She was one of those little girls who was all sugar and spice, but it was no longer nice when the 'spice' came out.
Whenever someone or something bothered her, she lashed out with harsh words. It was a problem at school and home, and her parents knew that they needed to do more than tell her to stop.
One day, the girl's dad took her out to the back fence, along with a large bucket of nails and a hammer.
He said, "Honey, every time you lose your temper and say something hurtful, you need to hammer a nail into the fence."
Like many young girls, she adored her Daddy, and she agreed to try it. Days and weeks went by, and many nails pierced the wooden fence until one day the girl said, "Daddy, here's the hammer - I don't need it anymore. I haven't said a mean thing for days."
"That's great, Sweetheart. Take the hammer back, and every time you control your temper and are kind to someone, remove one of the nails."
The girl rolled her eyes and groaned, but she agreed to do as her dad said. It took many weeks, as the nails were pulled out and returned to the bucket one by one. Finally, she handed over the hammer and proudly said, "I did it, Daddy. I was nice to people, and I've removed all the nails.
They walked to the backyard together. Dad wanted her to see the results of her actions. Everywhere she removed a nail, a dark aperture was a permanent mark in the wood. He wanted her to realize that fence will never be the same.
This story of removing the nails is an excellent lesson to learn.
Unkind words, even when taken back, leave scars.
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