There once was a boy with a very bad character. His father
gave him a box of spikes and told him to hammer one into the
garden fence every time he lost his patience and got into an
argument with someone.
The first day the boy hammered 37 spikes into the fence.
Over the next few weeks he began learning to control himself,
and the number of spikes he had to hammer diminished day by
day. He had discovered that exercising self control was a
lot easier than hammering spikes.
Finally the day arrived when the boy didn't hammer any spikes
into the fence.
He went to see his father and told him that he hadn't had to
nail any spikes that day at all.
His father told him to pull a spike out of the fence every
day he didn't lose temper.
Days passed, and finally the boy was able to inform his father
that all the spikes had been removed. The father walked with his
son over to the fence and said: "My son, you have done well,
but look at all the holes in the fence. It will never be the
same as it was before.
"When you fight with someone and say terrible things, you
create wounds just like these holes. You can stick a knife into
someone and then pull it out, but the scar will always be there.
No matter how many times you say you're sorry, the scar will
remain."
A wound caused by words is as bad as a physical wound. Friends
are like precious jewels, they make you smile, they encourage you,
they're there to help you and listen to you when you're in need.
They offer you support, and open their hearts to you.
Show all your friends how important they are to you
by sending them this letter. Also send it back to the
person you got it from. That way, when you get it back
you'll know you have a circle of friends.
