There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother
gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her
temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the
next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of
nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She discovered it was
easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the
fence.
Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all.
She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl
now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her
temper.
The days passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her
mother that all the nails were gone. The mother took her daughter
by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, "You have done
well, my daughter, 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 person 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.
