Section 7
The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
A Shepherd's Boy was tending his flock near a village, and thought it would be great fun to hoax the villagers by pretending that a Wolf was attacking the sheep: so he shouted out, "Wolf! wolf!" and when the people came running up he laughed at them for their pains. He did this more than once, and every...
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Public-domain original
A Shepherd's Boy was tending his flock near a village, and thought it
would be great fun to hoax the villagers by pretending that a Wolf was
attacking the sheep: so he shouted out, "Wolf! wolf!" and when the
people came running up he laughed at them for their pains. He did
this more than once, and every time the villagers found they had been
hoaxed, for there was no Wolf at all. At last a Wolf really did come,
and the Boy cried, "Wolf! wolf!" as loud as he could: but the people
were so used to hearing him call that they took no notice of his cries
for help. And so the Wolf had it all his own way, and killed off sheep
after sheep at his leisure.
You cannot believe a liar even when he tells the truth.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A shepherd boy lies about a wolf so often that no one believes him when a real wolf comes.
Why this scene matters
This fable matters because it explains why trust, once wasted, may not return when it is needed most.
Characters in this scene
- The shepherd boy: The boy who lies for amusement.
- The villagers: The people who stop believing him.
- The wolf: The real danger that arrives after the lies.
Simple story version
A boy keeps shouting “wolf” as a joke. When a real wolf comes, nobody believes him and the sheep are lost.