The Nails and 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.

    Friends are a very rare jewel， indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear， they share a word of praise， and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care.

    以前，有個(gè)小男孩，脾氣很壞，他爸爸就給他一包釘子，讓他每次發(fā)脾氣的時(shí)候就往籬笆上釘釘子。

    就在第一天，小家伙就已經(jīng)在籬笆上釘了37個(gè)釘子。

    慢慢地，他釘?shù)脑絹?lái)越少了，原來(lái)他發(fā)現(xiàn)控制住自己的脾氣要比往籬笆上釘釘子容易得多。

    最后，終于有一天，小家伙脾氣都不發(fā)了。他對(duì)爸爸說(shuō)了這件事，可爸爸卻建議他每天再?gòu)幕h笆上拔出一顆釘子，這樣他的脾氣就能控制住了。

    日子一天天過(guò)去，最后，那個(gè)男孩告訴他爸爸說(shuō)釘子他都拔完了。爸爸就牽著他的手，帶他去籬笆那兒。爸爸說(shuō)：“兒子，你做的很好。但是，你看看籬笆上的小洞，每根籬笆都絕不會(huì)相同的。每次你發(fā)脾氣的時(shí)候，它們都會(huì)就像這個(gè)一樣留下傷疤。你用刀刺傷一個(gè)人，可以把刀拔出來(lái)。 但是，無(wú)論你說(shuō)多少遍對(duì)不起都是沒(méi)用的，因?yàn)閭�還在那里。言語(yǔ)里的傷害和身體上的傷害都同樣糟糕。

    事實(shí)上，朋友是珍貴的珠寶。他們給你歡笑，給你走向成功的鼓勵(lì)；他們傾聽(tīng)你的心聲，分享成功的歡樂(lè)；而且，他們始終都向你敞開(kāi)他們的胸懷，這些都說(shuō)明你應(yīng)該更加珍惜你的朋友。