The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Boy Who Cried Wolf is a phrase that has been bandied about in our house for some time. I’ve constantly recited the title to the kids when they’ve fabricated a story or given a false alarm. But, like a piece of oft-repeated family folklore, I realised it had become unremarkable simply by its familiarity. 
Did they, indeed, ever know its true meaning? It was time to give them visuals so I ordered the book and, at last, they discovered what I’d been harping on about. The Boy Who Cried Wolf, complete with interactive flaps, went on to become the most popular book of all time in our house, holding the interest of the seven and four-year-olds alike. 
I heard myself preaching the title to a group of friends up at the local one evening recently as we wound down from our respective tumultuous weeks. 
We were being regaled by one with her daughter’s ability to misconstrue a situation, the latest being her insistence that she could bring her new puppy into school the next day for a show and tell. 
“Are you sure?” asked her mother repeatedly. 
“Yes, I swear!” insisted Miss Six. 
So she went about rescheduling work appointments for the next day, which happened to be the big storm. Managing to get to kindy super-early, she kissed off Master Four and delivered her daughter and puppy to school on time. 
“I kept asking her if we could do this tomorrow,” she recalled. “But it was this day that had been organised apparently.” 
Upon reaching the class, and now covered in mud from one excited dog, she was met with a bemused teacher and it soon became apparent there was never going to be a show and tell. 
“The teacher explained that they had talked about the dogs they each owned but no mention of a show and tell opportunity. It turns out it has been suggested by the other teacher that, before he got too big, she could bring him in but not the teacher of this week. 
“(Miss Sixes) reply was: ‘Oops, I forgot.’” 
 “So did she get to show and tell anyway?” we asked. 
“No, the teacher said we could, since we had made it that far but where would the lesson in that be?” 
Clearly Miss Six was on a role that week for my friend found herself in the same situation only days later. 
“They needed blue tutus for the film festival and, as I had made one for her ballet show last year, I was under the impression the class needed one more. So, as it had to be plain, I stayed up that night picking the jewels off and adjusting it to fit in with the water theme. Days later I noticed it sitting on the classroom shelf and, when I asked if it had been needed, the casual reply from both child and teacher was ‘no’. 
“And, to be clearer, it never had been."