Deep within the enchanting rolling fields, dwelt a young shepherd. His existence was mostly pure, simple, and honest. His primary duty was to look after his herd of rams.
Their soft bleating and the whispering of the breezes across the solo tree on the mountaintop were his constant co-dwellers. Day after day, guarding his charges imbued in him a feeling of calm satisfaction.
However, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for companionship. On one such day from sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome scheme.
Narratives of wolves prowling on sheep had long website been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy decided to exploit this fear and played a trick on the inhabitants.
One afternoon he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is preying on my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but discovered no wolf.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This trick continued for a few days more. But, one noon, a real wolf did attack the herd. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but could protect only few of his flock. Devastated, he went back to the village only to receive a reprimand on honesty and the results of dishonesty.
The 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 perils of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once violated, is hard to reclaim. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.