Once there was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. He decided to play a trick on the villagers. He took a great breath and shouted, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"
The villagers came running up to help the boy drive the wolf away. When they reached him they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces and said, "Ha, Ha, Ha! I fooled all of you."
Later, the boy shouted again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers running up to help him drive the wolf away.
When the villagers saw no wolf they were very angry with him for being so naughty.
Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and shouted as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"
But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.
At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.
"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"
An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.
"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"