At the center of the mesmerizing rolling hills, lived a young shepherd. His life was untarnished, simple yet virtuous. His main role was to tend to his flock of ewes.
Their soft bleating and the whispering of the wind across the solo tree on the peak were his constant associates. Day in day, guarding his wards imbued in him a feeling of quiet fulfillment.
However, there were at times moments of isolation, when the shepherd boy would pine for companionship. In one such instance because of sheer tedium, the shepherd boy orchestrated a naughty plan.
Narratives of wolves preying on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy decided to leveraged this fear and played a trick on the townsfolk.
One morning he ran into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf attacking my sheep!” The frightened villagers rushed up the hills to help but saw nothing threatening.
The boy giggled at the confusion on their faces. This game continued for a couple of more days. But, one here morning, a real wolf did charge at the grazing sheep. The shepherd boy dashed for aid shouting “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy fought against the wolf but could rescue only few of his flock. Devastated, he returned to the town only to be met with a reprimand on honesty and the results of false alarms.
The story 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 risks of false alarms. Moreover, it emphasizes how trust once lost, is difficult to reclaim. It's a story as pertinent today as it was in the past.