The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A shepherd boy tended his master's sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do was watch the sheep eat, and the days were long and uninteresting.

One day as he sat watching the sheep and the quiet forest, he thought of a plan to get a little excitement. "Wolf! Wolf!" he cried.

The villagers came running, only to find the boy laughing. "There is no wolf," the boy said, laughing at the troubled faces around him.

"Don't cry wolf, boy," said the villagers, "when there is no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy cried wolf again, and again the villagers came running. When they saw there was no wolf, they left again, scolding the boy.

Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the pasture, a real wolf came out from the forest. "Wolf!" cried the boy. "A wolf is attacking the sheep!"

The villagers did not come. The boy learned the hard way that liars are not believed, even when they tell the truth.