懂你英语 Level6 Unit1 Part1 Reading - The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

    Once upon a time there was a mischievous young boy who was given the task of tending a herd of sheep on a hillside near a village. The boy grew tired and bored while watching the sheep, so he found ways to amuse himself, such as climbing trees or chasing sheep. One day he came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea. He climbed to the top of a tree and shouted toward the village:"Wolf! Wolf! Help me please!"

    When the villagers heard his cries for help, they rushed up the hill to rescue him and chase the wolf away. Of course, when they got there, there was no wolf to be seen, and the boy, who was still in the tree, was laughing. The sheep were grazing peacefully. Annoyed, the villagers returned to the village and back to their normal activities.

    A few days later, the boy grew bored again, and played the same trick on the villagers, This time the villagers were furious at the boy. That night he was punished by his mother for his bad behavior.

    For a while after that, life went on as normal and the boy behaved, he didn't want to be punished again. Then, one afternoon while he was tending the sheep, he noticed that the sheep was were bleating and nervous. He didn't know what was causing their strange behavior, so he climbed a tree to see if he could determine what was going on. What he saw from a tree was a frightening sight, a big, hairy wolf chasing after the sheep, Terrified, he screamed for help:"Wolf! Wolf! There's a wolf chasing the sheep!"

    This time, when the villagers heard his cries for help, they were convinced that it was another one of his pranks. Nobody believed that there was really a wolf, so they ignored his frantic calls for help. The wolf, having nothing to fear, feasted on several of the sheep and then slipped back into the forest.

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