Sharu was the village shepherd. He was thirteen years old and extremely naughty. Often he would drink up the milk from the sheep. He would go to sleep and then the sheep had to be collected by everyone else as they would have strayed away.
Sharu felt that the villagers were very unfair to him. He was given these stupid sheep to graze. All they did was eat and eat and eat….
“I must do something to show these silly villagers how bright I am!” he thought, as he lay under a tree and chewed a blade of grass. Suddenly, he had a bright idea!
That evening, he waited till twilight fell. Then he gave out a shout, “Wolf! Wolf! Help! Help! Someone help!”
The villagers heard Sharu shouting. Worried about the wolf attacking him and the sheep, they picked up whatever they found and ran to help. The men reached Sharu to find him rolling in the grass, laughing at their expressions.
“Look at you! All of you keep telling me I am stupid and naughty! And see how I have made fools of you!”
The angry villagers scolded him, while some smiled at his prank and they all trooped back to the village. Sharu happily followed with the sheep.
A few days later, Sharu repeated his prank again. Once more, the villagers ran, carrying sticks, staffs, pickaxes, shovels— anything they found. Once again, they found that Sharu had made fools of them. There was no wolf.
The headman was very angry, and so were all the other villagers.
“Look here, Sharu; this is not funny any more,” said the headman sternly, “You think you are very bright, but you are the silliest boy in the village. You shouldn’t be telling lies like this. One day if a real wolf comes along, no one will believe you when you cry out for help!”
And he went back to the village with all the others. His words had no effect on Sharu!
Some days later, Sharu saw a real wolf coming up the mountain stealthily. This time, he was really scared. The sheep started running helter-skelter and the wolf ran after them. Sharu yelled, “Wolf! Wolf! It’s really a wolf! Oh, please help!”
But this time, the villagers heard him and thought Sharu must be up to his usual tricks. So, none went to help. In a little while, Sharu came running back, looking terrified. The villagers realised that this time it was real. They ran up and killed the wolf. But many sheep had been killed.
Moral: Lies make one untrustworthy.
