Shelving location: M6

Level: Ladybird Readers Level 4 Genre: Fable / Traditional Tale Author: Based on the Aesop's Fable Publisher: Ladybird Books Characters: The Boy (Shepherd) Villagers The Wolf Sheep 2. Setting: A grassy hill near a village 3. Story Structure: Beginning: The boy is given the task of watching sheep. He becomes bored. Middle: He shouts “Wolf!” twice as a joke. Villagers run to help but are tricked. They grow angry. End: A real wolf comes. The boy shouts, but no one helps. The wolf eats the sheep. The boy learns his lesson. 4. Key Vocabulary: Shepherd, wolf, lie, village, shouted, laughed, bored, scared, true, believe 5. Moral Focus: Telling lies can have serious consequences. Trust is important.

This is a retelling of the classic fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf. It tells the story of a young shepherd boy who looks after sheep near a village. Bored and wanting attention, he falsely shouts “Wolf!” twice, tricking the villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking the sheep. When a real wolf finally appears, no one believes him, and the wolf eats some of the sheep. Moral/Lesson: Lying breaks trust. If you lie, people may not believe you when you tell the truth.

Age Group: 6–8 years Reading Level: Developing readers who are comfortable with longer sentences and past tense forms. Vocabulary Focus: Includes common verbs in past tense, everyday vocabulary (e.g., sheep, village, shouted), and emotion-related words (e.g., bored, laughed, scared). Skills Practiced: Predicting outcomes Retelling a story in sequence Understanding cause and effect Identifying character feelings and motivations