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."
The little boy then understood how
powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said "I hope you
can forgive me father for the holes I put in you."
"Of course I can," said the father.
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