is hard to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was then.