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|
The Fence |
| 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, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day
the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it 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. |
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