The wolf was very cunning and never helped anyone in the past. When all the animals heard his cries, none of them came near to help him. A passing crane took pity on the wolf. Even though the task was dangerous, the lure of the profit-motivated him to help. So, the crane decided to help him. 

“I will help you but you need to stay still. I will look down your throat and then remove the bone,” explained the crane. The wolf opened his mouth wide. Soon, the crane peered into his mouth. He soon saw the bone lodged inside.

The only way to get the bone out of the wolf’s throat was to put his beak into his throat. She put her beak in and tried to reach the bone but it was lodged well and truly deep in his throat. The crane then put her whole head into the wolf’s mouth. He finally managed to get a grip on the bone and pull it out of his throat. As promised, the crane did his job.

The wolf was very relieved that he had been saved. “Now, give me my reward!” the crane demanded. “What reward? You greedy fellow! You had your head in my throat and instead of eating you up, I let you go unharmed. That should be reward enough for you! Go away or I will crush you!” the selfish wolf said

The crane walked away disappointed. Soon, he fled into the forest glad that he had come out of the situation alive. Ath the same time, he felt happy that he helped in saving someone’s life.

When the villagers heard the cry, they came running up the hill to scare the wolf away. But, when they arrived, they saw no wolf. The boy was surprise when seeing their angry faces.

“Don’t scream wolf, boy,” warned the villagers, “when there is no wolf!” They angrily went back down the hill.

Later, the boy saw a real wolf walking around his sheep. He jumped on his feet and cried out as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought he was lying to them again, and so they didn’t come to help.

At sunset, the villagers went looking for the boy who hadn’t returned with their sheep. When they went up the hill, they found him crying.

“There really was a wolf here! The sheep is gone! I cried out, ‘Wolf!’ but you didn’t come,” he said

An old man went to comfort the boy. As he put his arm around him, he said, “Nobody believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!”