Nail in Tree

Long time ago, there lived a boy in a village. He used to get angry for every little thing. In anger, he used to shout at other people for almost no reason. Disappointed with this attitude, his father called him one day and gave him a bag full of nails. Then he said to his son, "Whenever you get angry at anything, just take one nail out of this bag and pierce it in the trunk of the tree outside our home."

First day, the boy got angry forty times. He pierced forty nails on the tree due to this. He got extremely tired of this activity. Next day, he tried to control himself, but still got angry thirty times, and pierced thirty nails on the tree. Gradually, he started getting lesser angry, as he found the piercing of nails on tree a very tiresome task. After a few days, a day came when he did not get angry even a single time.

The boy went to his father and told him about this. The father said, "Good, now do one thing, every day when you do not get angry, take a nail out of the tree." The boy did the same. After many days, a day came when he took out the last nail from the tree. He became very happy and told his father about it.

Then his father took him near the tree and said, "Dear son, you have done a great job. But, can you see these holes on this tree, due to piercing of nails on it. The tree can never be the same, as it used to be before you had pierced first nail into its trunk. My dear son, in this same way when you speak harsh words to someone in anger, then those words pierce the soul of the other person. Sometimes, they become so deep that the person dies but the holes of his/her souls are never healed. Promise me, you will always think about this before you utter a single harsh word to anyone."