In the heart of the enchanting rolling hills, lived a young shepherd. His life was essentially pure, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was to care for his herd of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the rustling of the gales among the lone tree on the peak were his only co-dwellers. Day in day, looking out for his responsibilities instilled in him a notion read more of calm satisfaction.
But, there were at times moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. During one such occasion because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome plot.
Narratives of wolves preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to leveraged this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One morning he raced into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf attacking my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills to help but discovered no beast.
The boy giggled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick continued for a few days more. However, one day, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the town only to receive a lesson on honesty and the repercussions of false alarms.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of crying wolf. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once violated, is hard to regain. It's a story as pertinent today as it was then.