Deep within the mesmerizing rolling hills, resided a shepherd boy. His life was unadulterated, simple yet virtuous. His only responsibility was essentially to look after his herd of sheep.
Their low murmuring and the whispering of the gales among the lone tree on the peak were his main co-dwellers. Day upon day, guarding his wards inculcated in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
However, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would pine for fellowship. On one such day because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous plan.
Narratives of wild beasts prowling on sheep had been heard times and again in the town. So, the boy decided to leveraged this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One morning he ran into the village screaming “Wolf! A wolf is attacking my sheep!” The frightened villagers click here rushed up the hills to offer assistance but discovered no beast.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This prank laughed for a few more days. Yet, one day, a real wolf actually come to prey the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his flock. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a reprimand on honesty and the results of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once violated, is tough to earn back. It's a story as pertinent today as it was in the past.