Transcription
The BoyWho Cried“Wolf”!Once upon a time,a shepherd boy tendedhis master’s sheep neara dark forest not farfrom the village. Soonhe found his days in thepasture very dull.“There is no one totalk with, and there isnothing to do!” he wouldmoan. All he could dowas talk to his dog orplay on his shepherd’spipe.
One day as he satwatching the sheepand the quiet forest,he thought of a plan toamuse himself.His master had toldhim to call for help if awolf should attack theflock, and the villagerswould come running todrive it away. If I alertthe village that a wolf ishere, people will come.Then I’ll have lots ofpeople to talk to, andwhat fun it will be! theshepherd boy thought.
So, though he hadnot seen anything thateven looked like a wolf,he ran toward the villageshouting at the top of hisvoice, “Wolf! Wolf!”
As expected, thevillagers who heardthe shepherd boy’s crydropped their work andmade for the pasture withgreat haste. But whenthey got there they foundthe boy doubled up withlaughter at the trick hehad played on them.A few days later theshepherd boy againshouted, “Wolf! Wolf!”Once more the villagersran to help him, only tofind that they had againbeen tricked.
Then, one eveningas the sun was settingbehind the forest and theshadows were creepingout over the pasture, awolf really did jump outfrom the underbrush andstart chasing the sheep.The boy ran towardthe village shouting “Wolf!Wolf!” But though thevillagers heard the cry,they did not run to helphim as they had before.“He cannot fool us again,”they said.The wolf carried awaya sheep into the forest.
That day the shepherdboy learned an importantlesson—if you desire peopleto believe and trust whatyou say, you must alwaysbe truthful.The EndVerse: Put away from youcrooked speech, and putdevious talk far from you.(Proverbs 4:24 RSV)Adapted by Aaliyah Smith,from the original Aesop’s fable.Illustrations by Didier Martin.Design by Christia CopelandPublished by My Wonder Studio.Copyright 2011 by The Family International
The Boy Who Cried “Wolf”! Once upon a time, a shepherd boy tended his master’s sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found his days in the
