At the center of the captivating rolling meadows, lived a shepherd boy. His life was untarnished, simple yet virtuous. His primary duty was to look after his flock of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the whispering of the gales through the single tree on the peak were his only co-dwellers. Day in day, looking out for his wards inculcated in him a sense of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were at times moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would long for company. On one such day out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome plan.
Narratives of predators preying on sheep had long been circulating in the town. So, the boy chose to exploit this fear and played a prank on the inhabitants.
One afternoon he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is attacking my sheep!” The frightened villagers sprinted up the hills for rescue but found no wolf.
The boy laughed at the confusion on their faces. This game persisted for a few days more. But, one morning, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid shouting “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. Devastated, he returned to the village only to receive a lesson on honesty and the repercussions 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 implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it highlights how trust once broken, is hard to earn back. It's a story as relevant today as get more info it was in the past.