Once a shepherd boy was feeling bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He found life in the pasture very dull. To amuse himself he shouted at the top of his voice, “Wolf! Wolf”.
As he had expected, the villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy doubled up with laughter at the sight of their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf’, shepherd boy,” said the villagers, “when there’s no wolf!” They went grumbling back down the hill.
A few days later the boy sang out again, “Wolf! Wolf! “To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away, only to be laughed at again.
Later, one day he saw a real wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought he was trying to befool them again, and so they didn’t come.
At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn’t returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.
“There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, “Wolf!” Why didn’t you come?” An old man replied, “Nobody believes a liar…even when he is telling the truth!”
Moral: Nobody believes a liar…even when he is telling the truth! / Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.
Read More Stories
- The Farmer and the Snake
- The King and the Sea
- The Merchant in the Rain
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- The Fox and the Grapes
- The Woodcutter and the Water-god
- The Crow and the Pitcher
- The Hare and the Tortoise
- The Greedy Farmer
- Hercules and the Carter
- The Clever Fox and the Foolish Goat
- The Ant and the Dove
- The Lion and the Mouse
- Two Friends and the Bear
- The Wolf and the Lamb
- The Hidden Treasure
- The Three Greedy Men
- The Clever Fox and the Foolish Crow
- The Wolf and The Crane
- The Golden Touch of Midas
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- The Patridge and the Rabbit
- The Tricky Stork and the Clever Crab
- Four Friends and their Second Chance
- The Tortoise and the Bird
- The Boy and the Fence
- The Miser and his Hidden Gold
- The Bundle of Sticks
- The Kindness of a Glass of Milk
- The Magical Tree and the Brothers
- The Egg,the Potato and the Tea Leaves
- The Lonely Elephant
- The Farmer and the Tricky Farmer
- The Milkmaid and Her Pail
- A Wise Counting
- The Ant and the Grasshopper
- The Fox and the Stork
- The Three Little Pigs
- The Rice Bowl Wishes
