Stories. Stories have been used throughout the ages as entertainment, but also as a mean of conveying lessons and morals. Many of these stories you already know, the Ugly Duckling, telling us not to judge someone by the way they look, Hansel and Gretel, telling us not to be greedy.
Usually stories have some sort of moral, or lesson. Sometimes they are a warning, or premonition, of things to come. Or sometimes they are merely reminiscences of the past, depicting stories of gallant knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, or monsters. Whatever the purpose of a story is, every society has them, from Europe to Asia.
The people of Konoha tell a story too. They tell one of the oldest and most heard of story, even in this day and age, the Boy Who Cried Wolf. This story depicts a young boy, who, at a young age discovered he could get a lot of attention by causing panic. So, one day, he went into town and told everyone that there was a wolf who tried to eat him in the woods. The villagers gathered together to try and search for this wolf, but low and behold, none was found. This went on for months, the boy would cry the alarm for wolf and the villagers would follow. One day, the villagers decided that they had enough, and so they chose to ignore the boy. The boy was in a clearing just outside the woods when a great wolf came. The boy cried and cried, but no one came for him and he was eaten.
The moral of the story is obviously that one should seek help only when it is truly needed. This is especially relevant in a society when one could be attacked at any moment. So to avoid the danger of a false alarm, the adults tell this story to their children.
But, there is another reason why they tell this story. Once, there was a boy, much like the boy in the story. He too sought attention, and was punished for it.
But there are some drastic changes in the story. After all, why would the Great Nation of Konoha be afraid of a wolf? They are afraid of something much worse than a mere wolf. They are afraid of a fox.
What do you think? Probably not much since I haven't told you the actual story line. By the way, hint: the fox is not Kyuubi.