The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There was a shepherd boy sitting on the hillside watching the village sheep. Just as he was starting to nod off to sleep, he saw a dark shape moving between the trees in the forest beyond the pasture. Quickly, he roused himself and peered into the distance. It was a wolf! The boy took a great breath and cried out: "Wolf! Wolf! There is a wolf in the forest endangering the sheep!"

The villagers came running. Several of them corralled the sheep while others drove the wolf away. The villagers gave the boy a coin in thanks for his vigilance and returned home.

Similar events occurred the following day. The boy cried out and the sheep were corralled while the wolf was driven away. The next day was the same, as was the next, for there were many wolves in the forest and they were hungry.

The sheep took to grumbling amongst themselves. "This awful shepherd boy! Every time he cries out, the villagers come and take us away from the greenest parts of the pasture during the warmest part of the day! And for what? I have not seen a single wolf, have you?" The sheep nodded in agreement, for none of them had seen the wolves that the villagers had chased away.

The next day, as the boy looked vigilantly into the forest, the bellwether sheep shook his bell and danced mischievously, riling the flock into chaos. The boy was at his wit's end trying to manage them. Exhausted from running about, he looked up to see a pack of wolves prowling at the edge of the forest, looking on hungrily. The boy took a great breath to cry out, but just before he could make a sound, the bellwether sheep knocked the boy over and covered his mouth with his woolly coat.

The wolves seized the moment and attacked, killing many sheep while the rest fled the pasture in fear.

At sunset, the villagers wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy weeping. "There were wolves here," the boy said amidst choking sobs, "but the sheep would not let me call for their aid, for they did not trust me."

An old wise woman tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. She put her arm around the youth and said: "Sorry kid, sheep are fucking dumb."