The Shepherd Who Played Tricks

A shepherd who led his flock some way from the village kept playing the following trick: he would call the villagers to his aid, shouting that wolves were attacking his sheep. Two or three times the villagers took fright and rushed out, only to go back having been fooled. But in the end it happened that wolves really did come. While they were ravaging the flock, the shepherd called the villagers for help; but they, supposing he was joking as usual, paid him no heed. And so he lost his sheep.