In the heart of the captivating rolling fields, dwelt a boy named Shepherd. His being was pure, and unsophisticated. His primary duty was to care for his herd of rams.
Their gentle baas and the rustling of the wind through the lone tree on the peak were his only co-dwellers. Day upon day, watching over his wards inculcated in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
However, there were the occasional moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would long for company. In one such instance out of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy devised a troublesome plot.
Stories of predators preying on sheep had long been circulating in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to exploit this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One day he raced into the village screaming “Wolf! A check here wolf is attacking my sheep!” The terrified villagers ran up the hills for rescue but discovered nothing threatening.
The boy laughed at the dilemma on their faces. This trick laughed for a few more days. However, one morning, a real wolf actually come to prey the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy ran for help, shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one showed up.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but managed to rescue only few of his flock. Heartbroken, he went back to the town only to receive a scolding on honesty and the repercussions of false alarms.
His tale of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the importance of honesty, the consequences of lying and the perils of false alarms. Moreover, it highlights how trust once lost, is difficult to reclaim. It's a story as pertinent today as it was then.