There was a boy who worked as a shepherd for livestock. That boy would tend the sheep and provide them with the food they needed. He was careful that the sheep would not lose their way among the trees and not be exposed to predatory animals. One day, the boy went out to tend the sheep, felt sleepy, and rested under a tree to take some naps.
When the boy woke up, he stood up to count his sheep. He found only six sheep from the original ten sheep. So he returned to count the sheep again and confirmed that four were missing. The boy ran toward the pond looking for his sheep, perhaps they had gone to drink water there. As soon as he reached the pond, he saw a wolf there, so he ran toward the village screaming, announcing the presence of a wolf in the village.
The village residents came out of their houses. The men of the village gathered around the boy and asked him about the wolf’s location. The boy told them the wolf was at the pond. He also informed the owner of the sheep that there were missing sheep. Everyone ran toward the place where the sheep were grazing.
The men ran with hunting rifles toward the pond, but the wolf was not there. Rather, the sheep owner appeared shortly after, and they were complete in number. The sheep owner shouted at the boy and asked him, “The sheep are complete and their number is ten, and there is no wolf at the pond. Were you dreaming about the presence of a wolf?”
The boy swore by his vision that he had seen a wolf, and that he had counted the sheep several times and their number was only nine, so he thought the wolf had attacked those sheep, especially after seeing him near them at the pond. The sheep owner thanked God for the safety of his livestock, and they returned to the village.
The next day, the boy returned to the same place to tend the sheep. He heard a strange sound and saw a sound quickly. He looked but it was a clever rabbit eating the farm crops. Suddenly, he had an idea, so he hurried toward the village and announced the presence of a wolf following him. Everyone was afraid and each person entered his house and locked the door tightly. The boy saw that matter and liked lying to him, making it a pastime for his time. He returned the next day and hurried toward the village to announce the return of the wolf once again.
The village people learned of his lie and became angry at the boy’s disturbance and deception to them. Terror spread throughout the village because of that lie. Everyone kept away from the boy because of his repeated lying. He returned to his work, feeling loneliness in his time, for he knew he would find no one to amuse him and sat sadly.
While the boy was sitting looking at the livestock, he saw a real wolf circling the place. He left the sheep and ran toward the village shivering with fear, shouting to inform the village residents of the presence of a wolf. But the village residents did not listen to him.
Since they were accustomed to his lie, they gave him no attention and did not believe him. He tried to convince them of the presence of a real wolf, but without benefit. Time passed, and the boy returned to his place and found the wolf had eaten some of the sheep.
When the sheep owner learned of that matter, he grieved and became angry at the boy because if not for his persistent lying, the village residents would have believed him, come to his aid, and saved the sheep. The boy regretted his lying and learned that his bad behavior had caused the loss of many sheep, which he could have saved if not for his lying. He promised the sheep owner that he would not repeat that action again but would always strive to tell the truth.
The moral of the story: That the child learns the necessity of truth and the danger of lying, and learns that truth saves.