The Boy who Cried Wolf Short Story with Moral

Have you ever heard the story of the little shepherd boy who cried wolf? Has anyone told you what happened to him when he lied? Let us tell you the boy who cried wolf story in a simple way. We are sure you will love to read this story from Aesop’s fables and also learn from it. Let’s read the story together and find out what actually happened to the shepherd boy when he cried “Wolf, Wolf!”.

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf Story in short

Once upon a time, there was a little shepherd boy who would take his flock of sheep to the hill to graze the fresh green grass near. The hill area was quite infamous for a wolf's menace, who used to attack the sheep grazing there. 

However, the villagers of the nearby area were well aware of the wolf and always ready to help anyone crying out for help. The shepherd boy’s master told him about the helping nature of the villagers. 

One day, the shepherd boy got really bored while sitting idle on the hillside and watching his flock of sheep grazing out there. So, he came up with an idea to amuse himself. Suddenly, he cried out loudly for help, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!”. Hearing that, the villagers came running towards the hillside and found out there was no wolf. The shepherd boy successfully fooled the villagers and laughed out loud heartily to the villagers’ dismay. The villagers became really angry and told the shepherd boy not to call out for help when there was no wolf in reality. 

After a few days, the shepherd boy again called out for help, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!”. And, to his amusement, the villagers again rushed to the hillside to help him drive the wolf away. But they discovered that they got fooled by the shepherd boy for the second time in a row. They generally became very upset and angry. They warned the little boy not to raise a false alarm ever again.

However, the shepherd boy actually saw a wolf the very next day when he was on the hillside grazing his flock of sheep. Being alarmed and afraid, he called out for help as loudly as he could "Wolf! Wolf!".

Alas! Nobody came to his rescue as they assumed the shepherd boy was unnecessarily crying for help just to fool them like earlier. 

However, when the boy didn’t return to the village till evening, they went up to the hillside to find him. They discovered that the little boy was weeping. Upon being asked what happened, he replied, "There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?".

The villagers responded that they assumed this time he was also trying to prank them, raising a false alarm about the wolf. Hence they did not come to his aid. So, the little shepherd boy learned his lesson and promised to never lie again. 

Moral of the Story

“Once a liar, always a liar.”

The moral of The boy who cried wolf story is that no one believes a liar even when he is telling the truth. Every child should know this story and shall always remember the moral throughout their lives.

About Aesop’s Fables

Being a part of Aesop’s fables, The boy who cried wolf story is quite well known among the children and the storytellers. The story is very popular among children for the moral that one can learn from it. These stories have been told generation after generation in various ways while keeping the main values and morals intact. Keeping that in mind, we have provided the story along with the moral in a very simple and easy-to-understand format.