思想的珍珠篇12：Nails in the Fence篱笆上的钉子

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper¹.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 back of the fence.
The first day he had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned² to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually  dwindled³ down. He discovered it  was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said," You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.When you say thing in anger, they have a scar⁴ just like these holes.You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I am sorry ', the wound is still there. A verbal⁵ wound is as bad as physical one."
Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us. Let's be kind to one another.

从前,有一个小男孩很爱发脾气,他的父亲给了他一包钉子,告诉他,每发一次脾气,就在篱笆后面钉一根钉子.
第一天,男孩在篱笆上钉了37根,接下来的几个星期,当他学会了控制自己的脾气时,每天钉的钉子也渐渐减少了.他发现,其实控制自己的脾气比在篱笆上钉钉子更容易.
终于有一天,他一次脾气也没发,他告诉了父亲.父亲对他说,如果他从此能控制自己的脾气了,就每天从篱笆上拔出一根钉子.日子一天天过去,到最后,小男孩告诉父亲他已经拔掉了全部的钉子.
这时,父亲领着他来到了篱笆边,对他说,"孩子,你做得很好.可是你看看篱笆上的钉子洞,这面篱笆再也不能恢复到从前的样子了.当你生气出口伤人时,就会留下像这些洞一样的伤口.你在别人身上插了一刀再拔出来,即使你说多少遍 ' 对不起' 都不重要了,伤口依然存在.因为言语的伤害和身体的伤害是一样疼痛的.
朋友是珍贵的财富.他们给你带来微笑,会鼓励你成功,他们总是向你敞开心扉,听你诉说心事,和你分享快乐.让我们彼此善待吧.

1 temper   

n.恶劣的心情，心绪焦躁；性情，脾气

参考例句：

• The man lost his temper and struck out wildly.那人因发怒而大打出手。
• One day the man flew at me in a temper.一天,那个人冲着我大发脾气。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 scar   

n.伤疤，伤痕，创伤

参考例句：

• This scar is from the bite of a dog.这是狗咬后留下的伤疤。
• The tragedy left a scar on her mind.这个悲剧给她造成精神上的创伤。

5 verbal   

adj.口头的，用言辞的，用文字的，动词的

参考例句：

• Verbal statements are no guarantee.口说无凭。
• I delivered a verbal protest against their brutal acts.我对他们的暴行提出口头抗议。