Once upon a time, a shepherd boy was given an important job. Every day, he took the village sheep up to the meadow on the hillside to graze. It was his job to watch over them and call for help if a wolf came.

But day after day, nothing happened. The sheep munched on grass. The clouds drifted by. The boy sat on his rock with nothing to do. He was bored out of his mind.

One afternoon, just for fun, he jumped up and shouted as loud as he could: "WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill with sticks and pitchforks, ready to fight. But when they got there, there was no wolf. Just the boy, laughing.

"Ha! I fooled you!" he said. The villagers were not amused. They trudged back down the hill, grumbling.

A few days later, the boy did it again. "WOLF! WOLF!" The villagers came running again, and again they found no wolf. The boy thought it was hilarious. The villagers thought it was not.

Then one evening, as the sun was going down, a real wolf crept out of the forest. Its yellow eyes gleamed. It padded toward the sheep with silent paws.

The boy jumped up, terrified. "WOLF! WOLF! Please, there's really a wolf this time! HELP!"

Down in the village, the people heard him shouting. They shook their heads. "There he goes again," they said. "We're not falling for that trick a third time." And nobody came.

The wolf scattered the sheep and disappeared into the woods. The boy sat alone on the hillside as darkness fell, and he understood.

Nobody believes a liar, even when they're telling the truth.