The Lying Shepherd

Once upon a time there was a little shepherd boy. One day he was watching over his sheep on the field and felt really bored. So he figured out a way to entertain himself. He took a deep breath and shouted:

“A wolf! A wolf is attacking the sheep!”

The townsfolk headed for the hill as fast as they could to help the little boy chase the wolf away. When they arrived, however, they didn’t see one.  The shepherd sniggered at their angry faces

“Don’t shout for help and say there’s a wolf when there isn’t one”, said the townspeople dourly as they started walking back down the hill.

Later, the boy shouted again:

“A wolf! A wolf is attacking the sheep!”

The shepherd watched smugly as the folk ran to the hill again to help him chase away the wolf. When they, again, didn’t see any wolf, they turned to the little boy sternly:

“Save your cries for help for a time when there’s a real threat! Don’t shout about a wolf when there isn’t one!”

One day he saw a real wolf creeping towards the herd. The boy jumped quickly and started screaming as loud as he could:

“A wolf is going to kill my sheep! Please help!”

The townspeople assumed the shepherd was lying to them once again and didn’t go up the hill to help him chase away the wolf.

Nobody trusts a liar, even when they’re telling the truth.