The boy who cried wolf

an Aesop Fable
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1 There once was a shepherd boy who was bored

. as he sat on the hillside looking after the village
sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath
and cried out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing
the sheep! "The villagers came running up the hill
to help the boy drive the wolf away.

2 When they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of
their angry faces. "Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!"
They went grumbling back down the hill.

3 Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty
h delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away. When the
t villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there really is
t something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!" The boy just grinned and watched
them go grumbling down the hill once more.
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4/ Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang
h/ out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf! The villagers thought he was trying to fool them again,
tt and so they didn't come. At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't
returned to the village with their sheep.
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5 They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. "There really was a wolf here!
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h The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"
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/l An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look
t6 for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody
t.
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ti believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"
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SECTION A: Vocabulary:

What do these words mean? Use your dictionary to help you.

amuse: ____________________________________________________________________

grumbling: _________________________________________________________________

delight: ____________________________________________________________________

prowling: ___________________________________________________________

flock: _________________________________________________________________

SECTION B: Comprehension

Circle the correct answer:

1. Which sentence tells us about the story’s setting?

a) There was once a shepherd boy who was bored.

b) To amuse himself he sang.

c) He sat on the hillside watching the sheep.

d) He was playing with his friends in the woods.

2. Who is the main character in the story?

a) the shepherd boy’s master

b) the villagers

c) the shepherd boy

d) the wolf

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 3. What happens in the story?

a) The shepherd boy took good care of the sheep.

b) The shepherd boy played tricks on the villagers.

c) The shepherd boy played with the wolf.

d) The shepherd boy read a story under the tree.

4. Which word best describes the shepherd boy?

a) wise

b) short

c) mischievous

d) helpful

5. Which word best replaces the word in the sentence?

The boy just grinned and watched them go down the hill.

a) cried

b) smiled

c) laughed

d) cheered

6. What does the boy decide to do because he is lonely?

a) He plays with the sheep.

b) He makes music

c) He pretends he sees a wolf to get company.

d) He takes the sheep to the villagers.

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 7. What happens when a wolf really comes?

a) No one comes to help because they think the shepherd boy is tricking them again.

b) The sheep attacks the wolf.

c) The shepherd attacks the wolf.

d) The wolf is scared of the sheep and runs away.

8. How is the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf different from most traditional fables?

a) It doesn’t teach a lesson.

b) It uses humans as well as animals.

c) It is much longer than other fables.

d) It is based on a true story.

9. What was the job of the shepherd boy?

a) Play tricks on villagers.

b) Take care of the sheep.

c) Run up and down the hill,

d) Watch the sheep and write his own music.

10. What lesson does the story teach us?

a) Telling lies are good sometimes.

b) If you tell lies, you could lose someone’s trust.

c) We don’t always have to be honest.

d) Children are allowed to tell lies.

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 11. The events of the story are jumbled. Put them in the correct order.

Use 1, 2, 3, 4

The shepherd watched the villagers run up the hill.

The shepherd became scared and ran away from his sheep.

The villagers were angry at the shepherd boy.

The boy cried, “The wolf is chasing the sheep!"

12. Look at the words in the block and use them to complete the story.

wolf trick running sheep trees

There was a boy who looked after ___________ every day. He spent his days sleeping

under the ___________ while the sheep grazed. He was very bored.

He played a _________ on the people in the village. He shouted that he saw a __________

coming to eat the sheep. The villagers came ______________ up the hill. They were very

cross when they saw that there was no wolf.

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 13. Now try this one!

villagers watched called trick real

A bored shepherd __________________ the flock of sheep every day. To amuse himself

he played a _____________ on the villagers. He ___________________ out “Wolf! Wolf!”

The __________________ came running to help him protect the sheep from the wolf.

When the boy saw a _____________ wolf the villagers did not come to help him.

The shepherd learnt that it is not good to tell lies.

