At the center of the mesmerizing rolling fields, dwelt a young shepherd. His life was essentially unadulterated, and unsophisticated. His main role was essentially to tend to his flock of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the murmuring of the gales among the lone tree on the peak were his only associates. Day in day, looking out for his charges inculcated in him a sense of calm satisfaction.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for companionship. In one such instance out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy conceived a mischievous plot.
Tales of wild beasts preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the town. So, the boy opted to exploit this fear and played a trick on the villagers.
One day he raced into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers ran up the hills to help but found no wolf.
The boy laughed at the dilemma on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf actually charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his sheep. Devastated, read more he returned to the town only to receive a lesson on honesty and the results of false alarms.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is hard to regain. It's a story as relevant today as it was anciently.