Reading: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, in a small valley [thung lũng] in the mountains, lived a young boy named Peter. He was a shepherd [người chăn cừu] and watched over the sheep [cừu] of the village. Often, he felt very bored [chán]. He wanted something exciting to happen.

One day, Peter had a funny idea [ý tưởng]! He ran towards the village [làng], shouting "Wolf! Wolf! A wolf [sói] is attacking the sheep!" The villagers ran up the hill to help. When they arrived, there was no wolf.

"It was just a joke [trò đùa]!" Peter laughed at their worried [lo lắng] faces.

The village elder [trưởng lão] said, "Peter. In the future, only tell us the truth." The villagers returned home and continued their daily tasks [công việc hàng ngày].

Peter didn't take his words seriously [nghiêm túc]. A few days later, he did the same joke again. He ran to the village shouting, "Wolf! Wolf!" Again, the villagers came to help, only to find Peter laughing.

This time, they were angry and now trusted [tin tưởng] Peter less. The village elder said, "Peter. One day, you'll truly [thực sự] need our help, and nobody will come."

Peter ignored [phớt lờ] his words. Peter enjoyed his new game.

Then, one evening Peter saw something behind the bushes [bụi cây]. He saw the teeth and glowing [sáng rực] eyes of a real wolf. Peter couldn't believe it!

He ran to the village shouting as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Please help! The wolf is here for real this time!"

This time, the villagers did not come. They thought Peter was playing his silly game again.

Alone and afraid, Peter tried to scare the wolf away, but he couldn't do it by himself. The wolf attacked the sheep and the sheep ran away.

A few hours later, the villagers checked on [kiểm tra] Peter. All the sheep were gone. Peter was crying. He said, "I lied [nói dối] before, but now the wolf truly came, and no one believed me!"

The villagers helped Peter collect [tập hợp] the sheep. As they all walked home, the elder said, "Remember, everyone, once trust is broken, it is difficult to rebuild [xây dựng lại]".