A Bag of Nails

Not an original, but I think it tells a good story...

Once upon a time 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, he should hammer a nail in the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. But gradually, the number of daily nails dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the first day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He proudly 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. “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 woun 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. Show your friends how much you care. Open out your heart as well and you will find how wonderful it is to lead a life without any wounds and to be at peace all the time.

If you feel you have left a hole in anyone’s life. Do what you can to ensure you never again leave such scars in anyone’s life because remember that all the people you know in the world make up the fence and you never know when u are going to hammer a nail into them. So be in control of your temper at all times. It is better to take a deep breath first...