The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a shepherd boy named Asif who lived in a village in one of the many beautiful valleys in Northern Pakistan. Asif’s village was located at the foothills of Pakistan’s famous mountain range known as Kurra Kurram. These mountains are very high and very bare with no vegetation whatsoever. But it is a very different scene in the valleys. There are fast-flowing rivers, like the Swat River, which runs from the snow-covered mountains to create beautiful waterfalls and lakes below. There is lush green grass; and in the springtime the ground is covered in brightly coloured flowers and hundreds upon hundreds of butterflies take to the air creating a truly heavenly place.

There was another village further up the valley where Asif’s cousin lived. Looking down from that village, the trees and houses below appeared like little toys. Asif always enjoyed this scene whenever he visited his cousin, Hamza, and would often look for his own house in the village far below. The young boy marvelled at how small and distant it all seemed.

Asif’s father, Ahmed, owned a small herd of goats which he would take out of the village for grazing early each morning. Asif often liked to accompany his father on these trips as there was no school in the small village. Asif’s mother always made them a lunch of meat curry, chapattis and parathas, and a lovely milk drink called lussie. She would wrap the lunch in a square of cloth and Asif would carry it with him to keep it safe until it was time to eat.

Asif was a very active boy and would run around after the goats and keep them in check. His father was very pleased and thought that such training would make Asif a very good shepherd when the boy was older.

At midday, Asif and his father would spread out a roll of cloth beneath the shade of a tree and sit down for their lunch. The young boy always enjoyed his paratha and his lussie drink. When eating, both father and son would keep a watchful eye on the goats to make sure that none wondered away from the herd.

They would always return home before sunset as there was no electricity in the village and they needed to eat their dinner before the night set in. Asif went to bed soon after his dinner because there was little to do in the dark, and also because he had to wake very early each morning to milk the goats before taking them out to graze.

Asif enjoyed the lambing season when the goats and sheep gave birth to their kids and lambs. The young boy loved the little lambs and carried them around under his arm, imitating their tiny bleating sounds... ‘Maa..maa..maa..maa.’

Hamza would often visit from the hills above, then both boys would carry the lambs around and feed them soft food from their palms and cuddle up close to them to stay warm whenever the weather turned cold.

When Asif was older his father gave him the responsibility of looking after the herd. Hamza often joined Asif and the two boys would get up early to milk the goats and then take the herd out of the village for grazing. This became a routine for both boys and the days and nights passed slowly.

Until, one dark night, a wolf attacked the chickens and goats belonging to a farmer who lived close by. This caused much concern in the village and so it was decided that two men would be posted on guard to kill the wolf if it attacked again.

The wolf did attack again, but this time the men shot and killed the beast and the village soon returned to its peaceful state once more.

Sometime later, when the two boys were sitting on a rock in the meadow watching the goats munching away at the fresh grass, Hamza said to Asif, ‘The goats are grazing happily but we are always so bored. It is not fair.’

Asif thought about this for a moment then replied, ‘We should do something exciting then. What shall we do?’

Naughty Hamza grinned from ear to ear. ‘We should make fools of the people of the village,’ he said at last.

‘How do we do that?’ asked Asif.

Hamza went on to remind Asif about the night the wolf attacked the chickens and goats and how the men had been posted to guard the village with guns. ‘Then the wolf did attack and the men killed it! That was very exciting!’ exclaimed Hamza. ‘But then everything became peaceful and boring again.’

Asif remembered because it was the only exciting thing that had happened in the village for a very long time.

‘You know what I am thinking,’ continued Hamza. ‘If we shout and scream and say, “The wolf is attacking again! Help! Help!” then we would see how the people in the village would run to save us.’The Boy Who Cried Wolf

‘But it is very bad to tell lies,’ said Asif, who was not at all sure about his cousin’s naughty plan.

‘It is just a joke,’ insisted Hamza. ‘Don’t you want to see their worried faces as they run to help us? It will be so funny.’

