At the center of the enchanting rolling fields, lived a shepherd boy. His being was mostly pure, simple yet virtuous. His only responsibility was essentially to look after his herd of rams.
Their soft bleating and the murmuring of the breezes among the lone tree on the mountaintop were his only companions. Day in day, watching over his wards inculcated in him a feeling of tranquil contentment.
But, there were at times moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for fellowship. In one such instance out of sheer monotony, the shepherd boy orchestrated a mischievous scheme.
Stories of wild beasts preying on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a joke on the villagers.
One day he raced into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills to help but saw no beast.
The boy giggled at the confusion on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf did come to prey the flock. The shepherd boy ran for help, screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the here wolf but could protect only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the results of crying wolf.
The story 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 crying wolf. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once lost, is hard to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was in the past.