The Shepherd's Boy

It was lonely at the foot of the mountain. The sheep said nothing. The dark forest said nothing. All day long the Shepherd Boy sat with no one to talk to, and all day long the sun crawled across the sky.

Then he had an idea. He jumped up and ran down the path to the village. "Wolf! Wolf!" he shouted. Out came the villagers with sticks and spades. There was no wolf, but some of them stayed and talked with him all afternoon. The Boy had never had such a good day.

A few days later he did it again. "Wolf! Wolf!" Again they came running. Again there was no wolf.

Not long after that, the forest stirred. Out crept a Wolf, a real one, low and grey, and it began to chase the sheep. The Boy tore down the path. "Wolf! Wolf!" he screamed, louder than ever before. "Wolf! Wolf!"

In the village, a man looked up from his digging. "That boy again," he said, and he went back to work. Nobody stirred. Nobody came.

The Wolf ate well that day. When the Boy came crying to the village, the wise old man shook his head. "A liar will not be believed," he said, "even when he speaks the truth."