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 scar will still be 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.