The Wolf and the Shepherd

A wolf was following a flock of sheep without doing it any harm. The shepherd at first guarded against him as against an enemy and watched him fearfully. But as the wolf kept following without making the least attempt at carrying one off, he came to think he had in him a guardian rather than an enemy lying in wait; and, as he needed to go into town, he left his sheep near the wolf and set off. The wolf, thinking his chance had come, threw himself on the flock and tore most of it to pieces. When the shepherd came back and saw his flock lost, he cried out, "It serves me right; why did I trust sheep to a wolf?"