The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A young shepherd took care of a small group of sheep on a hill outside a village. Every day, he sat alone and watched the sheep eat grass. The work was quiet, and after a while the boy became very bored.

One afternoon, the boy had an idea. He ran down toward the village, waving his arms and shouting, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is attacking the sheep!" The farmers dropped their tools and ran up the hill, carrying sticks to help him.

They reached the top and found no wolf at all. The sheep were calm and eating grass as always. The boy laughed loudly at the surprised faces of the farmers. "I fooled you!" he said. The farmers were angry, but they walked back to their work.

A few days later, the boy tried the same trick again. He ran down the hill, shouting for help, and the farmers came running once more. Again, there was no wolf, only the boy laughing at his joke. The farmers shook their heads and warned him not to do it again.

Not long after, a real wolf came out of the forest and moved toward the sheep. The boy was terrified. He ran toward the village, shouting all the way, "Wolf! Wolf! Please come quickly, it is real this time!"

But the farmers in the village heard his voice and did not move. "He is playing his trick again," one man said, and they continued their work. No one believed the boy this time, because he had lied to them twice before.

The wolf attacked the sheep, and many of them ran away to the hills. The boy could do nothing to stop it. He walked back to the village that evening having lost most of his sheep, and no one felt sorry for him.

People who tell lies are not believed even after they finally speak the truth.