The Shepherds Boy
The Shepherd Boy – English Fairy Tale from Aesop’s Fables with a podcast, new words and some exercises to learn and practice English with short stories and fairy tales
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 flock, and when the boy complained, the wise man of the village said:
A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.
New words and expressions
- Tended his sheep: kept an eye on his sheep, watched over his sheep
- Company: friends, companionship
- Villagers: people living in a village, country dwellers
- Considerable: great and large
- Trick: ploy, deception
- Stirred: motivated, excited
- Flock: group of sheep, horde
1. Shepherd boy’s work was so boring for him. Also, he was alone all day. Therefore, he needed excitement and more passion.
2. Shepherd boy deceived the villagers twice. So, when he cried truly and asked for help, nobody did not listen to him. Finally, the real wolf made a good meal of shepherd’s flock.
3. This story highlights the result of dishonesty. When somebody is known as a liar, nobody could not believe him even through he tells the truth on occasion.
Thank you for expressing your opinion about the Aesop’s fable, the Shepherd Boy.
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1. Put “the” before “shepherd boy” because it is definite or known to us after reading the short story.
2. nobody did not listen to him = nobody listened to him
3. nobody could not believe him = nobody could believe him
The boy initially lied to the villagers about the wolf’s presence because he was feeling lonely and seeking some company. However, this behavior had negative consequences for him when a real wolf attacked his herd, and the villagers did not believe him due to his previous lies. This story demonestrate the consequences of dishonesty, as it can lead to a lack of credibility in the future.
Thanks for your comment. In fact, “honesty is the best policy”.
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1. demonestrate = demonstrate
Please answer one of the questions raised in the discussion section of this short story.
I learned that don’t lying too much – by rozita
The story told me to say always the truth – by Robina
It’s better to say:
I learned that I should / shall not tell lies so much.
Usually, we say: to tell the truth / to speak the truth.