Once upon a time, there was a young boy. He lived in a quiet village where many people owned sheep. The boy's job was to watch all the sheep. He had to protect them from hungry wolves.
Looking after the sheep was easy, but it wasn't fun.
"I'm so bored," he thought. "I wish something exciting would happen."
One day the boy had an idea. He took a deep breath. "A wolf!" he shouted. "Help! There's a wolf!"
The whole village heard the boy's cry. Everyone ran to the boy in fright.
"Where is it? Where's the wolf?" an old man asked.
The boy shrugged and tried to hide his grin. "Um . . . I guess it ran away."
The villagers frowned. No one believed the boy. But what could they say?
The next day the boy was watching the sheep again.
"Yesterday was fun," he thought. He giggled as he thought about how he had tricked the villagers. "I'll do it again!"
The boy took a deep breath. "A wolf!" he shouted. "Help! There's a wolf!"
The frightened villagers ran to the boy and looked around.
"Where's the wolf?" a shopkeeper cried.
"Yes, where is it?" the old man asked, frowning.
The boy hid his grin. "It was just here, and then it ran off."
The old man sighed. "Never cry 'Wolf!' when there is no wolf."
The villagers nodded. "That's a bad idea, boy!"
After everyone left, the boy burst out laughing. Baa! Baa! Suddenly he heard the sheep.
The boy gulped. A big wolf was chasing the sheep!
"A wolf!" the boy shouted. "Help! There's a wolf! Really!"
All of the villagers heard the boy crying "Wolf!" But this time they were not going to fall for his trick. So everyone ignored his shouts.
In the evening the villagers came to check on their sheep. But the sheep were gone. The wolf had eaten them all up.
The shopkeeper gasped. "Where are the sheep?"
"I called 'Wolf!' but nobody came to help me," the boy said.
"Of course nobody came to help you!" the old man snapped.
The shopkeeper glared at the boy. "You tricked us twice!"
The old man nodded. "You called 'Wolf!' when there was no wolf!"
The boy hung his head. "Sorry."
"You learned something today," the old man said. "Nobody believes a liar, even when a liar tells the truth!"