At the center of the enchanting rolling hills, lived a boy named Shepherd. His life was mostly pure, simple yet virtuous. His primary duty was essentially to tend to his flock of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the rustling of the wind among the solo tree on the peak were his constant associates. Day upon day, watching over his wards inculcated in him a feeling of quiet fulfillment.
Yet, there were at times moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would long for companionship. In one such instance from sheer boredom, the shepherd boy devised a mischievous plan.
Narratives of wolves preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the village. So, the boy opted to used this fear and played a joke on the inhabitants.
One morning he ran into the village shouting “Wolf! A wolf is preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers sprinted up the hills to help but discovered no beast.
The boy laughed at the puzzle on their faces. This game laughed for a couple of more days. But, one morning, a real wolf actually attack the herd. The shepherd boy ran for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but managed to protect only few more info of his flock. Devastated, he returned 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 handed down generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the value of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the perils of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is tough to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was anciently.