The Boy That Always Lied

Once upon a time, there was a little boy, living in a village. A village, quite remote, where the closest town, village and city, was a good hour by horse ride.

This young boy, Peter, from a young age, had always found his way out from stressful situations just by lying to people. For him, it was a quick fix. A quick way to get rid of the problem, a bandage on an injury. He never thought of the long-term consequences. He never thought of a permanent fix, or…just to be honest with respect to the situation or people involved.

At school, Peter would be the student that often would arrive late in the morning for his classes. He would have excuses such as the weather was not in his favor, that he had to help his mom in the barn, that he had to help an elderly man with his grocery bags, etc. The excuses were endless.

Peter was good at telling tales. Well, lies…that would be not just a simple lie but a lie that would affect many people, a group of people, an institution or even the entire village.

During summer vacation, Peter would help with the family’s farm business. They owned a flock of sheep. Peter was responsible to take the sheep out for grazing. This was a good way for his parents to get Peter involved in this field of work. Also, to show him what is the feeling of a hard working day. That money does not grow on trees.

Peter, when conducting his duties, but would most of the time get lost in his thoughts. He would not pay attention to the flock. Some times, once he was back with the flock to the farm, his parents would notice that he is missing a sheep or two. Peter would use the excuse that maybe a wolf caught a sheep and devoured it. When you lose a sheep or two, a month, that is bad for business.

Peter knew, that there were no wolves ever reported, seen or witnessed in the entourage. Peter knew that he simply neglected to keep an eye on the flock.

Peter’s parents were paying him an allowance for his work. With his lack of effort, Peter was afraid to lose his allowance. He was thinking of getting a new bicycle with that money pocket. Peter started officering his services to others in the village. At first, Peter was careful. Later, after a few weeks, he would become lazy at his tasks, and neglect the flock of sheep. The villagers would ask the boy if there was a reason of the missing sheeps. The answer from the lying boy would be the same. That probably a wolf was near by.

On Monday, a new week, back to school and Peter got late to school by five minutes. When the teacher asks the reason for not being punctual today, the boy said that he had take care of his ailing mom. She had a high fever and he had to run to the doctors’ home. This was not true.

After school, Peter got late home. When his parents ask him where he was, his answer was that he had stayed after school to get extra hep in math by her teacher. Again, that was not the truth. He went to play with some kids that live closer to the school.

Incidents like this kept on going for weeks, months, and few years. The boy did not mean any harm to anyone but his lies were a huge disrespect to people.

One day, after the school year had ended, and Peter was looking to make big bucks. He had taken the task to take on the flock of sheep of his family farm and the neighbor’s as well. He was imagining the money he would get from doing two jobs in one. He knew he was not going to put too much effort. This time, he decided to bring with him his dog Brutus. A German Shepperd. That can be a big boost in containing the sheeps and a better surveillance.

It was Saturday afternoon. The grazing spot was an hour way from his house. A quiet place to let the sheeps have their free time to socialize, eat, and enjoy the fresh air.

While the sheeps were carrying their activities, Peter decided to take a rest under a tree. The family dog was gone, far away. Peter was not looking at him or the sheeps.

When Peter woke up after a good two-hour nap, the sheeps seemed all there and the German Shepperd was not seen around. It was so silent. So quiet. So peaceful. It seemed like a dream.

It was time to return home. Gather the troop. As Peter was standing and started walking forward, he hears not one, but two growling wolves. The little boy is standing between them. What to do? The first instinct was not to move. After a few minutes, the wolves were in an immobile position. Looking at Peter as their next meal perhaps. It almost seemed like a staring contest but the little boy was keeping his eyes low. Not staring at them. He knew at this point he needed to run or scream for help. There was a village not far. By walk, maybe three minutes.

Do or die? The wolves are hungry. The boy shouts out loud as hard as he can. Screaming for help…

‘’You know…no one is going to listen to you today,” says one of the wolves.

‘’Let me go.’’

‘’You are our meal for this evening. Even though you are not lying by asking help, people are going to ignore you today. Only tomorrow morning they will realize that you were telling the truth. Maybe the first time in your life, and perhaps the last time as well…’’

As the closest villagers hear the sound of distress of the little boy, no one seems to be paying attention.

‘’Don’t worry…it must be Peter. How many times he has mentioned that a wolf attached his flock when we have never seen a wolf in this forest. He is probably preparing his next excuse for this parents,’’ explains one villager to another villager while they hear screams of the little boy.