The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time there was a little shepherd boy, and it was his job to watch the sheep, and make sure they were safe.  One day he was watching the sheep, watching the sheep, watching the sheep, and he got bored.  So he decided to play a trick on the townspeople.  He decided that he was going to tell everybody there was a wolf trying to eat his sheep, even though there really wasn't a wolf.  

So he started yelling, “Wolf!  Wolf!  Everybody come help me!  There’s a wolf!”

And all the townspeople ran out to help him and they said, “Ok, little shepherd boy.  We’re here.  Where’s the wolf?  We’ll get the wolf for you.”

But the little shepherd boy said, “Ha ha ha ha!  There really isn’t a wolf.  I was just tricking you.”

And the townspeople said, “Well that wasn't very nice.  We came all the way out here to help you, and you just tricked us?

And the little shepherd boy said, “Ha ha ha ha!”  So all the townspeople went home.  

The next day, the little shepherd boy was watching the sheep, watching the sheep, watching the sheep, and he got bored again.  So he decided to play the same trick again.  He started yelling, “Wolf!  Wolf!  Everybody come help me!  There’s a wolf!” 

And all the townspeople ran out to help him, and they said, “Alright we’re here.  Where’s the wolf?  We’ll get that wolf.”

But the little shepherd boy said, “Ha ha ha ha ha!  There really isn’t a wolf.  I tricked you again!  I can’t believe you fell for it two days in a row.”

And the townspeople said, “Hey, that’s not nice.  That’s not nice at all.  We stopped what we were doing, came all the way out here to help you protect your sheep, and you just tricked us again?”

And the little shepherd boy said, “ha ha ha ha ha!”  So all the townspeople went home.

The next day, the little shepherd boy was watching the sheep, and he looked up, far away, to the top of a hill, and he saw saw something small, and brown, and he didn’t know what it was.  But it got closer and closer, and bigger, and bigger, until he could tell what it was.  And do you know what it was?  It was a wolf!  A real, live wolf!  Growl.  And he was hungry for some sheep.

So the little shepherd boy started yelling, “Wolf!  Wolf!  Everybody come help me there’s a wolf!”

And all the townspeople were about to go run out to help him, but then one of the townspeople said, “Wait a minute.  This little shepherd boy tricked us two days in a row.  I bet he’s trying to trick us again.  I bet there really isn’t a wolf.  Let’s not even go out to hep him.”  So none of the townspeople went out to help the little shepherd boy.

And the shepherd boy kept yelling, “Guys, I’m serious!  I’m not tricking you this time, I promise!  There really is a wolf and it’s gonna eat my sheep.  Please come help me!”

But nobody believed him, and nobody went out to help the little shepherd boy.

And the wolf got closer and closer to a sheep, and he ate it.

And the moral of the story is: don’t cry wolf.