‘And when they discover that there is no wolf and they see us laughing at them, they will be very annoyed with us,’ said Asif. But even as he said this, Asif had to admit that it would indeed be very funny to see the looks on the villagers’ faces as they ran into the meadow. He also had to admit that it was very boring watching the goats chew on the grass all day. ‘Okay,’ he said at last, ‘how do we do it?’

Hamza explained his plan and the two boys found themselves laughing and rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of making fun of the unsuspecting villagers.

The next morning, after milking the goats, the two boys led the herd into the meadow to graze. After enjoying their tasty lunch, packed nicely for them by Asif’s mother, they decided to carry out their naughty plan.

Hamza hid himself behind a bush while Asif ran down to the village shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Help us! Help us! The wolf is attacking Hamza! Please help us!’

As soon as the villagers heard Asif’s cries for help, they picked up their sticks and axes and ran towards the meadow. ‘Where is the wolf?’ asked one man. ‘How did he attack Hamza?’ asked another. ‘Did the wolf drag him away like he did with my goats and chickens? Tell us, where is Hamza?’

The villagers were very worried as they searched all about for the injured boy.

It was then that Hamza jumped out from his hiding place. ‘Welcome. Thank you for coming,’ said the cheeky boy with a big grin upon his face, ‘but there is no wolf here. He ran away when I told him that the villagers were coming to kill him.’ Then Hamza fell to his knees and burst out laughing. When Asif saw the looks of concern and panic on the villagers’ faces he too burst out laughing and began rolling about in the grass.

The villagers were very angry with the boys, and as they walked away from the meadow they promised to tell Asif’s father about his son’s wicked behaviour.

When Ahmed discovered what his son had done he was very disappointed indeed. He dragged the two boys before the crowd of villagers and made them both apologise for their sneaky trick and promise never to do such a thing again.

A few months passed and life returned to normal. But one day, as Hamza and Asif were tending to the goats in the meadow, a fierce wolf came around the hill and tried to drag one of the goats away. Hamza jumped to his feet and ran after the wolf to scare it away. But the fierce wolf simply dropped the goat and got a hold of Hamza’s leg instead.

Asif was terrified at the sight of his friend being dragged away by the wolf and quickly ran towards the village screaming, ‘People of the village, please come quickly! The wolf is dragging Hamza away! Please help us!’

One of the villagers said, ‘We are not going to be fooled again! Go back to your goats.’

‘Please!’ cried Asif. ‘I am telling the truth. Come and help Hamza before it is too late!’

A kindly villager decided to take a look at the edge of the meadow and there he saw Hamza with his leg trapped in the wolf’s powerful jaws. ‘Asif is telling the truth!’ he cried. ‘Come help at once!’

The villagers grabbed their sticks and axes and ran to help poor Hamza. And when the wolf saw the crowd running towards him, he let go of the boy’s leg and disappeared into the forest. Two men picked Hamza up by his shoulders and they all returned to the village. The boy’s leg was very badly injured and he was in a great deal of pain. Asif was close to tears and asked the villagers, ‘Why did you not come sooner? Why did you not believe me?’

A woman stepped forward. ‘You lied to us once before,’ she explained. ‘This is why we did not believe you. Do you see now why it is wrong to tell lies? You must never behave in such a way for it causes mistrust.’ Asif looked at his injured cousin, and at the villagers who had saved the boy from the wolf, and he knew then that he would never tell a single lie ever again.

Bald Boy and the Magic Seal

One day, Bald Boy was walking back from the marketplace after selling his crops to the people of the neighbouring village. He had made three gold coins that day and was very pleased with himself because now his mother would be able to buy food and clothing to last through the long winter.

Suddenly Bald Boy came across a group of men who were teasing a cat with a long stick. The cat looked very scared and was unable to escape. Bald Boy walked up to the men and said in a kindly voice: ‘Please stop teasing that poor cat. If you stop, I will give you a gold coin.’

