Deep within the enchanting rolling meadows, resided a young shepherd. His existence was mostly untarnished, simple yet virtuous. His main role was to care for his flock of ewes.
Their gentle baas and the murmuring of the gales across the lone tree on the hilltop were his main companions. Day after day, guarding his wards imbued in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
But, there were the occasional moments of solitude, when the shepherd boy would pine for fellowship. During one such occasion because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome plot.
Narratives of wolves prowling on sheep had long been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to leveraged this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One afternoon he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to help but saw no beast.
The boy giggled at the puzzle on their faces. This trick persisted for a few days more. However, one day, a real wolf actually come to prey the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for aid screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one responded.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could protect only few of his flock. Heartbroken, he returned to the village only to receive a lesson on honesty and the consequences of false alarms.
The tale of this shepherd boy has been transmitted generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and website the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once lost, is hard to reclaim. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.