The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who lived in a small village near a dark forest. Every day, the boy took the village sheep up the hill to graze. He had to watch the sheep carefully because a big, hungry wolf lived in the forest.

The boy soon became bored. Watching sheep all day was very dull.

One afternoon, he had an idea. He wanted to have some fun. He ran down the hill towards the village and shouted at the top of his voice: "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is attacking the sheep! Help, please help!"

The villagers heard his cry. They dropped their tools and ran up the hill to help the boy. But when they got to the top of the hill, there was no wolf. The sheep were eating grass peacefully. The boy laughed.

"It was just a joke!" he said. "You should have seen the looks on your faces!"

The villagers were angry. "Do not cry 'wolf' when there is no wolf," they said and went back to the village.

A few days later, the boy became bored again. He looked at the quiet forest and had the same idea. He ran down the hill and shouted: "Wolf! Wolf! Please help! The wolf is here!"

Again, the villagers ran up the hill to help him. Again, they saw no wolf. The boy fell on the ground laughing.

"Another joke!" he cried. "You are so silly!"

The villagers were very angry this time. "You are a liar," they said. "We will not help you again." And they went back to their work.

The next day, the wolf really came. The boy was on the hill with the sheep when a huge grey wolf jumped out of the forest. The sheep ran in every direction. The boy was terrified.

He ran down the hill as fast as he could and shouted: "Wolf! Wolf! Please help! The wolf is here right now! Please believe me!"

The villagers heard him, but they looked at each other and shook their heads.

"He is lying again," they said. "There is no wolf. Let him learn his lesson."

So nobody came to help.

The wolf killed many sheep and ran back into the forest.

The boy sat alone on the hill and cried. He learned a very important lesson.

If you tell lies, nobody will believe you when you tell the truth.