Part 11: Crying Wolf
Crying wolf is raising a false alarm, asking for help when none is needed, or claim something is happening when it isn't.
If Sammy cries wolf, he makes a false appeal for help, either to get some benefit or just for attention or amusement.
Here are several examples:
(1) "Helen is always crying wolf about attempted break-ins, but the police have never found any evidence."
(2) "James called in sick today, yet he wasn't. He was crying wolf so that he can get a day off."
(2) "I'm sure there's no real crisis. Janet is always crying wolf so that we can do her work."
The earliest known use of the phrase is in Aesop's Fables, a collection of short stories attributed to Aesop, a Greek storyteller of the sixth century BC.
In one of his stories, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a young shepherd would trick his fellow villagers by shouting for help, pretending that wolves were attacking his sheep.
Several times the villagers rushed to his aid, only to find the shepherd laughing at them.
One day, some wolves came. The shepherd cried for help, but the villagers, who had grown tired of his pranks, ignored him, and the wolves killed all his sheep.
