shepherd boy wolf
The Shepherd Boy
Vocabulary
| flock | back (2) | day after day |
| whole | pasture | oftentimes |
| funny | shepherd | bring/brought/brought |
| shout | lower (2) | all day long |
| hill | emerge | immediately |
| smile | lonely | eat/ate/eaten |
| bush | fair (3) | cry/cried/cried (2) |
| gun | have to | carry/carried/carried |
| alone | pitchfork | feel/felt/felt |
| fun | nearby | enough (2) |
| joke | anymore | play jokes |
| lead | as usual | find/found/found |
| laugh | boring | look after |
| scold | sleepy | can’t stand it |
| grey | figure (2) | meanwhile |
Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy. His name was Malik.
Every day, Malik took out a flock of sheep from his village to nearby pastures. He looked after them for the whole day. In the evening he brought them back.
This went on day after day, week after week, month after month.
Talk to Sheep
Oftentimes, Malik talked to the sheep. He told them, “This is so boring! I’m up here all day long.
Meanwhile my friends are in the village. They are playing and having fun. This isn’t fair! Why do I have to do this?”
The sheep just ate grass.
Enough
“I’ve had enough! I can’t stand it anymore!” said Malik one day.
So he stood up and cried, “Wolf! Wolf! Help! Help! Help!”
Immediately men came from the village and ran up the hill towards Malik. They were carrying guns and pitchforks.
Where?
“Where’s the WOLF?!?” asked the front man.
“Ah…well…there is…no wolf,” said Malik. “I….just….felt bored and lonely and…wanted….a little…fun. It’s just a joke!”
“Don’t play jokes!” said the man. “You must never do this again!”
The men lowered their guns and pitchforks, and went back to the village.
A Few Days Later
A few days later, Malik was with his sheep as usual. Again, he cried out, “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Help! Help!”
Again, the men came running up. But all they found was Malik smiling and laughing.
“You must stop playing these tricks!” the lead-man shouted at Malik, and then scolded him some more. The villagers then returned to their work.
In the Afternoon
Later in the afternoon Malik began to feel sleepy…
“What was that!?!” He thought he heard something in the bushes. Then a large, grey figure emerged.
“WOLF! WOLF! HELP! HELP!” screamed Malik. “THERE’S A WOLF HERE! WOLF! WOLF! WOLF! HELP! HELP! HELP!”
This time, no one came from the village.
1. Who was Malik? What is his job? What does he do?
2. Malik is very happy and satisfied with his job. True or false?
3. What did he do one day?
4. How did the villagers respond? What did the villagers do?
5. The villages laughed when Malik told them what happened. Yes or no? How did the villages feel?
6. Was there any difference between the first and second times when Malik cried “Wolf!”?
7. What happened in the end? In the end . . . .
A. What is the moral of the story? Have you heard the expression “to cried wolf”? Give examples from real life.
B. Have you read or heard this story before, at school or from your parents?
C. Do you know anyone who played a joke or lied?
