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 fence. The first day the boy had to drive
15 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.
 
Nails In The Fence – Moral Philosophical Story