The men agreed to put down the stick and Bald Boy handed over a shiny gold coin. The cat was very grateful to the boy and walked by his side. He promised that if ever he was able to repay the boy’s kindness, he would surely jump at the chance. Bald Boy could not imagine how a cat might help him in his life, but he agreed that the cat could join him, and so the two friends continued on their journey back to the boy’s home in the neighbouring village.

The boy and the cat walked for a few miles until they came across an old man and an old woman who were beating a dog because it had been barking too loudly. Bald Boy approached the old couple and said in a kindly voice: ‘Please stop beating that poor dog. If you stop, I will give you a gold coin.’

The old couple stopped beating the dog and took the gold coin from the boy. The dog was very grateful to the boy for saving him from the old couple, and he asked to join the boy and promised that he would always be faithful and help whenever he could. The young boy could not imagine how a dog might help him in his life, but he agreed that the dog could join him, and so the three friends continued on their journey home.

Not long after this, Bald Boy and his new companions stumbled upon two woodcutters in the forest who were trying to kill a snake with their sharp axe. Bald Boy walked up to the angry woodcutters and said in a kindly voice: ‘Please do not kill that snake with your axe. If you leave the snake in peace, I will give you a gold coin.’

The woodcutters thought about Bald Boy’s proposition for a moment and then agreed to put down the axe. The boy handed over his last gold coin without thinking because he was happy to have saved the snake from certain death.

The snake was very grateful and slithered up to whisper in the boy’s ear.

‘Thank you, Son of Adam, for saving my life. I am the son of the Snake Emperor and you must come home with me so that my father might thank you in person for your kindness.’

Even though Bald Boy had no more gold coins to buy food, he was happy to have saved his three friends and agreed to go and see the Snake Emperor before returning home to his mother.

When they arrived in the forest, the Snake Emperor was very grateful to Bald Boy for saving his son’s life.

‘I will give you anything that you ask of me,’ said the Snake Emperor to the boy.

It was then that the young snake whispered in the boy’s ear once more.

‘Ask my father for his magic seal which he keeps under his tongue. With this seal all of your wishes will come true. All you have to do is ask and it will be given.’

And so the boy asked the Snake Emperor for his magic seal, and the Snake Emperor replied: ‘You ask me for my most precious possession, but you saved my son’s life and I will grant you what you ask.’

The Snake Emperor relinquished his magic seal and Bald Boy stuffed the seal into his pocket and returned home with his faithful cat and faithful dog by his side.

When Bald Boy’s mother learned that her son had given away all of their gold coins she was very angry, but the boy promised that he would make up for this loss by marrying the Emperor’s daughter and making a new life for his mother.

‘And how will you do that, my son? This cat and this dog will not help you do such a thing.’

It was then that Bald Boy told his mother all about the magic seal that would grant his every wish.

The very next day, Bald Boy set off with his faithful cat and dog to the palace to ask for the hand of the Emperor’s daughter.

‘I cannot allow my daughter to marry such a poor boy,’ said the Emperor when Bald Boy asked to marry the beautiful princess. ‘If you wish to marry my daughter you must first build a palace next to mine so that I know she will be well looked after. But I know that you will not build such a palace with the help of a cat and a dog.’

That night, Bald Boy held the seal under his tongue and wished that he had a palace of his own. Suddenly there was a blinding light in the night sky. And when the light faded, there at the edge of the forest stood a magnificent palace gleaming beneath the light of the full moon! The most magnificent palace the boy had ever seen. And it was his!

When the Emperor saw that the young boy had indeed built a beautiful palace, he agreed to the marriage at once. And so it was that Bald Boy and the Princess were wed that very same day.

The mother moved in with her son and daughter and lived like a queen in her new home. And the cat and the dog were also very happy in their new life.

The months passed and Bald Boy wished for nothing else as he was so happy with his new wife whom he loved very much. And so he placed the magic seal in a room all of its own and never told the Princess of its magical powers.

But one day, when Bald Boy was out at the marketplace, a crafty old bead seller knocked on the door of the palace and enticed the beautiful Princess to buy some of his beads.

