Deep within the mesmerizing rolling meadows, resided a young shepherd. His existence was essentially pure, and unsophisticated. His only responsibility was mainly to care for his flock of ewes.
Their gentle baas and the rustling of the breezes across the lone tree on the mountaintop were his only co-dwellers. Day in day, watching over his responsibilities instilled in him a notion of calm satisfaction.
Yet, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would pine for companionship. In one such instance because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous plot.
Stories of wild beasts hunting on sheep had been heard times and again in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One afternoon he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to offer assistance but found no wolf.
The boy chuckled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick continued for a few days more. Yet, one morning, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could protect only few of his sheep. Devastated, he went back to the town only to receive a reprimand on honesty and the results of dishonesty.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been check here passed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the importance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the dangers of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once broken, is difficult to earn back. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.