Deep within the mesmerizing rolling meadows, resided a shepherd boy. His being was mostly untarnished, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was mainly to tend to his flock of sheep.
Their soft bleating and the rustling of the gales among the lone tree on the peak were his constant companions. Day after day, watching over his charges imbued in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
Yet, there were occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would long for companionship. On one such day out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy conceived a mischievous plot.
Stories of wild beasts preying on sheep had been around for a while in the village. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a joke on the townsfolk.
One morning he ran into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The frightened villagers ran up the hills to help but discovered no wolf.
The boy check here giggled at the puzzle on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf actually come to prey the herd. The shepherd boy ran for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy struggled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his flock. Heartbroken, he went back to the town only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the repercussions of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the significance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of crying wolf. Moreover, it highlights how trust once broken, is hard to reclaim. It's a story as pertinent today as it was then.