At the center of the enchanting rolling hills, resided a young shepherd. His life was essentially pure, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was to care for his herd of sheep.
Their soft bleating and the murmuring of the gales through the single tree on the peak were his constant co-dwellers. Day in day, watching over his charges imbued in him a feeling of tranquil contentment.
But, there were the occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would pine for companionship. In one such instance because of sheer monotony, the shepherd boy conceived check here a mischievous scheme.
Narratives of wild beasts hunting on sheep had long been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy decided to leveraged this fear and played a trick on the inhabitants.
One morning he raced into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills for rescue but saw no beast.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick persisted for a few more days. But, one noon, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy ran for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could protect only few of his sheep. Heartbroken, he went back to the village only to be met with a lesson on honesty and the consequences of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the value of honesty, the consequences of lying and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once broken, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as relevant today as it was then.