Deep within the mesmerizing rolling fields, lived a shepherd boy. His existence was untarnished, simple, and honest. His main role was essentially to care for his flock of sheep.
Their soft bleating and the rustling of the wind through the solo tree on the mountaintop were his only associates. Day upon day, watching over his charges inculcated in him a notion of tranquil contentment.
However, there were the occasional moments of loneliness, when the shepherd boy would yearn for fellowship. In one such instance out of sheer monotony, the shepherd boy orchestrated a troublesome scheme.
Tales of wolves hunting on sheep had been around for a while in the hamlet. So, the boy chose to leveraged this fear and played a trick on the villagers.
One day he dashed into the village yelling “Wolf! There is a wolf preying on my sheep!” The scared villagers rushed up the hills to offer assistance but found no beast.
The boy giggled at the dilemma on their faces. This trick continued for a couple of more days. However, one noon, a real wolf did charge at the flock. The shepherd boy raced for help, screaming “Wolf, Wolf!” But this time, no one came.
Frustrated and alone, the boy battled against the wolf but could rescue only few of his flock. Heartbroken, he returned to the village only to be met with a scolding on honesty and the consequences of false alarms.
The story of this shepherd boy has been handed down generations as a mediaeval parable for teaching the importance of honesty, the implications of dishonesty and the website perils of false alarms. Moreover, it stresses how trust once violated, is hard to regain. It's a story as appropriate today as it was in the past.