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.
