The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a village boy whose father was a farmer. He was not allowed off the farm property and was especially not allowed in the barn. Ever since he was little, it has been off limits. One day though, curiosity got the better of him and when his father went into the market to sell the produce, the little village boy entered the barn.

What he found inside he could not have prepared himself for. In the corner of the barn, he saw a pair of eyes, staring back at him from the shadows. The fear he felt in that moment overwhelmed him and he ran as fast as he could to the hillside at the end of the property and began to shout;

“WOLF, WOLF!”

The townspeople rushed to the farm to help the boy but when they looked around there was no sign of any wolf. Annoyed, the people of the town headed home.

That night, the little village boy could not help but go back to the barn. He needed to know what was hiding in there. After waiting what felt like forever, the roaring snore from his father echoed throughout the house, signalling that the coast was clear.

With a determined heart and shaky hands, the boy once again ventured into the forbidden barn. The pair of eyes, just as haunting as before, awaited him in the corner – a silent watcher in the darkness. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

“WOLF, WOLF!"

The desperate cry escaped his trembling lips, the village stirred to life with a sense of urgency. Lamps were lit, casting flickering light over worried faces, and a hushed murmur of speculation spread like wildfire. With pitchforks and lanterns in hand, the townspeople followed the boy back to the farm, their footsteps echoing in the still night. The barn loomed ahead, its wooden walls seemingly harbouring the mysteries of the unknown. The moonlight painted eerie patterns on the ground as the villagers cautiously entered, their breaths held in anticipation. But as they ventured deeper, the shadows revealed nothing – no glinting eyes, no lurking presence. Confusion rippled through the group, and doubts hung in the air like unspoken questions.

For the next couple days, the boy stayed away from the barn as the terror that burdened him grew bigger. He continued with his duties on his father’s farm and tried to forget about the nightmarish eyes. However, one evening, the boy was finishing his work and accounting for all the animals before noticing the barn door was broken. He sprinted inside to inform his father. But when he got inside, his feet stood on a puddle that leaked through the hole in the bottom of his shoe. Blood? The little village boy quietly and slowly creeped his way along the trail which led to the living room. At the end was his father’s lifeless body, covered in animal scratches and almost completely drained of blood.

A deep, haunting snarl came from behind the boy. Before he knew it, he was turning around to see what awaited him. Lurking in the shadows, the same ferocious eyes pierced through his soul. The little village boy screamed at the top of lungs;

“WOLF! WOLF!”

But none of the townspeople came to help.

The next day, a woman from the village came to pick up her order of fresh vegetables for the market down town. When she knocked on the door, it swung open slightly. She called for the boy and his father whilst searching through the house and when she got to the living room, nothing was out of place. The little village boy and his father were never seen again. To this day the townspeople, do not know what happened to the farmer and the little boy who cried wolf.