At the center of the mesmerizing rolling meadows, dwelt a boy named Shepherd. His existence was untarnished, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was mainly to care for his flock of rams.
Their gentle baas and the rustling of the breezes across the lone tree on the mountaintop were his main associates. Day in day, watching over his charges inculcated in him a sense of calm satisfaction.
Yet, there were occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. On one such day out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a naughty plan.
Stories of wolves hunting on sheep had long been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy opted to exploit this fear and played a joke on the townsfolk.
One morning he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to help but saw nothing threatening.
The boy giggled at the puzzle on their faces. This prank persisted for a couple of more days. But, one day, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy ran for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his sheep. Heartbroken, he returned to the village only to be met with a reprimand on honesty and the results of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted website generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the perils of false alarms. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once broken, is hard to regain. It's a story as relevant today as it was in the past.