At the center of the enchanting rolling hills, lived a young shepherd. His life was untarnished, simple yet virtuous. His only responsibility was to look after his herd of sheep.
Their soft bleating and the whispering of the wind through the lone tree on the hilltop were his only companions. Day in day, guarding his responsibilities imbued in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
But, there were occasional here moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would long for companionship. In one such instance out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous plot.
Tales of wolves prowling on sheep had been around for a while in the village. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a prank on the inhabitants.
One afternoon he dashed into the village screaming “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills for rescue but found nothing threatening.
The boy chuckled at the confusion on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. However, one noon, a real wolf actually charge at the herd. The shepherd boy dashed for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his flock. Devastated, he returned to the town only to receive a reprimand on honesty and the repercussions of crying wolf.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the significance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of crying wolf. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is hard to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was then.