Perry 210: Boy Who Cried Wolf

Today's fable is Perry 210, the story of the boy who cried "Wolf!" - surely one of the best known of Aesop's fables, even though many people do not realize that the story is found in Aesop. At del.icio.us, you can see a complete list of the versions of this fable type that I have collected.

Here is the version from Steinhowel. What I especially like about this version is the very clear statement of the moral: it is not just that lying is bad in and of itself, but that if you are a liar, you will not believed if and when you finally do tell the truth - a very practical consequence to the habitual telling of lies!

Qui cognoscitur mentiri, ei veritas postea non creditur. De hoc talis dicitur fabula. Puer quidam, cum oves in eminentiori loco depasceret, saepius clamabat: Heus, o! a lupis mihi succurrite! Qui circumaderant cultores agrorum, cultum omittentes ac illi occurrentes, ac nihil esse comperientes, ad opera sua redeunt. Cum pluries puer id, ioci causa, fecisset, ecce: cum lupus pro certo adesset, puer, ut sibi succurratur, serio clamat; agricolae id verum non esse putantes, cum minime occurrerent, lupus oves facile perdidit, nam puero mentienti non credebatur.

Here it is written out in segmented style to make it easier to follow, while respecting the Latin word order:

Qui cognoscitur mentiri,
ei veritas postea non creditur.
De hoc
talis dicitur fabula.
Puer quidam,
cum oves in eminentiori loco depasceret,
saepius clamabat:
Heus, o!
a lupis mihi succurrite!
Qui circumaderant cultores agrorum,
cultum omittentes ac illi occurrentes,
ac nihil esse comperientes,
ad opera sua redeunt.
Cum pluries puer
id, ioci causa, fecisset,
ecce:
cum lupus pro certo adesset,
puer,
ut sibi succurratur,
serio clamat;
agricolae
id verum non esse
putantes,
cum minime occurrerent,
lupus
oves facile perdidit,
nam puero mentienti
non credebatur.

The image is from Thomas Bewick's Aesop, first published in 1818:

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