The Shepherd Boy & The Wolf
Shepherd Boy tended his master's Sheep near a dark forest not far
from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All
he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his
shepherd's pipe. One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet
forest, and thinking what he would do should he see a Wolf, he
thought of a plan to amuse himself. His Master had told him to call
for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers would
drive it away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even
looked like a Wolf, he ran toward the village shouting at the top of
his voice, "Wolf! Wolf!" As he expected, the Villagers who heard the
cry dropped their work and ran in great excitement to the pasture.
But when they got there they found the Boy doubled up with laughter
at the trick he had played on them. A few days later the Shepherd
Boy again shouted, "Wolf! Wolf!" Again the Villagers ran to help
him, only to be laughed at again. Then one evening as the sun was
setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the
pasture, a Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon
the Sheep. In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting "Wolf!
Wolf!" But though the Villagers heard the cry, they did not run to
help him as they had before. "He cannot fool us again," they said.
The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy's sheep and then slipped
away into the forest.
Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.
