In the heart of the enchanting rolling hills, lived a shepherd boy. His being was essentially untarnished, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was essentially to look after his herd of rams.
Their low murmuring and the whispering of the wind among the single tree on the mountaintop were his main companions. Day upon day, guarding his charges imbued in him a sense of tranquil contentment.
However, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would pine for fellowship. In one such instance out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome plan.
Stories of wild beasts prowling on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy opted to used this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One morning he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but saw nothing threatening.
The boy laughed at the dilemma on their faces. This trick laughed for a few days more. Yet, one noon, a real wolf actually attack the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but could protect only few of his flock. Heartbroken, 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 passed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the importance of honesty, the read more implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as appropriate today as it was in the past.