The Shepherd's Boy

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."

From The Shepherd's Boy by Aesop, translated by Joseph Jacobs (1894). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. According to the passage, what is the shepherd boy's initial motivation for falsely crying out that a wolf is attacking?

He wants to test the villagers' readiness for a real attack.He is seeking company and excitement to relieve his loneliness.He hopes to trick the villagers into doing his work for him.He wants to scare the sheep into staying close to the mountain.

2. What reasoning do the villagers use when they decide not to help the boy during the actual wolf attack?

They are too tired from running up the mountain twice before.They believe the boy is capable of fighting the wolf himself.They assume the boy is trying to deceive them yet again.They are angry at the boy and want the wolf to eat his flock.

3. Analyze how the author uses the boy's initial motivation to underscore the fable's central theme. Use evidence from the text to support your analysis.

4. Analyze the shift in the narrative's tone when the real wolf appears. How does the author's specific word choice reflect this shift?

5. Defend or challenge the following statement using evidence from the text: 'The villagers were justified in ignoring the boy's final cries for help.'