There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. Suddenly he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.
"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.
Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.
When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"
But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.
Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out 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!"
The moral of the story is very obvious, You should not lie. This is the moral that we were taught by our parents, they were taught by theirs, and so on.
But if only a part of story is considered i doubt it can be fully appreciated. The story has another teaching.
Let us look at the story from the wolf's view.
There once lived a she wolf with tiny little cubs. As little cubs grew, she wanted to teach them to hunt. The young wolves had learnt how to hunt down smaller animals like rats. But they were always edgy. Wanted to be fast while hunting.Just to show off to others that they are the best hunters. Their recklessnes often caused them to get hurt as well as allowing the prey to run away.
As the wolf grew old she grew worried about habits of the cubs. So one day she said "Ccome children, i will teach you how to hunt a sheep".
Children got excited but exclaimed," Mother, you said it was dangerous to go near humans and their pets".
She replied "Don't worry, I'll be there".
So on a fine day mother wolf and cubs went to hunt a Sheep. The shepeard boy was there. Mother wolf just walked in front and showed herself. The boy saw her and screamed "wolf,wolf" . But by the time villagers could run up the hill, she hid .
That night cubs were dissapointed. They thought their strong mother was actually scared. Meanwhile in village the villagers scolded the boy for lying.
Next day, again the mother and the cubs went on a sheep hunt. Again the mother repeated the same thing.
And the next day, and next. This continued for a while.
Soon the cubs grew impatient. They told their mother they would rather hunt and live by eating rats, than to see her fail everyday.
But the mother was calm as ever. She requested them to accompany her for one more time.
The next day, she again came out of hiding and the boy shouted again, but as we know no one came for help. To the surprise of the young wolves, who thought their mother will yet again be scared and go back to hiding , the mother wolf moved easily and hunted down the sheeps who had no protection. Following her lead, even the younger wolves devoured the helpless sheeps without any resistance.
That night after the best meal they ever had, the mother explained
"Today you are strong and fast,
so you kill prey that aren't so vast.
Though i pray for thee
strong forever you will never be
Understand this
Difference exists
between hunting by might
to satisfy your pride
and hunting by wit
where you will never take a hit
Smart and patient if you will be
mightier foes will for thee.
knowing the right time to strike is the key
to fill the stomach that's empty "
In short terms the story teaches you to be patient and wait for the right oppurtunity.
P.s : In the second para of the story the boy did not laugh because he had fooled the villagers,but he laughed at the wolf who he thought had been outwitted and scared by him.
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