The Boy Who Cried Wolf

A Boy and His Sheep

On a green hill lived a boy. Every day, his job was to watch the sheep. Baa, baa, baa.

It was a quiet job. The sheep ate the grass. The boy sat in the sun. Sometimes he felt a little bored.

The people in the village had told him, "If a wolf comes, shout 'Wolf!' loudly. We will run up the hill to help you."

A Funny Trick

One day, the boy had an idea. "I will play a trick," he said with a grin.

He stood up and shouted as loud as he could. "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers heard him. They dropped their work and ran up the hill. Puff, puff, puff.

But there was no wolf. The boy was laughing. "Ha ha! I tricked you! There is no wolf!"

The people were not happy. They walked back down the hill.

The Same Trick Again

The next day, the boy was bored again. So he did the same thing.

"Wolf! Wolf!" he shouted.

Again the villagers ran up the hill to help. And again, there was no wolf. The boy laughed and laughed.

But this time the people were cross. "You must not tell lies," they said. And they went home.

When the Wolf Was Real

The next day, a real wolf crept out of the woods. Grrr! It moved towards the sheep.

The boy was very frightened. He jumped up and shouted, "Wolf! Wolf! Please help! This time it is real!"

The villagers heard him. But they shook their heads. "He is just playing his trick again," they said. And no one came.

The wolf chased the sheep away, and the boy was left all alone on the hill.

A Lesson Learned

That evening, the boy was very sad. A kind old farmer found him.

"Why did no one help me?" the boy cried.

"Because you told lies," said the farmer gently. "When you tell lies, people stop believing you — even when you tell the truth."

From that day on, the boy always told the truth.

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The moral: Always tell the truth. If you tell lies, people will not believe you when it matters most.

Want more read-along tales? Try Goldilocks and the Three Bears or The Lion and the Mouse next.