The boy who cried wolf

(Originally Written June 9, 2009 in the Journal)

The boy who cried wolf.

There was a boy who shepherded many flocks for the prominent men. One day out of the sheer tedium he blasted his horn alerting the townsfolk of an invading wolf. For three days he blasted but no one came. They had remembered the boy who cried wolf and yet there was no wolf. They felt no remorse when the wolf devoured the boy but were quite upset that their flocks had been ravaged.

Then the new boy, who differed from the elite politically, as he was from old power and they were the nouveau riche bugled his horn. There were all the signs of a wolf but he couldn't find it. Nevertheless he called out on his horn for safety. Nobody came.

Then one day two packs of wolves ravaged the fields of sheep. The boy was rallied around by the villagers and surrounding villages. For awhile the whole of the country seemed sympathetic to the boy.

Then the village attacked another village who hadn't stopped the wolves in the first place. The other villages supported the attacking village for awhile. The bugle boy became powerful. His power increased and for the good of his village he waged another war against another village. But, the other villages despaired of the boy's new power and cast him out like a leper. They elected a new shepherd, one of the elite of the nouveau riche.