There was a little boy with a bad temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails
and told him that every time he lost his temper,
to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Then it 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 a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and
encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a
word of praise,
and they always want to open their hearts to us.
Show your friends how much you care.