‘They are very fine beads, my Princess, and you would do well to buy them from me.’

‘But I have no coins with which to buy them,’ the Princess replied.

The crafty old bead seller said that he would be willing to trade his wares for something within the palace. ‘I hear that you have a dusty old seal which you keep in a room in the palace; surely that is no use to you. I will take the seal in exchange for all of my beads.’

Because she did not know any better, the Princess handed over the magic seal to the crafty old bead seller who quickly disappeared across the lake towards his home in the dark forest somewhere on the other side.

As soon as the seal was gone, the palace disappeared into thin air and the Princess and the mother were left standing in the cold.

When the Emperor saw that the palace had disappeared, he reclaimed his daughter and promised that she would not be with her new husband if he could not look after her.

When Bald Boy returned home that day he was very sad to find his mother alone, his palace vanished, and his beautiful wife returned to her father. He did not know how to find the magic seal and was sure that his new life was over forever.

The cat stepped up to the boy and said to him: ‘I can find the seal but I cannot swim across the lake.’

Then the dog stepped forward and said to the cat: ‘I can swim across the lake with you on my back and together we will find the magic seal.’

SwimmingAnd so the faithful cat and the faithful dog set off on their journey to recapture the magic seal from the crafty bead seller.

When they reached the river, the cat climbed up onto the dog’s back and the dog swam across to the opposite bank. Once they were across, the cat began sniffing at the air and followed the scent of the bead seller through the forest with the dog close behind.

It did not take long to find the cottage where the bead seller lived, and they could see through the window that the old man was fast asleep in his chair before the fire.

‘I will catch us a mouse,’ said the cat, ‘while you find us some peppercorns to grind up with your strong paws.’

And so the cat caught a little mouse and told it to sneak into the cottage and take the seal from under the tongue of the crafty bead seller. The dog sprinkled the ground peppercorns onto the mouse’s tail and the little mouse scurried into the cottage and climbed up the bead seller’s leg as he slept soundly by the fire.

When the mouse wiggled his tail, the peppercorn dust went straight up the old man’s nose and caused him to sneeze. It was then that the magic seal flew out into the air and the mouse caught it in his tiny paws!

The little mouse ran from the cottage and returned the magic seal to the cat and the dog who quickly made their way back through the forest towards the river.

Once again the cat climbed up onto the dog’s back and the brave dog swam across the great river.

And so the faithful cat and the faithful dog returned the seal to their master and the palace reappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Upon seeing the palace returned, the Emperor agreed that his daughter might once more live with Bald Boy. After all, the Emperor could tell that his daughter was very much in love.

Bald Boy decided to throw a huge party to celebrate the return of his beautiful wife. The whole village was invited and so began a feast that lasted for forty days and forty nights.

The mother and the Emperor agreed that there was indeed much that a cat and a dog could do if they were faithful to their master.

Bald Boy smiled because he had learned that friends always help each other when they can, and there is magic in such friendship. Perhaps even more so than in the magic seal.

The Ant and the Elephant

The ant and the elephant were very good friends indeed and would play together whenever they had the chance.  The trouble was, the elephant’s father was a very strict father and he did not like his son playing when there was homework to be done, or if his mother needed chores doing.  And he did not like his son playing with his friend the ant when he should be playing with the other elephants in the pride.

The little elephant was very scared of his father and did not like it when he was angry.  But the ant was a very brave ant and was not scared of the grumpy old father.

One day, the two friends were playing a game of mahabis* when they heard the angry father approaching.  The ground shook violently and the trees swayed from side to side.

‘Oh no, it is my father!’ cried the young elephant, a scared look upon his face. ‘What can I do?’

The little ant puffed out his chest and stood to his full height.  ‘Don’t worry, my friend, you can hide behind me and your father will not find you!’

