Deep within the captivating rolling fields, resided a boy named Shepherd. His existence was untarnished, simple, and honest. His only responsibility was essentially to care for his herd of sheep.
Their gentle baas and the rustling of the wind among the single tree on the hilltop were his main co-dwellers. Day after day, looking out for his wards instilled in him a notion of quiet fulfillment.
However, there were at times moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy The shepherd boy story would long for fellowship. On one such day because of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous plot.
Narratives of wild beasts hunting on sheep had long been circulating in the town. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One morning he raced into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf attacking my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to help but saw nothing threatening.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick continued for a couple of more days. But, one day, a real wolf did attack the flock. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his flock. Devastated, he went back to the town only to receive a lesson on honesty and the consequences of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is tough to reclaim. It's a story as appropriate today as it was then.