At the center of the enchanting rolling meadows, resided a young shepherd. His being was mostly untarnished, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was essentially to look after his flock of ewes.
Their gentle baas and the whispering of the gales through the single tree on the peak were his constant co-dwellers. Day after day, guarding his wards instilled in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would pine for company. During one such occasion from sheer boredom, the shepherd boy conceived a naughty plot.
Stories of wolves prowling on sheep had been heard times and again in the village. So, the boy decided to leveraged this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One afternoon he raced into the village shouting “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills for rescue but saw nothing threatening.
The boy laughed at the dilemma on their faces. This prank continued for a few more days. However, one morning, a real wolf did charge at the herd. The shepherd boy ran for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the village only to receive a scolding on honesty and the consequences of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as a mediaeval parable The shepherd boy story to teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once broken, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.