At the center of the mesmerizing rolling fields, lived a young shepherd. His life was essentially untarnished, and unsophisticated. His main role was essentially to look after his flock of ewes.
Their low murmuring and the whispering of the gales through the solo tree on the mountaintop were his constant co-dwellers. Day in day, guarding his charges instilled in him a feeling of calm satisfaction.
However, there were occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would long for company. During one such occasion because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a naughty plan.
Tales of predators preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to leveraged this fear and played a prank on the inhabitants.
One day he ran into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The terrified villagers rushed up the hills to help but discovered no beast.
The boy chuckled at the puzzle on their faces. This game laughed for a few more days. However, one noon, a real wolf actually charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy raced for help, screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but managed to protect only few of his flock. Devastated, he went back to the village only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the results of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been passed down generations as The shepherd boy story a mediaeval parable for teaching the significance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once lost, is tough to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was then.