A long, long time ago, in a small village, lived a shepherd boy. Every day, he took his sheep to graze on a small hill near the village.

He was bored of doing the same thing every day. So, to have some fun, he played a trick. He shouted loudly up the hill, “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”

When the villagers heard his shout, they rushed to the hill to chase away the wolf. But when they got there, they didn’t see any wolf. The boy was happy to see their angry faces. He enjoyed this trick.

All the villagers warned the boy, “Don’t shout ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ when there is no wolf!” They went back down the hill, very angry.

The next day, for fun, the shepherd boy shouted again, “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”

Hearing his voice, the villagers ran towards the hill again. The boy saw the villagers running to scare away the wolf and felt happy.

When they saw there was no wolf, they scolded the boy again, telling him he should only call for help if there was a real wolf. The boy smiled to himself as the villagers went down the hill.

After a few days, the boy saw a real wolf approaching his flock! He was scared and jumped up and down, shouting as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But this time, the villagers thought he was playing a trick again, and they didn’t come to help.

At sunset, the villagers went looking for the boy who hadn’t returned with his sheep. When they reached the hill, they found the boy crying next to his dead sheep.

Seeing the villagers, the boy said, “There really was a wolf! I shouted, ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ but you didn’t come!” he cried.

An old man went to comfort the boy, putting his hand on his back. He said, “No one believes a liar, even when he’s telling the truth! Your little trick cost many sheep their lives.”

The shepherd boy understood his mistake. He never played tricks on the villagers again.

Lesson: Never tell lies or play mean tricks. It can hurt you and others. People won’t trust you if you lie.