Once, there was a boy in a village. His name was Raghu. He lived in a beautiful house with his parents. He was very brave and intelligent. Still, nobody liked him as he was very bad-tempered. He used to get annoyed easily and insult others with his words

He was so short-tempered that people avoided his company. His parents always tried to mollify him in every possible way. But, their kind words had no effect on him. He remained as adamant as before.

One day, Raghu’s father thought of a plan. He bought a hammer and a bag full of nails. He was waiting for his son to return from school. As soon as Raghu entered the house and started to shout, his father took him to the garden outside the house.

Both of them stood near the fence. Giving him the hammer and the nails, Raghu’s father said, “Every time you feel angry, hammer one nail on the wood. This will help you to control your temper.” Though it seemed very amusing, Raghu agreed to the idea.

From then, whenever Raghu got annoyed, he rushed to the garden with the hammer and the nails. In this way, many days passed. But, his behavior didn’t change. A day came when not a single nail was left with him. “What shall I do now?” he thought.

He ran to his father and asked for more nails. But this time, his father didn’t give him any nail. Instead, he said, “Now pull out the nails from the fence.” Raghu followed his father’s advice and within a few days, removed all the nails.

He brought his father to the garden. Looking at the fence, his father asked, “Can you see the holes in the fence?” Raghu nodded. His father said gently, “You could easily remove the nails, but not the holes. The nails are like your bad temper. When one is hurt by your bad words, his wound is never cured.”

Moral: Let our words be kind and sweet.