At the center of the mesmerizing rolling meadows, lived a boy named Shepherd. His life was mostly pure, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was to care for his herd of sheep.
Their gentle baas and the murmuring of the gales through the lone tree on the hilltop were his main associates. Day upon day, watching over his responsibilities inculcated in him a sense of calm satisfaction.
But, there were at times moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would long for company. In one such instance out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome scheme.
Narratives of wild beasts preying on sheep had long been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to leveraged this fear and played a trick on the townsfolk.
One day he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The frightened villagers ran up the hills for rescue but found no wolf.
The boy chuckled at the puzzle on their faces. This trick laughed for a couple of more days. But, one noon, a real wolf actually come to prey the herd. The shepherd boy dashed for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his sheep. Heartbroken, he went back to the town only to receive a scolding on honesty and the results of dishonesty.
The story of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations more info as a mediaeval parable to teaching the significance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once broken, is tough to reclaim. It's a story as appropriate today as it was then.