The Boy Who Cried Wolf
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” comes from Aesop's Fables of ancient Greece: a shepherd boy keeps shouting “wolf!” as a joke, and when a real wolf finally appears, no one believes him anymore. For over two thousand years, children all over the world have heard its warning — that lying ends up hurting the liar most of all.
A young shepherd boy took his sheep up the hill every day, and he found it very boring. One day, lying in the grass, he wondered, "What fun thing could I do?"
The boy ran to the top of the hill and shouted with his hands around his mouth, his voice so loud the whole hill could hear it. "Wolf — wolf!"
Hearing the cries, the villagers grabbed sticks and rakes and hurried up the hill, but there was no wolf at all. Seeing how worried everyone was, the boy burst out laughing, and the villagers realized they had been tricked.
A few days later, the boy felt bored again, so he ran to the top of the hill and shouted, and the villagers were tricked again, saying they would never believe him again. "Wolf — wolf!"
On this day, a fluffy wolf that stumbled as it walked really did appear on the hillside. Its ears were lopsided, one up and one down, and its tail wagged side to side — it looked so silly, like it was dancing.
"Wolf — it's really a wolf, help!" The boy turned pale with fright and shouted desperately, but everything was quiet below, and this time not a single villager came up the hill, while the wolf chased the sheep and the frightened sheep scattered, bleating in panic, bringing tears to the boy's eyes.
The wolf ate all the sheep and ran away. The boy learned too late: no one believes a liar, even when he tells the truth.
