Modern Version of The Boy Who Cried Wolf

One day, in the village, everyone lived their lives without a single care in the world… Especially the young boy, who had a reputation for his dishonesty. Since birth, all he ever learned was telling lies. No one knew where he got it from, not even his mother and father, who tried their best to raise him with morals. But what did morals mean to this young boy?

Though he wasn’t reliable, the adults relied on him to watch after their sheep. Probably not the best idea to ask a child with a reputation for dishonesty to look after a group of young animals, but they were desperate and needed a youthful mind to watch after the animals before a storm came upon the horizon. The deadline to ensure the safety of all the animals was tomorrow at noon, when the storm was expected to take place.

The young boy decided to take advantage of the fact that the residents were taking the storm preparation seriously—buying food and essentials for their homes. As a child, he had no idea how serious the responsibilities were that adults needed to stay safe for themselves and the community as a whole. He thought it’d be best to play a prank on them, making them believe a wolf was nearby.

As he looked after the sheep, he shouted, “Wolf… wolf!”

Most people in the village came running as fast as they could, up to him, wondering among each other where the wolf was. When the young boy saw the panicked expressions on each villager’s face, he laughed, considering it to be a form of his own amusement.

One young woman asked him, “What’s so funny?”

“There is really no wolf,” the young boy replied. “It was just a prank.”

Everyone stood there, glaring at him, their arms folded. They clearly were not amused.

One man asked, “Was this just an April Fool’s prank to you? Because I thought we’re already past that!”

“No, I…” The young boy replied before a woman interrupted him.

“Didn’t your mother and father ever teach you that lying is wrong? Shame on you for thinking it’s an amusing thing to do to us, while we’re all trying our best to prepare for the storm tomorrow. We rely on you to look after the animals, for a reason. Don’t pull another prank on us like that again. You understand, young man?” She glared at him.

“Yes. Understood, Ma’am,” the young boy replied.

The villagers muttered to themselves as they returned to their homes, resuming their activities before the young boy tricked them into thinking a wolf was nearby. The young boy promised not to fool anyone else again.

But he was still bored while tasked with caring for the sheep. So, he decided to do it again…

“Wolf, wolf!” he called out again.

Everyone else returned, this time a little more skeptical than they’d been before.

A young girl asked him, “Is this just another one of your pranks?”

“Sure is.” The young boy shrugged casually.

“We knew it,” said the young girl, glaring at him, clearly not amused.

The young boy asked, “What are you gonna do about it now?”

His mother said to him, “Sweetie, we’ll have you locked up in your room if you continue with this nonsense. Remember what your father and I have taught you about spreading lies for your own amusement. It’s wrong, and you know it.”

“I’m sorry,” the young boy apologized to his mother. “I know you both mean well for me. It’s just a habit I cannot control.”

“You’re nine, so you’re old enough to know right from wrong, sweetie,” his mother said softly. The other villagers muttered in agreement; he was old enough to know better. “No excuse for dishonesty, darling. We’ll leave now, and you stay behind to look after the animals like you were asked to do.”

Everyone left again, some of them shaking their heads at him, as if to say, “Shame on you.”

The young boy did his best to occupy himself while caring for the animals. Sometime later that afternoon—approximately five—he’d have reason to let the villagers know they were in danger. That’s because a wolf had genuinely showed up in the field.

A little scared, the young boy did his best to hide from the wolf. He wanted to be sure the wolf would never find him, and fortunately, it did not see him. So, he took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the wolf without its knowledge. Seeing is believing, after all.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, so as not to get too scared by the wolf’s troubling presence. The wolf continued to roam around the field, growling, and the young boy was trapped between staying hidden where he was and rushing back to the village to get some help.

He saw the wolf attacking the sheep, and the young boy acted quickly enough to take a safe shortcut back to the village, making absolutely sure the wolf never saw him. By the time he returned to the main village area, he was a little out of breath from all the running he’d just done.

