Boy Who Cried Wolf

You might also like

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 2

The Boy Who Cried Wolf - Fables of Aesop https://fablesofaesop.com/the-boy-who-cried-wolf.

html

Contact 1. We welcome any feedback,


questions or comments
2. Name
3. Email
Questions/Comments
HOME ABOUT PERRY INDEX PRIVACY POLICY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The Boy Who Cried Wolf Search

23 November 2013 By DaBoss Search this website … SEARCH


4.
5.
6. SUBMIT A bored Boy tending Sheep cried “Wolf!” to get attention. He did it again and people came. A third time and the Characters

Aesop Amaranth Androcles Ant Apollo Apple


Boy was ignored. Goodbye flock.
Acorn
Archer Arrow Astronomer Axe Bag Bat Bear Beaver Bee
A liar will not be believed, even when telling the truth. Beetle Beggar Bell Belly Berry Bird Black Blacksmith Boar
Body Boy Bramble Bricklayer Brother Buffoon Bull Butcher
Butterfly Caesar Calf Camel Carpenter Cat Caterpillar
Chameleon Child Clock Cloud Cobbler Cockle Cook
Eliot/Jacobs Version
Cormorant Corn Countryman Cow Crab Crane
Crocodile Crow Cuckoo Cupid Currier Daughter Death
There was a Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was lonely for him, Deer Demades Diamond Doctor Dog Dolphin
so he devised a plan to get a little company. He rushed down towards the village calling out “Wolf, Wolf,” and the
Donkey Dove Driver Drone Drunk Duck Dung Eagle
villagers came out to meet him. This pleased the boy so much that a few days after he tried the same trick, and Egg Elephant Enemy Eye Falcon Farmer Father Fish
again the villagers came to his help. Shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out from the forest. The boy cried
Fisherman Flea Flower Fly Fortune Fowler Fox
out “Wolf, Wolf,” still louder than before. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the
Frenchman Frog Gardener Genius Glow-worm Gnat Goat
boy was again lying, and nobody came to his aid. So the Wolf made a good meal off the boy’s flock. Gods Gold Good Goose Gourd Governor Grape
Grasshopper Greed Groom Gull Hand Hawk Hedgehog
Aesop For Children (The Shepherd Boy and The Wolf) Hen Hercules Herdsman Heron Honey Horse Hunter Ill
Jupiter
Image Indian Industry Jackal Jay Jealousy Juno
King Kingfisher Kite Knight Lamp Lark Leopard Liar
A Shepherd Boy tended his master’s Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village.
Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk
Lion Lizard Lobster Locust Log Love Lynx Magpie
Man Mask Merchant Mercury Miller Minerva Miser
to his dog or play on his shepherd’s pipe.
Modesty Mole Momus Money Monkey Moon Mosquito
Mother Mountain Mourner Mouse Mouth Muscle Neptune
One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet forest, and thinking what he would Nettle Nightingale Nut Nymph Oak Ocean Old Man

do should he see a Wolf, he thought of a plan to amuse himself. Ostrich Owl Ox Oyster Pallas Panther Paper Parrot
Partridge Patient Peach Peacock Pearl Pelican Performer
Philosopher Pig Pigeon Pine Pitcher Plutus Pomegranate
His Master had told him to call for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers Porcupine Pot Prince Rabbit Rain Ram Raven Reason Reed
would drive it away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even looked like a Reputation River Robber Robin Rooster Rose Sailor Satyr
Wolf, he ran toward the village shouting at the top of his voice, “Wolf! Wolf!” Scorpion Scythe Seer Servant Sheep Shepherd
Silkworm Sister Slave Sloth Snail Snake Socrates Soldier
Sorceress Sparrow Spider Sprat Stag Stick Stork Student
As he expected, the Villagers who heard the cry dropped their work and ran in great
Sun Swallow Swan Tanner Teacher Teeth Temple Thief
excitement to the pasture. But when they got there they found the Boy doubled up with
Thorn Thrush Tiger Tiresias Tongue Tool Tortoise Trapper
laughter at the trick he had played on them. Traveler Treasure Tree Trumpeter Tuna Turkey Venus
Milo Winter (1919)
Vice Vine Virtue Vulture Walnut Wasp Weasel Whale

A few days later the Shepherd Boy again shouted, “Wolf! Wolf!” Again the Villagers ran to help him, only to be Wheel Willow Wind Wine Wolf Woman Woodcutter
Workman
laughed at again.

Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the pasture, a
Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the Sheep.

In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting “Wolf! Wolf!” But though the Villagers heard the cry, they did not
run to help him as they had before. “He cannot fool us again,” they said.

The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy’s sheep and then slipped away into the forest.

Moral

Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.

Townsend version (The Shepherd’s Boy and The Wolf)

A shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out the villagers three or four times by
crying out, “Wolf! Wolf!” and when his neighbors came to help him, laughed at them for their pains. The Wolf,
however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really alarmed, shouted in an agony of terror: “Pray, do
come and help me; the Wolf is killing the sheep”; but no one paid any heed to his cries, nor rendered any assistance.
The Wolf, having no cause of fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the whole flock.

Moral

There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.

JBR Collection (The Shepherd Boy and The Wolf)

A mischievous Lad, who was set to mind some Sheep, used, in jest, to cry “The Wolf! the Wolf!” When the people
at work in the neighbouring fields came running to the spot, he would laugh at them for their pains. One day the
Wolf came in reality, and the Boy, this time, called “The Wolf! the Wolf!” in earnest; but the men, having been so
often deceived, disregarded his cries, and the Sheep were left at the mercy of the Wolf.

L’Estrange version (A Boy and False Alarums)

A shepherd boy had gotten a roguy trick of crying (a wolfe, a wolfe) when there was no such matter, and fooling
the country people with false alarums. He had been at this sport so many times in jest, that they would not believe

1 of 2 10/3/18, 4:56 PM
The Boy Who Cried Wolf - Fables of Aesop https://fablesofaesop.com/the-boy-who-cried-wolf.html

him at last when he was in earnest: and so the wolves brake in upon the flock, and worry’d the sheep at pleasure.

Moral
1. We welcome any feedback,
questions or comments
2.
He must be a very wise man that knows the true bounds and measures of fooling, with a respect to time, place,
3. matters, persons, Etc. But religion, bus’ness and cares of consequence must be excepted out of that sort of liberty.

Lupus et Puer Mendax

Puer mendax, qui patris gregem pascebat, libenter alios ludificabatur. Aliquando ingentem clamorem sustulit,
“Auxilio venite; lupus adest!” Accurrunt propere rustici et ridentur. Proximo mense, hunc dolum repetivit. Paulo
4. post, re vera lupus apparet. Iam rursus clamat, “Auxilio venite; lupus adest!” At nemo accurrit. Maiore voce clamat,
5. lacrimat, eiulat; frustra omnia. “Tertium nos decipere vult,” inquiunt rustici. Ita lupus in gregem irrupit et plurimas
oves dilaniavit.
6. SUBMIT
Perry #210

Tagged With: Boy, Shepherd, Wolf

Note: The word "complete" in the graphic at the top of the page is descriptive and not a claim as nobody really knows how many Aesop's Fables exist. Fables are added to the site as they are found in public domain sources.
Return to top of page Copyright 2014-2018 Tom Simondi, All Rights Reserved

2 of 2 10/3/18, 4:56 PM

You might also like