The shepherd boy and the wolf

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Book illustration by Milo Winter

The Boy Who Cried Wolf , also known as The Shepherd and the Wolf , is a fable that Aesop is attributed.

The main character of the fable is a shepherd boy who, out of boredom, yells " Wolf !" When local villagers rush to his aid, they find out that the alarm has been raised and that they have wasted their time. When the boy actually meets the wolf shortly afterwards, the villagers no longer take the calls for help seriously and the wolf eats the whole herd (and in some versions the boy).

Web links

Wikisource: Αισώπου Μύθοι: Ποιμὴν παίζων  - sources and full texts
Wikisource: The Boy Who Cried Wolf  - Sources and full texts
Wiktionary: cry wolf  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations