The Boy Who Cried Wolf
There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the
village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf!
The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when
they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of
their angry faces.
"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went
grumbling back down the hill.
Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his
naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf
away.
When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for
when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"
But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.
Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet
and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"
But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.
At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village
with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.
"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why
didn't you come?"
An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.
"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm
around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"
My friend, the moral of this story is : no one will believe a habitual liar
even when he is telling the truth.
The Lion and the Mouse
A small mouse crept up to a sleeping lion. The mouse admired the lion's
ears, his long whiskers and his great mane. "Since he's sleeping,"
thought the mouse, "he'll never suspect I'm here!"
With that, the little mouse climbed up onto the lion's tail, ran across
its back, slid down its leg and jumped off of its paw. The lion awoke and
quickly caught the mouse between its claws.
"Please," said the mouse, "let me go and I'll come back and help you
someday."
The lion laughed, "You are so small! How could ever help me?"
The lion laughed so hard he had to hold his belly! The mouse jumped to
freedom and ran until she was far, far away.
The next day, two hunters came to the jungle. They went to the lion's
lair. They set a huge rope snare. When the lion came home that night,
he stepped into the trap.
He roared! He wept! But he couldn't pull himself free.
The mouse heard the lion's pitiful roar and came back to help him.
The mouse eyed the trap and noticed the one thick rope that held it
together. She began nibbling and nibbling until the rope broke. The lion
was able to shake off the other ropes that held him tight. He stood up
free again!
The lion turned to the mouse and said, "Dear friend, I was foolish to
ridicule you for being small. You helped me by saving my life after all!"
My friend, the moral of this story is : Little friends may prove great
friends.
The North Wind and The Sun
The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there
was great power in gentleness.
"We shall have a contest," said the Sun.
Far below, a man traveled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter
coat.
"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take
the coat off of that man."
"It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat,"
bragged the Wind.
The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was
filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road,
the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.
Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and
the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.
Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady
spot.
"How did you do that?" said the Wind.
"It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my
way."
My friend, the moral of this story is : Gentle persuasion is stronger
than force.
The Tortoise and The Hare
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being
so slow.
"Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking
laugh.
"Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than
you think. I'll run you a race and prove it."
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race
with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agre ed. So
the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the
distance and started the runners off.
The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the
Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try
a race with a Hare, he lay down beside th e course to take a
nap until the Tortoise should catch up.
The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and,
after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping.
But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did
wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his
swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.
My friend, the moral of this story is :The race is not always to the
swift.
