At the center of the mesmerizing rolling hills, lived a shepherd boy. His being was untarnished, simple, and honest. His primary duty was mainly to care for his herd of rams.
Their soft here bleating and the whispering of the gales across the lone tree on the mountaintop were his only companions. Day after day, guarding his responsibilities inculcated in him a sense of tranquil contentment.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would yearn for company. In one such instance because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy conceived a mischievous scheme.
Stories of wolves preying on sheep had long been circulating in the village. So, the boy decided to exploit this fear and played a prank on the townsfolk.
One afternoon he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills for rescue but found nothing threatening.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick laughed for a couple of more days. However, one morning, a real wolf actually come to prey the flock. The shepherd boy ran for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but could rescue only few of his flock. Devastated, he went back to the village only to receive a lesson on honesty and the repercussions of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the significance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once violated, is hard to earn back. It's a story as pertinent today as it was then.