Nails In The Fence

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a
bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must
hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few
weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered
daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his
temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his
father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail
for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all
the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You
have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will
never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like
this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how
many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels,
indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an
ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to
us.”

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole in your fence.

~Anonymous
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