Moral of the Fence
There once was a young boy named Ricky who had a bad temper. His mother gave him a bag of small nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he had to hammer 5 nails into the back of their picket fence in the backyard.
The first day Ricky had to drive 55 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails he had to hammer into the fence gradually dwindled each day. And it wasn’t long before he decided it was easier to hold his temper than to drive all those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when Ricky didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his mother about it and the mother suggested that he now pull out five nails for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
Many days passed before Ricky was able to tell his mother that all the nails were gone. The mother took him by the hand and led him to the fence.
Pointing to it, she said, “You’ve done well, Ricky, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say angry things to someone, they leave a scar in the person just like these holes. And it doesn’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, the wounds will always be there. Next time you start to get angry at someone, Ricky, remember the holes in the fence.”
