The Fence ( 篱笆）

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

以前,有个小男孩,脾气很坏。他爸爸就给他一包钉子,让他每次发脾气的时候就往篱笆上钉钉子。第一天,小家伙就已经在篱笆上钉了37个钉子。

Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

慢慢地,他钉得越来越少了,原来他发现控制住自己的脾气要比往篱笆上钉钉子容易得多。

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 the boy 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.

最后,终于有一天, 小男孩连脾气都不发了。他对爸爸说了这件事,爸爸建议他如果他能每天控制住自己的脾气,就从篱笆上拔出一颗钉子。日子一天一天过去,最后, 那个男孩告诉他爸爸说钉子他都拔完了。

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 things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out, It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

爸爸就牵着他的手,带他去篱笆那儿.爸爸说:“儿子,你做得很好！但是,你看看篱笆上的小洞,每根篱笆都不会再跟以前一样了。每次你发脾气的时候,它们都会留下这样一个伤疤。你用刀刺伤一个人,可以把刀拔出来。但是,无论你说多少遍对不起都是没用的,因为伤还在那里。言语中的伤害和身体上的伤害都同样糟糕。

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise,and they always want to open their hearts to us.”

事实上,朋友是珍贵的宝物。他们给你欢笑,给你走向成功的鼓励。他们倾吐你的心声,分享成功的欢乐。而且,他们始终都向你敞开他们的胸怀。