At the center of the mesmerizing rolling meadows, lived a young shepherd. His being was essentially untarnished, simple, and honest. His main role was mainly to care for his herd of rams.
Their low murmuring and the rustling of the gales across the lone tree on the hilltop were The shepherd boy story his main co-dwellers. Day after day, guarding his responsibilities imbued in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
But, there were occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would pine for fellowship. In one such instance out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a naughty plan.
Narratives of wolves prowling on sheep had long been circulating in the village. So, the boy opted to leveraged this fear and played a trick on the townsfolk.
One afternoon he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The terrified villagers sprinted up the hills for rescue but found no beast.
The boy giggled at the dilemma on their faces. This prank continued for a few more days. But, one noon, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the village only to be met with a reprimand 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 importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the dangers of crying wolf. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once lost, is tough to reclaim. It's a story as relevant today as it was then.