At the center of the mesmerizing rolling meadows, lived a young shepherd. His being was pure, simple, and honest. His primary duty was essentially to look after his herd of read more ewes.
Their low murmuring and the murmuring of the breezes across the single tree on the mountaintop were his only associates. Day upon day, watching over his charges instilled in him a notion of calm satisfaction.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. During one such occasion from sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a mischievous plan.
Narratives of wolves hunting on sheep had been heard times and again in the hamlet. So, the boy opted to used this fear and played a prank on the villagers.
One day he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills for rescue but found no beast.
The boy laughed at the dilemma on their faces. This game laughed for a few more days. But, one day, a real wolf did attack the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his sheep. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the results of crying wolf.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the importance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is tough to regain. It's a story as relevant today as it was anciently.