In the heart of the enchanting rolling hills, resided a shepherd boy. His life was essentially pure, simple yet virtuous. His main role was mainly to look after his flock of ewes.
Their gentle baas and the murmuring of the wind among the solo tree on the peak were his constant co-dwellers. Day in day, watching over his charges inculcated in him The shepherd boy story a sense of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were at times moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would pine for company. On one such day out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome plot.
Tales of wolves preying on sheep had been around for a while in the village. So, the boy decided to exploit this fear and played a trick on the villagers.
One afternoon he ran into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf attacking my sheep!” The frightened villagers sprinted up the hills to help but found no wolf.
The boy giggled at the puzzle on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. But, one noon, a real wolf actually come to prey the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “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 flock. Heartbroken, he returned to the village only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the consequences of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the significance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is hard to earn back. It's a story as relevant today as it was anciently.