Nails in the Fence

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.  His father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer.  The father told the son that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.  The first day the son 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 like these holes.  It doesn’t matter how many times you say you are sorry, the wound is still there.”  The little boy then understood how powerful his words were.  He looked up at his father and said, “I hope you can forgive me, father, for the wounds I put in you.”

“Of course I can,” said the father, “for now you understand.”