A year passed. The shepherd’s wife gave birth to a son. The little boy was the centre of their lives. The young couple loved their son dearly. The son had been born after three years of marriage.
Over time, the dog began to feel insecure. “These people love the baby more than me.”, he thought. He feared that he may no longer be wanted.
He also felt that the shepherd and his wife no longer petted and played with him as before.
One day, while the dog was loitering about the streets of the village. He chanced upon a wolf. The wolf was friendly towards him. As they began talking, the dog told him about his apprehensions.
The shrewd wolf was happy. He soon conceived a devious plan. He told the dog of his plan. “Just do what I have just said tomorrow”, he told him, ”soon, you will be the centre of the household. Everyone will praise and thank you”, he said.
The next day, the dog put the plan into action. The shepherd had gone out with his sheep. His wife was alone at home. The little baby was asleep in his cradle.
The dog gently opened the door to the house. The wolf entered the house. He came near to the cradle where the baby lay. He gently lifted the baby in his mouth and went out of the house. The dog who was watching this waited. This was part of the planl. According to the plan, the wolf would carry the young baby boy out of the cradle. The dog would pretend to fight with the wolf and rescue the baby boy. The shepherd and his wife would be full of gratitude for the dog.
As soon as the wolf went a few feet out of the house. He dog began to bark furiously and began chasing the wolf. Alerted by the noise, the shepherd’s wife came out. The dog by now had pounced on the wolf. He pretended to attack and fight the wolf.
The shepherd’s wife was shocked to see her precious baby in the wolf’s mouth. She cried in terror. But by now the dog had fought hard against the wolf. The wolf carefully dropped the baby on the ground as per the plan and ran away. The dog chased the wolf for a distance and then came back.
When her husband came home the evening. She told him about the heroic role the dog had played. The shepherd was full of praise for the dog. The dog enjoyed every bit of the appreciation and honour.
“Now, I will be treated with more respect.”, he thought.
The next day, he thanked the wolf for his clever idea. The wolf just smiled.
A few days passed, the wolf met the dog again in the village. He appeared to be hungry. “I have not eaten for many days. Can you get me a sheep which belongs to your master”, he said. The dog was angry at the wolf. “The sheep belong to my master”, he said, “I can never do such a thing.”, he said.
The wolf with a wicked grin, came close to the dog. “Do you remember how I helped you last week?”, he said. “I will tell you master what actually happened. He will throw you out of his house.” The dog now came to know about the true face of the wolf. The wolf was blackmailing him.
The dog felt bad about what he did to his kind master. He was also afraid of what might happen if his master came to know of what he did. He could not sleep that night.
The next morning, he went and told the shepherd of what truly happened and how he was ashamed. He begged for forgiveness. The shepherd, being a good man, forgave him. Now that he had told his master the truth, the dog was no longer afraid of the wolf. As for the wolf, he loitered around the village for a while and then went his way. He was never seen again.
Children, this story tells us not to fall into bad company and talk to others about our problems. Others may take advantage of our situation. This story also tells us to be faithful to those who put their trust in us.