There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at

　　the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was rather lonely

　　for him all day, so he thought upon a plan by which he could get a

　　little company and some excitement. He rushed down towards the

　　village calling out "Wolf, Wolf," and the villagers came out to

　　meet him, and some of them stopped with him for a considerable

　　time. This pleased the boy so much that a few days afterwards he

　　tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his help.

　　But shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out from the

　　forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the boy of course cried

　　out "Wolf, Wolf," still louder than before. But this time the

　　villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was

　　again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to his help. So

　　the Wolf made a good meal off the boy's flock1, and when the boy

　　complained, the wise man of the village said:

　　"A liar2 will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."