In a peaceful village nestled among green hills, a young boy was tasked with guarding the village’s flock of sheep. Little did he know, his mischievous pranks would soon teach him and the villagers a valuable lesson about trust. This classic tale of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” reminds us of the importance of honesty, as well as the consequences that can come from playing tricks on those who care for us.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a young boy who spent all of his days sitting high on a hill under a maple tree. He had just one job, to watch over the sheep from the Big Bad Wolf. The wolf, too, had just one job—to hunt down sheep to satisfy his hunger.
The boy often found himself bored. Guarding the sheep day in and day out left him wishing for a different job or perhaps some excitement. More than anything, he hated sitting alone all day, every day. So one day, he decided to shout: “Help! Help! A wolf is chasing the sheep! And they’re all running away!”
The villagers heard the boy’s cries, and they all dropped what they were doing and quickly rushed to help. But when they reached the top of the hill, there was no wolf—just the boy and the sheep, peacefully resting in the greenest grass you could imagine.
“Where is the wolf?” the villagers asked. “There is no wolf,” the boy said, unable to stop himself from laughing. The villagers were upset. They were exhausted from running and frustrated about their interrupted work. One of the men turned around and shouted at the boy, “Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there is no wolf around. Only call for help when you truly need it!”
The boy found all of this very amusing. He was quite the little prankster and enjoyed seeing people rush up the hill for no reason. So the next day, the boy walked up the hill with his flock. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled again. “Help! Wolf! Help me! He’s going to eat all the sheep in my flock!” Once more, the villagers dropped what they were doing and ran up the hill. And once again, there was no wolf.
“Where is the wolf?” the villagers asked. “There is no wolf,” the boy replied, and once again, he couldn’t help but laugh. Again, a man turned and firmly said, “Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there isn’t one around. Only call for help when you truly need it!”
The next morning, the boy went up the hill with his flock again. And wouldn’t you know it—this time, he actually saw a real wolf hiding in the nearby forest. At first, the boy didn’t know what to do. But then he started yelling, “Help! Wolf! Help!” The people in the village heard his cries, but this time they knew better and didn’t come running up the hill.
The villagers kept hearing his cries but didn’t move an inch. They wouldn’t fall for the same trick again. Now, all the sheep ran away and were lost, chased off by the wolf. The boy was very saddened by this and sat down by the tree again, but this time, there was no smile on his face.
At the end of the day, the villagers waited as usual for the boy to bring back the flock of sheep, but that evening the boy didn’t return. They decided to go and see what was wrong. The villagers gathered around the boy. Through his tears, he asked, “Why didn’t you come to help me? A big wolf chased all the sheep away. I yelled and yelled, but no one came to help!”
The villagers were angry because their sheep were lost. The man who had always advised the boy to stop yelling as a joke said, “Now you see, no one believes a liar. How were we supposed to know if it was real or if you just did it for your amusement again?” From that day on, the boy always told the truth, or at least he tried to…
Also read: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
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