A teen girl asked him, “What’s up with you, looking all breathless?”

“You-you’ll never believe wh-what happened.” The young boy tried to catch his breath. “There’s… A wolf… At the field.”

“There’s a what?” the girl asked him.

“Wolf,” the young boy replied as clearly as he could, in between breaths.

She glared at him. “Did you just say ‘wolf’?”

“Yeah.” The young boy nodded. “I have a picture of it, too.”

A man asked, “What is the meaning of this, mentioning the wolf again? Haven’t you learned your lesson already, young man?”

“No, I’m not lying this time,” the young boy insisted. “There really was one. I’ll show you right now.”

He accidentally dropped his phone, and by the time he picked it up from the ground and opened it, he saw it’d been devoid of batteries. He forgot to charge it all morning, and he’d been out in the village for hours at a time, tending to the sheep before the wolf had arrived unexpectedly.

“Well? Where is it?” the man asked him.

“My phone’s dead,” the young boy said. “But please, you need to believe me when I said I took a picture of the wolf.”

“You need to knock it off,” the man snapped. “You have a habit of lying. Why should we believe anything you ever say? Your phone’s dead, so there’s nothing you can say or do to prove to us that a wolf is really out in the field. You’re just slacking on your responsibilities, young man. We’re working very hard to prepare for the storm, and you don’t take this issue seriously.”

A tear ran down the young boy’s face, heartbroken that no one seemed to believe him this time. He couldn’t believe his phone had died, just when he’d gotten proof of the wolf ravaging the field.

“I’m sorry if you don’t believe me,” the young boy said, “but I assure you—I’m not lying about this.”

“No.” The girl shook her head, refusing to believe him as well. “We’re not sorry we refuse to believe you. You can take a break from your work, but don’t go around pranking us again. Is that clear?”

“I’m not pranking anyone this time, but I promise it won’t happen again,” the young boy said. “I’ve learned my lesson now.”

“Somehow, I highly doubt it.” The girl rolled her eyes, in complete disdain.

Just then, three women’s voices are heard screaming, “Wolf… Wolf… He’s in the field! Seems like the young boy isn’t lying after all.”

Everyone in the village heard about this, and they started making preparations to protect themselves against the wolf. By this time, the young boy was already in his house with his mother and father, who were watching the incident on television as it occurred. Fortunately, they were safe and sound in the house. They knew if they’d asked the young boy to return to the village during this time, there’s a chance that he might have gotten devoured by the wolf itself. That was not the case, so they held onto him close to protect him from getting hurt.

“Thank you, sweetie, for informing us of the danger out in the fields,” his mother said to him softly, giving him a hug.

“No problem, Ma’am,” the young boy said softly. “Thank you for finally believing me. Will we be okay in time for tomorrow’s storm? All of us, here in the village?”

The young boy was selfless enough to think about others in the village and their safety during this time of the wolf attack, instead of merely himself and his own safety. This showed he’d learned his lesson about how lying is wrong.

“Of course we’ll be fine,” the young boy’s father reassured him. “All of us, including you. We’ll all be here, safe and sound, during the storm. No wolf or storm will attack us in the safety of our own homes. And it’s all thanks to you.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.” The young boy gave a sigh of relief.

“We’re sorry we didn’t believe you at first, honey,” said his mother.

“It’s okay.” The young boy smiled. “I wouldn’t have believed me at first, either. But I understand it now.”

The young boy’s mother and father were proud of him for being brave enough to escape the field while the wolf was present and warn all the villagers about the wolf. Eventually, everyone was relieved to learn that the wolf had been caught by local law enforcement and was no longer a threat to the village.

The young boy was rewarded for his courage in acting fast during that frightening situation in the field, and he’d gained more friends across the village, including with the other children his own age.

When the next day came, everyone in the village was fully prepared for the storm, having all the necessary food and essentials in their homes. They stayed safe during the storm, and no one had any reason to grieve for anyone else.