The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a shepherd boy who watched over his village's sheep on a hillside. Day after day, he sat alone with nothing but sheep for company. He grew very bored.

One day, he thought of a way to have some fun. He ran toward the village shouting, "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers dropped everything and ran up the hill to help. But when they got there, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at their worried faces.

"Don't cry 'wolf' when there is no wolf!" scolded the villagers, and they trudged back down the hill.

A few days later, the boy was bored again. Once more he cried, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!"

Again, the villagers came running to help. And again, they found the boy laughing.

"There is no wolf!" they said angrily. "Stop lying to us!"

The boy just smiled. He thought it was hilarious to see the villagers run.

Then one evening, as the sun was setting, a real wolf crept out of the forest. Its eyes gleamed as it looked at the sheep.

The boy jumped up in terror. "Wolf! Wolf!" he screamed as loudly as he could. "Please help! There's really a wolf this time!"

But down in the village, the people heard his cries and shook their heads.

"He's lying again," they said.

"We won't be fooled a third time."

No one came to help.

The wolf chased the sheep away, and the boy could do nothing but watch. He sat down and cried—real tears this time.

An old man from the village came up the hill later and found the boy weeping.

"I tried to tell them!" sobbed the boy. "Why didn't they come?"

The old man sat beside him and said gently, "Nobody believes a liar, even when they're telling the truth."

The boy learned his lesson that day. He never told a lie again.

The End