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. But It
won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound
will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a
physical one.
Remember that 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.