The Boy who Cried Wolf
By Jason Godfrey
Every day the young shepherd boy would sit upon a granite stump, stare at the village, and wish the day away with this best friend the sheep. He would wish he were like his father the butcher, who spent all day talking to his friends.
During the spring festival, the shepherd boy was all alone on his lonely hill when the valley wind carried the sounds of laughter and scents of the great festival from the town. The young shepherd climbed to the top of his rock and peered down into the valley. He wanted to be a part of the festivities so much, but he couldn’t leave the sheep. He saw his father in the valley and wanted to be with him. He called to him, “Hey, hey, come to me! We’ll have our holiday on the hill!” But the villagers couldn’t hear the young shepherd.
He yelled louder, “Please! Come to me! We’ll have our holiday on the hill!” But the villagers carried on without seeing the child.
Finally, in desperation he yelled, “WOLF! WOLF! WOLF! Come quick and see the wolf!” His father must have heard the boy yell, because he was soon on the hill. But there was no wolf for the butcher and there was no holiday for the shepherd boy.
A day or so passed and the boy was once again perched on his stump, watching the village. It was the mayor’s birthday, and the whole town was gathered in the town square to eat the lambs that he had raised. The boy wanted to be in the village and eat with his friends and family, but he didn’t want to cause trouble like last time, so he ran down to the village. The sheep would be okay for a while.
When he got there, his father was very made at him for leaving the sheep. He growled at him, telling him that he was a bad boy and that he shouldn’t ever leave the sheep. His father had even grabbed his switch when the boy cried out, “I’m here for the wolf! For the wolf who’s on the hill!”
Once again, his father ran up the hill to stop the wolf. But there was no wolf. The shepherd boy’s father barked at him for being dishonest. He walked back to the village into the setting sun, leaving the shepherd boy crying against the rock.
Once his father was gone and the sun was set, a pair of bright yellow eyes lurked out of the woods. The boy was too tired from weeping to yell. So he cried, “wolf, wolf, wolf.”
The wolf shook his ragged head, “Oh my boy, they won’t come for you now.”
Wiping his nose, the boy shivered, “Why not?”
The Wolf laid down beside the boy, warming him. “They don’t love you.”
“Do you love me?”
“I’ll love you to the bone.”