Dick Whittington and his Cat

A long time ago there was once a poor boy called Dick Whittington who had no Mummy and Daddy to look after him so he was often very hungry.  He lived in a little village in the country. He’d often heard stories about a far away place called London where everybody was rich and the streets were paved with gold.

Dick Whittington was determined that he would go there and dig up enough gold from the streets to make his fortune.  One day he met a friendly waggoner who was going to London who said he would give him a lift there, so off they went.  When they reached the big city Dick couldn’t believe his eyes, he could see horses, carriages, hundreds of people, great tall buildings, lots of mud, but nowhere could he see any gold.  What a disappointment, how was he going to make his fortune? How was he even going to buy food?

After a few days he was so hungry that he collapsed in a ragged heap on the doorstep of a rich merchant’s house.  Out of the house came a cook:

“Be off with you” she shouted “you dirty ragamuffin” and she tried to sweep him off the step with a broom.

At that moment the merchant arrived back at his house and, being a kindly man, took pity on poor Dick.

“Carry him into the house” he ordered his groom.

Dick WhittingtonWhen he was fed and rested, Dick was given a job working in the kitchen.  He was very grateful to the Merchant but, alas, the cook was always very bad tempered and, when no one was looking, used to beat and pinch him. The other thing that made Dick sad was that he had to sleep in a tiny room at the very top of the house and it was full of rats and mice that crawled all over his face and tried to bite his nose.

He was so desperate that he saved up all his pennies and bought a cat.  The cat was a very special cat, she was the best cat in all of London at catching mice and rats.  After a few weeks Dick’s life was much easier because of his clever cat who had eaten all the rats and mice and he was able to sleep in peace.

Dick WhittingtonNot long after, Dick heard the merchant asking everyone in the house if they wanted to send anything on board his ship they thought they could sell.  The ship was going on a long voyage to the other side of the world and the captain would sell everything on the ship so they could all make some money.  Poor Dick, what could he sell?

Suddenly, a thought came to him

“Please sir, will you take my cat?”

Everyone burst out laughing, but the merchant smiled and said:

“Yes Dick, I will, and all the money from her sale will go to you”.

After the merchant had left from the city Dick was on his own again with the mice and rats crawling over him by night and the cook being even nastier in the day because there was no-one to stop her.  Dick decided to run away.

As he walked away the bells of all the churches rang out and seemed to say:

“Turn again Dick Whittington
Three times Lord Mayor of London”

“Goodness, gracious, gosh” thought Dick astonished.  “If I’m going to be Lord Mayor I’d better stay.  I’ll put up with cook and the scurrying mice and rats, and when I’m mayor I’ll show her!”

So back he went.

Across the other side of the world, the merchant and his ship had arrived at their destination.  The people were so pleased to see them and were so welcoming that the merchant decided to send some presents to their king and queen.  The king and queen were so delighted that they invited them all to a feast.  But, believe it or not, as soon as the food was brought in hundreds of rats appeared as if by magic and gobbled it all up before they had a chance to eat.

“Oh dear” said the king “this is always happening – I never get a chance to eat my apple pie.  What can I do?”

“I have an idea” said the merchant “I have a very special cat which has travelled with me all the way from London, and she will gobble up your rats faster than they gobbled up your feast.”

Sure enough, to the king and queen’s joy, the next time a feast was prepared and the rats appeared, the cat pounced and killed all the rats as quick as lightening.

The king and queen danced for joy and gave the merchant a ship full of gold in return for the very special cat.

When the ship returned to London Dick was overwhelmed with the amount of gold the merchant gave him for his cat.  Over the years he used his money so wisely, and did so much good for all the people around him and who worked for him, that he was elected Lord Mayor of the City of London three times.  But he never forgot his kind friend the merchant, who had been so honest in giving him all the money that the cat had earned and kept nothing for himself. When Dick grew up he fell in love with Alice, the merchant’s beautiful daughter, and married her.  They lived happily ever after as people do in stories.

“Turn again Dick Whittington
Three times Lord Mayor of London”

They were right you see.