14. Unjumble the sentence to make it better to read. Find help in paragraph 4.

At sunset, wondered why everyone the shepherd boy to the village. hadn't returned

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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SECTION C: Phonemic Awareness and phonics

1. Answer the following:

Look at the word cry. Write down THREE new words by changing the first sound each time.

dry; _________________________________________________________________________

2. Choose one of your words and build a sentence.

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Which 2 words make the word something?

________________ ___________________

4. Which 2 words make the word hillside?

____________________ _____________________

5. Which 2 words make the word sunset?

___________________ _____________________

6. How many syllables do you hear in the following words? (Clap or click them)

grumbling ______________
villagers _______________
wolf ___________________

7.Find a word in paragraph 2 that rhymes with:

hop ___________________________
clown: ________________________

8. Unjumble the letters to build the words below. You will find help in paragraph 1.

eepsh: _________________________________________
ingrunn: _______________________________________
selfhim: ________________________________________

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9. Find another word inside the words below.

example: shouted: shout

grinning: _________________________________
running: __________________________________
shepherd: ________________________________
delight: __________________________________
returned: ________________________________

10. Choose the correct word:

The boy thought he (heard/herd) a wolf. ____________________________

SECTION D: Language

1. Find a synonym in the paragraph 3 for: smiled _______________________________

2. Write this sentence so that it has the OPPOSITE meaning:

The villagers were very pleased with the shepherd. ______________________________

3. Write this sentence in the past tense: The wolf chases the sheep.

________________________________________________________________________

4. There are 10 mistakes in following sentences. Circle each mistake and rewrite the sentences
using the correct spelling and punctuation.

the villagers thought he woz trying too fool them agen and soo they didn’t cum. at sunset, everyone
wondired why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with there sheap.

5. Circle the nouns in the sentence.

he villagers went up the hill to find the boy and their sheep.

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SECTION E: Fluency

How fast can you read these words? Try to do it faster each time.
You can take a race with a friend to see who does it quicker.

How many words can you read in 1 minute?

boy villager hill said

sheep hill sheep are
running wolf leaped you
their came there your
sunset come everyone are
again cried chasing me
saw would they she
could this that he
my go here her
so was no they
flock real drive help
tried arm we were

Date: Words per minute

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 EXTRAS/TOP – UPS/ EXTENSION

Write a story of about 8

sentences from the villagers’
point of view. First plan your
writing. What were they doing
when they heard the screams
of the boy? How did they feel
when they reached the top of
the hill and they found no wolf?

We lived in a small village. There were lots of sheep and only one lazy shepherd.

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 Choose words from the word bank to complete the story.

Word
Bank
tricked boring village nap angrily lied

warned appeared scare sound sheep ignored

One sunny day, in a beautiful near lush rolling hills, there was
a boy who watched over the villages . Being alone up in the hills
wasvery . To liven up his day, the boy thought it would be fun to scare
the villagers and scream, “wolf, wolf!” The villagers grabbed whatever
they could, and ran up the hill to off the wolf. When they reached
the top, they realized they had been _ by the mischievous boy. He
laughed and laughed until the villagers walked down the hill. Even
thesheep were not amused.

They boy continued to call wolf, and the villagers _ him that the
next time they would no longer believe him. The boy shrugged off the
warning andlaid down for a .

One lazy afternoon, the boy heard a terrible sound. Before he could even
prepare himself, a wolf stood right before him, and was chasing all the
village’ssheep! The boy screamed, “Wolf, wolf!”, but having so
many times, the people of the village just him. With no one to help
him fend off the wolf, the sheep all ran away. The boy was left crying .

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Answer the following questions:

1. During which season do you think the story took place? Provide a reason for your answer.

2. The boy was not a very good shepherd boy. Do you agree or disagree with
the statement?Provide a reason for your answer.

3. Do you think he learnt his lesson? What do you think he can do now to show people
he won’t lieanymore?

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