The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once there was a young shepherd boy who looked after his sheep on the green hills near his village. It was lonely work. Day after day, he sat under an old oak tree while his sheep grazed peacefully, and he wished for something exciting to happen.

"Nothing ever happens here," he sighed. "I wish the villagers would come up the hill and talk to me."

A Naughty Trick

One afternoon, a mischievous idea popped into his head. He jumped to his feet, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing my sheep!"

Down in the village, the farmers dropped their tools and ran up the hill with sticks and pitchforks. But when they arrived, panting and red-faced, there was no wolf at all. The boy lay in the grass, laughing.

"It was only a joke!" he giggled. The villagers were not amused. They shook their heads and walked back down the hill.

The Joke Goes Wrong

A few days later, the boy tried the trick again. "Wolf! Wolf!" he screamed. Once more the villagers rushed up the hill, and once more they found the boy laughing at them. This time they were angry. "Do not cry wolf unless there really is one," they warned him, and went home.

But the boy could not resist.

His old grandfather, who had heard the story in the village, climbed the hill that evening to talk to the boy. "My child," he said kindly, "a shepherd's word is his most precious tool. If you spend it on jokes, you will have none left when danger truly comes."

The boy hung his head. "I am sorry, Grandfather," he whispered. "I will never do it again. I promise." The old man patted his shoulder and went back down the hill, but the boy soon forgot the promise, as careless boys sometimes do.

A few days later, feeling lonely once more, he thought about shouting again. For a moment he remembered his grandfather's words, but the naughty urge was stronger than the good advice. A week later he shouted "Wolf!" a third time, just for fun. This time, nobody came. "It is only his silly joke again," the villagers said.

The Real Wolf

That very evening, as the sun went down, a dark shape crept out of the forest. It was a real wolf, with yellow eyes and sharp teeth! The boy cried and cried, "Wolf! Wolf! Help me! This time it is real!" But no one in the village moved. They thought he was playing his old trick again.

The wolf scattered the sheep across the hillside, and the poor boy sat by the old oak tree and wept bitterly for his lost sheep and his lost trust.

Moral of the Story

No one believes a liar, even when he tells the truth. Honesty is a treasure we must never throw away.