The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a little shepherd boy. Every day, he would take his sheep up the mountain to graze. One day, he got really bored. He thought it would be fun to play a trick on the villagers. So, he ran down the mountain quickly, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Wolf! Wolf!" Hearing his cries, the villagers dropped what they were doing and rushed up the mountain with tools like axes and hoes. But when they got there, they saw no wolf at all. The boy laughed and said, "You all got tricked!" The villagers were very angry and left. The next day, the naughty boy did the same thing again. The villagers came running, but they were fooled once more. They were so mad that they decided never to believe him again. A few days later, a real wolf came. It attacked the sheep. The boy was so scared and shouted for help. But the villagers thought he was lying again, so no one came to save him. Many of his sheep were killed. The boy was very sad and regretted what he had done. This story tells us that honesty is very important. If a person always tells lies, no one will trust him even when he tells the truth.

狼来了

从前，有一个放羊的小男孩。他每天都会赶着羊群上山吃草。 有一天，他觉得十分无聊。他觉得捉弄村民会很好玩。于是，他飞快地跑下山，声嘶力竭地大喊：“狼来了！狼来了！” 听到他的呼喊，村民们放下手里的活，拿着斧头、锄头这类工具冲上山。可等他们赶到山上，压根看不到狼的影子。男孩大笑着说：“你们全都上当啦！” 村民们十分生气，然后离开了。 第二天，这个调皮的男孩又故技重施。村民又跑上山，再一次被他欺骗。他们怒火中烧，决定再也不相信他了。 几天之后，一只真的狼来了，袭击羊群。男孩吓坏了，大声呼救。但是村民们以为他又在撒谎，没有人前来救他。他的很多羊都被狼咬死了。男孩伤心极了，为自己的所作所为感到后悔。 这个故事告诉我们诚实非常重要。如果一个人总是说谎，就算他说真话的时候，也没有人会相信他。

重点短语（附音标+释义）

1. once upon a time /wʌns əˈpɒn ə taɪm/ 从前（故事开头常用）
2. take sheep up the mountain /teɪk ʃiːp ʌp ðə ˈmaʊntən/ 赶羊上山
3. play a trick on sb /pleɪ ə trɪk ɒv sʌmbədi/ 捉弄某人
4. at the top of one’s lungs /æt ðə tɒp ɒv wʌnz lʌŋz/ 声嘶力竭地，放声大喊
5. rush up the mountain /rʌʃ ʌp ðə ˈmaʊntən/ 冲上山
6. not…at all /nɒt æt ɔːl/ 一点也不
7. get tricked /ɡet trɪkt/ 上当，被欺骗
8. do the same thing /duː ðə seɪm θɪŋ/ 做同样的事，故技重施
9. once more /wʌns mɔː(r)/ 再一次
10. shout for help /ʃaʊt fɔː help/ 大声呼救
11. regret what one has done /rɪˈɡret wɒt wʌn hæz dʌn/ 为自己做过的事后悔

Questions

1. Why did the shepherd boy want to play a trick on the villagers at first?
2. What did the villagers take with them when they ran up the mountain for the first time?
3. How many times did the boy fool the villagers before the real wolf came?
4. Why didn’t the villagers come to help the boy when the real wolf attacked the sheep?
5. What lesson can we learn from the story The Boy Who Cried Wolf?

Keys

1. Because he felt really bored and he thought it would be fun to play a trick on them.
2. They took tools like axes and hoes.
3. He fooled the villagers twice.
4. Because they thought the boy was lying again and did not believe him any more.
5. We should be honest. If we often tell lies, people won’t trust us when we tell the truth.

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