The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A shepherd boy watched over his village's flock of sheep on a hillside every day. Some days he felt so lonely and bored, with nothing at all to do.

One day, just for fun, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wolf! Wolf!" The villagers heard him and rushed up the hill to help — but when they arrived, there was no wolf in sight at all. The boy laughed, delighted at how well he'd fooled them.

A few days later, he played the same trick again just for the fun of it. The villagers came running once more, only to find no wolf again. This time they grew annoyed and warned the boy never to lie like that again.

One day, a real wolf actually appeared. Terrified, the boy shouted with all his might, "There's really a wolf this time! Help!" But having been fooled twice already, none of the villagers believed him — they assumed he was lying again, so no one came to help at all.

The wolf chased the flock, scattering the sheep in fright throughout the forest. The boy spent the rest of the day, until dark, exhausted from searching for every last sheep. He felt deeply sorry, and learned that lying — even just for fun — makes others stop trusting us exactly when we truly need their help.