The Boy Who Cried Wolf | Aesop's Fables

There was a shepherd boy, who used to incline his master’s Sheep near a dark forest, close to the village. Before long, he found the life in the pasture a little boring. To make the day entertaining, he would talk to his dog or play on his shepherd’s pipe.

One day when the forest was quiet and the sheep ate the grass solemnly, an idea came to his mind. He considered what he would do to if wolves come out of nowhere, and he thought of an evil plan to amuse himself.

The master of the boy has instructed him, that if ever the flock was attacked by the wolves, he should call for help and the villager will scare them away. So now, even though he has not seen a wolf still he ran towards the village, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Wolf!, Wolf!”

As he was expecting, the villagers left everything that they were doing when they heard the cries of the boy. They headed towards the flock of sheep in great excitement, to scare the evil creatures away. But upon their arrival, the shepherd boy doubled in laughter as he played the trick on villagers.

The next day, the boy did the same. He shouted “Wolf! Wolf!” And the villagers, yet believing him again, left their work and came to help. But again to be laughed at. They got really angry on this trick of the boy and returned back complaining.

After someday, one fine evening, the sun was setting behind the grey clouds as the shadow creeps up from the forest. The boy was resting on a tree when suddenly a real wolf came out of under the bush and attacked the flock. The boy got really scared.

Panicking, he cried for help. He shouted “Wolf! Wolf!” but no one came. The villagers were very furious at him as the boy had fooled them many times. They heard the shouting of the buy and said “He cannot fool us again,” They resumed what they were doing, completely ignoring the boy.

Meanwhile, the wolf ate as many sheep as he can. And the boy sat there watching his loss. He got embarrassed afterward, for annoying the villagers. He realized his mistake and vowed that he would never do something like that again.

The Moral of the Story

A liar is not considered truthful, even when he is compelling the truth.

L’Estrange version (A Boy and False Alarms)

A shepherd boy had found this rogue trick of shouting “Wolf! Wolf!” and giving false alarms. When there was no such matter. Due to this nuisance, the villagers were very annoyed by him. They would complain about the boy. But the boy would do the same, just for the purpose of amusement. But at last, after so many times of this nonsense, the villagers decided not to help him if he came for help.

And unfortunately, the wolf came out of nowhere and attacked the pasture, eating as many sheep as it takes. The boy shouted for help, but no one came to help. He never fooled anyone again, as he has to suffer from great loss due to his foolery.

JBR Collection (The Shepherd Boy and The Wolf)

There was a troublesome boy, who went to the pasture to tend his master sheep, he would shout “Wolf! Wolf!”, in jest. When the villagers from the neighboring field came to help on the spot, they saw no wolf. The boy would laugh at their efforts. But one day, the wolf came for real, and the boy shouted in earnest, but the men ignored him after being deceived by him so many times. And all the sheep were killed by the wolf. Leaving the boy in regret and misery.

Samuel Croxall (The Shepherd’s Boy)

A boy who was a shepherd by profession would often be tended to his master’s sheep. He was some big fat liar and mischief. He would cry “the wolf! The wolf!” And the honored men of the village would come to drive the wolves away. But upon arriving, they would see no such scenario. They would go back complaining. But the boy never settled for peace and always do the same trick to annoy the villagers.

One time, the boy not so lucky was attacked by the wolf. The pasture became a mess as the flock was no more there. The wolf had eaten as many sheep as it can. And no men came to help upon his cry for help. This taught him a great lesson. And he never teased anyone ever again.

Townsend version (The Shepherd’s Boy and The Wolf)

Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a village near a dark forest. His master would often send him to the pasture to tend to his sheep. The boy was considered a mischievous fellow. He brought the villagers to the pasture four to five times, by shouting “The Wolf, the Wolf” as his master has instructed him to seek their help whenever there was any inconvenience.

For the mere purpose of amusement, he would make them villagers angry fooling them with this trick. A time came when people totally ignored him. And his word had no value. The wolves came out of the dark forest for real this time. The boy started panicking. He didn’t know what to do. So, he started yelling for help. But No one came for help. The boy the sheep were left to the mercy of the wolves.

Moral:

“There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth”