| The Boy Who Cried Wolf | |
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Real Name |
Unknown |
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First Appearance |
Unknown |
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Original Publisher |
Unknown |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The tale concerns a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. When a wolf actually does appear, the villagers do not trust the boy's cries for help, and the flock is destroyed.
Notes[]
- The story dates from Classical times.
- The moral at the end of the Greek version of the story states that it "shows that this is how liars are rewarded: even if they tell the truth, no one believes them".
- The idiomatic phrase "to cry wolf" has been frequently used in the titles of films, books and lyrics, but these rarely refer directly to the fable.