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English Short Stories

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

An Indian shepherd boy shouting “Wolf!” from a hill while villagers run toward him.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Long ago, in a quiet village at the edge of a forest, there lived a young shepherd boy named Arjun.
Every day, he took his sheep to graze on the green hills nearby.

But Arjun was bored. Watching sheep all day was lonely and dull.
One afternoon, he decided to play a prank. He climbed onto a rock and shouted, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is attacking my sheep!”

Hearing his cries, the villagers dropped everything and ran up the hill with sticks and tools to help.
When they arrived, there was no wolf — only Arjun laughing loudly. “I fooled you!” he said.

The villagers scolded him, “Arjun, don’t lie like this. Someday no one will believe you.”
But the boy only laughed harder.

A few days later, Arjun grew bored again and shouted once more, “Wolf! Help! A wolf is coming!”
Again, the villagers rushed to his aid — and again, they found no wolf.
They shook their heads and said, “One day, you’ll regret this, boy.”

Then one evening, as the sun dipped behind the trees, a real wolf crept out of the forest.
It growled, showing its sharp teeth. Terrified, Arjun screamed, “Help! Wolf! Please, someone help me!”

But this time, no one came.
The villagers heard his cries but said, “It’s another of his jokes.”

By the time they reached the hill, the wolf had run away — and the sheep were gone.

Tears rolled down Arjun’s face. “If only I had spoken the truth,” he whispered, “people would have trusted me.”

From that day on, Arjun never lied again.

Moral of the Story:

Never lie — once trust is broken, even truth sounds like a lie.

🧠 Vocabulary

WordMeaning
ShepherdA person who takes care of sheep
PrankA playful trick
ScoldedTold someone they did wrong
GrowledMade a low angry sound
RegretFeel sorry for something done wrong

🌍 Glossary

TermExplanation
ArjunCommon Indian name used for storytelling
VillageRural area where people live close to nature
WolfA wild animal that hunts in forests
TrustBelief in someone’s truth or honesty

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Featured Vocabulary
Fragrant
Having a pleasant smell, aromatic, sweet-smelling
Literary Term
Seep To flow or leak slowly through small holes.
Idiomatic Expression
“reminded him of someone”
Made him think about a person from his past
Speech & Pronunciation
Tradition
Phonetic: Tra-dish-un

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