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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.
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.'
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