At the center of the enchanting rolling fields, resided a young shepherd. His existence was mostly unadulterated, simple yet virtuous. His only responsibility was mainly to tend to his flock of rams.
Their soft bleating and the murmuring of the wind among the single tree on the mountaintop were his only associates. Day upon day, watching over his charges instilled in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were at times moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would yearn for companionship. In one such instance from sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a naughty plot.
Tales of wolves hunting on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy opted to used this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One morning he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but found no beast.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This prank continued for a couple of more days. Yet, one noon, a real wolf did come to prey the herd. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no read more one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his flock. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the results of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the value of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is hard to regain. It's a story as relevant today as it was in the past.