The Turtoise and The Hare

Once upon a time, in a field not too far from you, there was an energetic and happy hare and a sleepy tortoise.

The happy hare was called Noel and the sleepy tortoise was called Archibald. Archibald the tortoise liked to sit and munch his dinner slowly, whilst Noel the hare would gobble up his dinner and run round and round Archibald until he was dizzy.

One day, they had an argument…

“I am the fastest animal in the whole wide world,” said Noel. “I’m faster than a cheeky cheetah, a kicking kangaroo and a racing rabbit,” he boasted.

“Oh do be quiet,” sighed Archibald. “You are so full of yourself! If you’re not careful you’ll come to a sticky end…”

“Where’s sticky end then,” asked Noel. “Is it far from here?”

Archibald rolled his eyes and carried on munching on some tasty lettuce leaves.

“Oh you two do stop arguing,” said a blackbird as he flew past.

“No, this is serious,” said Noel the hare. “I will prove to you all that I’m the fastest animal in the whole wide world“

The race begins!“OK,” said Archibald the tortoise. “I’ll race you then!”

Noel the hare laughed his head off.

“Just you wait and see,” said Archibald. “I’ll get Wallace the wise old owl to organise a race for us…”

 Wallace the wise old owl arranged the race for the next day. All the animals in the field put on their best clothes, groomed their fur, picked up a flag to wave and got ready to cheer the tortoise and the hare on.

“On your marks… Get set… Go!” Called Wallace… And the race was off!

Slowly, slowly Archibald the tortoise set off and quickly, quickly Noel the hare raced off and soon he was out of sight. In fact, he was so far ahead that, when he looked back, Archibald the tortoise was nowhere to be seen.

“Gosh,” Noel thought. “I’ve more or less won all ready! I think I’ll just have a little nap under this tree, it’s such a hot day”. Noel the hare was soon fast asleep.

Meanwhile, Archibald the tortoise ambled along slowly enjoying the sun on his shell and taking the odd nibble of grass from time to time. On and on and on and on and on and on he plodded. He plodded past the oak tree, he plodded past the bridge, he plodded past the cow shed, he even plodded past Noel the hare who was still snoring under the tree. He plodded on until he came to the finishing line where Wallace the wise old owl and all the other animals in the field were gathered. All the animals clustered around Archibald cheering and shouting:

“Well done! Well done! You’re the winner!”

All the noise woke Noel the hare up with a start.

“Oh my! Oh my! What’s going on? What’s all that noise? Never mind. I’d better finish the race then I can go and have my dinner,” he thought.

Noel the hare raced off down the hill towards the finishing line. But when he got there, to his horror, he saw Archibald the tortoise with a gold winner’s medal around his neck.

“This can’t be right! He must have cheated,’ cried Noel the hare. “Everyone knows I’m faster than him!”

“Archibald the tortoise didn’t cheat,” said Wallace the wise old owl. “He has won fair and square. Slowly and surely, never giving up, Archibald passed the finishing line first. Sorry Noel old chap, but you’ve lost this race. Let that be a lesson to you – slow and steady wins the race!”

Noel the hare looked very unhappy and sulky. Archibald the tortoise felt sorry for him and tried to cheer him up…

“Cheer up Noel, it was only a race,” Archibald said. “I’m sure you’ll win the next one. And I’d rather we were still friends than win every race under the sun.”

And from that day on they became the best of friends and Noel the hare never boasted again.

Welcome

Welcome to a place that will make you comfortable with my writing. The story that is very often heard going back read here, because I will make a common story becomes more interesting with the new atmosphere and of course the story remains the same.

What if the story of a childhood that so far you know you read back? whether this will happen? all hope this will happen if you visit my blog this. Childhood story will be packed in such a way that will be easily read by your child.

All that will happen and will happen after you visited Thomas Story in which there is everything you are looking for. What are you waiting for ? want to reminisce with stories of childhood? everything is going to happen here. Nothing is impossible if you are in Thomas Story. Once again, Welcome.