The Child who Kept the Sheep

6.10. De puero oves pascente
Caxton: Of the child / whiche kepte the sheep
He whiche is acustommed to make lesynges / how be it that he saye trouhte / yet men byleue hym not / As reherceth this fable / Of a child whiche somtyme kepte sheep / the whiche cryed ofte withoute cause / sayenge / Allas for goddes loue socoure yow me / For the wulf wylle ete my sheep / And whanne the labourers that cultyued and ered the erthe aboute hym / herd his crye / they came to help hym / the whiche came so many tymes / and fond nothyng / And as they sawe that there were no wulues / they retorned to theyr labourage / And the child dyd so many tymes for to playe hym / It happed on a day that the wulf came / and the child cryed as he was acustommed to doo / And by cause that the labourers supposed / that hit had not ben trouthe / abode stylle at theyr laboure / wherfore the wulf dyd ete the sheep /
For men bileue not lyghtly hym / whiche is knowen for a lyer
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The Shepherd-Boy and the Wolf

040. THE SHEPHERD-BOY AND THE WOLF A Shepherd-Boy, who tended his flock not far from a village, used to amuse himself at times in crying out, “Wolf! Wolf!” Twice or thrice his trick succeeded. The whole village came running out to his assistance; when all the return they got was to be laughed at for their pains.
At last, one day the Wolf came indeed. The Boy cried out in earnest. But his neighbours, supposing him to be at his old sport, paid no heed to his cries, and the Wolf devoured the sheep. So the Boy learned, when it was too late, that liars are not believed even when they tell the truth. [more info]

The Shepherd's Boy

155. THE SHEPHERD’S BOY. A certain shepherd's boy kept his sheep upon a common, and, in sport and wantonness, would often cry out, “The wolf! the wolf!” By this means he several times drew the husbandmen in an adjoining field from their work, who, finding themselves deluded, resolved for the future to take no notice of his alarm. Soon after, the wolf came indeed; the boy cried out in earnest; but no heed being given to his cries, the sheep were devoured by the wolf. [more info]

The Shepherd's Boy

059. THE SHEPHERD'S BOY. A certain shepherd's boy kept his sheep upon a common, and, in sport and wantonness, would often cry out, “The wolf! the wolf!” By this means he several times drew the husbandmen in an adjoining field from their work, who, finding themselves deluded, resolved for the future to take no notice of his alarm. Soon after, the wolf came indeed; the boy cried out in earnest; but no heed being given to his cries, the sheep were devoured by the wolf. [more info]

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf

24. THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF. A young shepherd kept his sheep upon a common often visited by wolves. Out of very mischief the boy from time to time would cry, as if in fear,"The wolf! The wolf!" Hearing this, the men from the fields near by rushed to save him, as they thought. But they found no wolf. This happened so many times that at last the men made up their minds not to stir should the boy again call out. One day the wolf did really come. The boy this time cried in earnest, "The wolf! the wolf!" but as no one came to his aid (for all the men thought he was playing his old tricks), the wolf killed the boy and devoured the sheep at his ease. [more info]

A Boy and False Alarms

2.11. A BOY AND FALSE ALARMS. A Shepherd's Boy kept his sheep upon a common, and in sport and wantonness had gotten a roguish trick of crying, "A wolf! A wolf!" when there was no such matter, and fooling the country people with false alarms. He had been at this sport so many times in jest, that they would not believe him at last when he was in earnest; and so the wolves broke in upon the flock, and worried the sheep without resistance.
Rank lies repeated oft, and oft detected,
Makes truth itself for a rank lie suspected. [more info]

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf

40. THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF.
A Shepherd Lad who loved his joke
Was wont to scare the village folk
By shouting, every now and then,
"Help! Wolf!" and laughing rudely when
They ran, in answer to his call,
To find there was no wolf at all.
The best of jokes, however, must
If played too often cause distrust.
So, when one day there came indeed
A Wolf, the neighbors paid no heed.
"The Shepherd 's at his tricks again!"
Said they, and so he called in vain.
Meanwhile, to point a moral deep,
The Wolf devoured all his sheep. [more info]

The Shepherd's Boy

43. 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." [more info]

The Shepherd's Boy

059. THE SHEPHERDS BOY. You will find the fable in English on this page; scroll down to see if there are multiple English versions. [more info]

The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf

THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF. A Shepherd Boy tended his master's Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his shepherd's pipe.
One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet forest, and thinking what he would do should he see a Wolf, he thought of a plan to amuse himself.
His Master had told him to call for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers would drive it away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even looked like a Wolf, he ran toward the village shouting at the top of his voice, "Wolf! Wolf!"
As he expected, the Villagers who heard the cry dropped their work and ran in great excitement to the pasture. But when they got there they found the Boy doubled up with laughter at the trick he had played on them.
A few days later the Shepherd Boy again shouted, "Wolf! Wolf!" Again the Villagers ran to help him, only to be laughed at again.
Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the pasture, a Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the Sheep.
In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting "Wolf! Wolf!" But though the Villagers heard the cry, they did not run to help him as they had before. "He cannot fool us again," they said.
The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy's sheep and then slipped away into the forest.
Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth. [more info]