The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!”
Sometimes, there really is a wolf
Once there was a small remote village in Caucasus mountains. The village’s pride and joy was a wonderful herd of sheep. The sheep gave them mutton to eat, warm wool for clothing and blankets, and “companionship” for some of the village’s lonelier bachelors.
The village’s girls and boys were charged with herding the sheep. In the morning, they drove the herd from their pen up the hills to a rich grazing field. During the day, they kept watch over the herd for any danger and gathered in any sheep that wandered off. In the evenings, the young herders drove the animals back down the mountain to their pen.
One evening, when the girls the boys were gathered, having completed their long day’s work, one of the girls spoke up.
“Did any of you see or hear anything strange today? I had weird feeling that there just may be a wolf prowling around in the woods near the herd.”
“No,” the other children replied. “But we’ll keep our eyes peeled tomorrow in case we see anything.”
The next evening, a couple of the boys said, “You might be right about that wolf thing. We heard some twigs snapping and thought we saw some shadows in the woods. Maybe there is a wolf.”
The next day, while the herd was grazing, a couple of herders went off to the woods to see what they could see. They returned yelling, “Wolf! Wolf!”
“Did you see a wolf?” the other children asked? “No,” the children who had gone to the woods replied. “We didn’t see a wolf. But we found some scat that we are pretty sure is wolf scat.” “Oh shit!” the other children cried, for they were foul-mouthed children in that village. “We’d better tell the adults!”
That evening after penning the sheep, the children spread out through the village crying, “Wolf! Wolf!” The adults came out and gathered in the town square.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded the village elders. “Did you see a wolf?”
“No,” the children replied. “But we found some wolf scat in the woods.”
“Folderol!” the elders sneered. “There are no wolves around here. Keep your fairy tales to yourselves and just do your job!” The adults returned to their houses, grumbling, many swatting their children on the rear or up side the head.
The next day, in the middle of the day, the herders saw an emaciated, snarling wolf emerge from woods. First one child noticed it and cried “Wolf!” and soon all of the children were running around crying “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” Their cries and movement scared the wolf back into the woods. The frightened children immediately gathered up the sheep and drove them back down the mountain to their pen, crying “Wolf! Wolf!” all the way.
The adults heard the commotion and saw the herd returning early. They ran out of their homes and stores and workshops. “What is going on here?” they asked. “Don’t tell me you found more wolf scat!”
“No!,” the children cried. “We actually saw the wolf! It was huge and had big red eyes and saliva dripping from its mouth, where its big red tongue hung out. We drove it off and immediately brought the herd back to keep them safe. Get your guns and go hunt down the wolf!”
“Nonsense!” the adults replied. “There is nothing to worry about. We had a wolf once before, about 100 years ago. It took a couple of sheep and then disappeared. So a wolf is no big deal. It’s a natural occurrence, to be expected every so often. Now take the herd back up the mountain right now, so they can finish grazing and get fattened up to produce plenty of mutton and wool for us!”
Still frightened, the children drove the herd back up the mountain again, but to a different field far from where the wolf had been seen.
As dusk began to fall, the children had just begun rounding up the herd for the drive home when a half-dozen wolves emerged in a pack from the nearby woods. Snarling and snapping, they took down several sheep as the rest of the herd ran away in a panic. The wolves disappeared, dragging the carcasses back into the woods. The children spent several terrified hours finding the sheep, getting them back into a herd, and driving them down the mountain.
After safely penning the sheep, the children slunk quietly to their homes. With tears in their eyes, they told their parents, “A wolf-pack came today and carried off several of our sheep. We’re really scared to go back out there.”
“You are all wolf-doomers!” the parents admonished the children. “Just because you lost a few sheep, you think the wolves are going to come and eat us all up! The wolf pack got the food they needed, so they will not come back. Besides, the scientists tell us that their new wolf-repellent spray will be ready soon. So stop being such cowards and continue to do your jobs!”
That night the wolf pack came into town and killed all of the sheep in their pen. They also tore apart all of the villagers. A few of the children managed to get away because they knew the wolves were real and they were on high alert. At the sound of the first wolf howl, they grabbed their go-bags and headed for the valley.
— Lannie Rose, January 2023
preferred pronouns: she/her/hers
