Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence.

The first day the boy hammered 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily 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 his 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 one day the young boy told his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. The fence would never be the same. “When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like those nails,” his father said.

从前，有一个小男孩，他的脾气很坏。他的父亲送给他一袋钉子。告诉他说，他每发一次火，就必须将一颗钉子钉在栅栏上。

第一天，男孩将37颗钉子钉进了栅栏。又过了几周，随着他学会控制自己的怒火，钉子的数目日益减少。他发现控制自己的脾气要比往栅栏上钉那些钉子容易。

最后，男孩再也不发火的日子终于来了。他把这件事告诉了他的父亲。他的父亲建议他现在每天能控制住自己的脾气，就拔掉一颗钉子。

又过去了好几天。有一天，男孩对他的父亲说，所有的钉子都没有了。男孩的父亲拉住他的手，将他领到了栅栏边。栅栏再也不是从前的样子了。“当你生气的说出事情时，它们就像那些钉子一样留下了伤疤。”他的父亲说。