Deep within the mesmerizing rolling hills, lived a shepherd boy. His being was mostly pure, simple, and honest. His main role was essentially to tend to his herd of rams.
Their soft bleating and the rustling of the gales through the solo tree on the hilltop were his constant associates. Day in day, guarding his charges imbued in him a sense of quiet fulfillment.
However, there were the occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would yearn for fellowship. On one such day out of sheer boredom, the shepherd boy conceived a troublesome scheme.
Stories of predators preying on sheep had been heard times and again in the village. So, the boy chose to used this fear and played a trick on the inhabitants.
One morning he raced into the village yelling “Wolf! A wolf is that has taken my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills for rescue here but saw no wolf.
The boy chuckled at the puzzle on their faces. This trick continued for a couple of more days. Yet, one morning, a real wolf actually attack the flock. The shepherd boy raced for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could protect only few of his flock. Devastated, 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 passed down generations as a mediaeval parable to teaching the value of honesty, the consequences of lying and the risks of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once lost, is hard to reclaim. It's a story as pertinent today as it was anciently.