HOLES IN THE FENCE
There was once a little boy who had a bad temper. His temper was so bad that no one would come near him - nor his brother, nor his sister. Even his friends left him alone.
"I had just bought a pair of boots. I'll join you in the field today" said the boy to his neighbour one afternoon.
When he turned up, nobody was there. His neihbour and the rest of the boy had gone missing. He stood all alone at one corner of the field, looking very sad, wondering...
Soon, he was at his front gate. His father who was watering the plants, pretended not to see him. The boy dumped his boots to the ground. Turning back, he gave them a hard kick and the boots went flying - landing on a shrub, a few inches from where his father was standing.
The boy walked straight into the house, still showing his anger. He felt proud to see his brother and sister running away from him. He went to the kitchen, looking for his mother.
"Anything for me?" he aske rudely.
His mother walked away without a word, leaving him alone in the kitchen. He took a bite of a bun on the table and went to his room. Suddenly, he rushed out of his room and shouted at the top of his voice, "Where's my towel?!" Nobody answered. it was all quiet! He become furious. Bang! He shut the door behind him. "Tap, tap". He heard a soft knock on his door. He opened the door.
"Here's your towel, sir. Would you like anything else, sir?"
"Oh, oh!" responded the boy.
He stood still. His face turned red. No words could come out of his mouth. Had he seen a ghost? Of course not. It was his father! With just a piece of 'sarong' around him, making himself look like a servant.
"Is that all, sir?" asked the father.
"Oh, dad. Please dont do this to me" pleaded the boy, crying. "I know I'm bad. Please forgive me."
The father invited the boy to sit next to him on the bed. "I dont keep 'bad' people in my house, son. You arent bad. It's your temper which is bad."
"I'm scared, Dad" said the boy.
"Son, because of your temper, you have lost your friends, rothers, sisters and even your own mom. If I lose my temper, I could punish you, then you'll run away from me too" he said.
"I'm sorry, Dad" answered the boy. "Would you please help me?"
"Of course, but you've to promise that you really want to change" said the father.
"I promise I'll do anything to correct myself."
"Go and take your bath. We'll talk again after dinner" said his father.
For the first time, the family had a quiet dinner together. After the meal, the old man had the family gathered at the living room. The boy sat next to his mother. The old man came in last. he was holding a box of nails and a hammer in his hand.
"Son, you had promise that you want to change. It's not going to be easy" said his father.
"A promise is a promise, Dad" affirmed the boy.
"Well, here's a box of nails and a hammer. Everytime you lose your temper, you must hammer a nail into the wooden fence" his father explained.
"Is that all?" asked the boy.
"Yes" replied his father.
The boy was sincere. He really wanted to change for better. In the first few hours, he had driven 13 nails into the fence. Whenever he's not around, he recorded the number of times he showed his anger. As he reached home, more nails were driven in. On the first day alone, he had driven 33 nails into the fence!
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily become less and less. He discovered that it was easier to hold his temper that to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didint lose his temper at all. He felt proud and happy.
"Dad, I dont need these nails anymore. I have friends around me now."
The old man smiled and said, "I'll take back the nails, but you'd still need the hammer."
"Why?" asked the boy.
"Now that you are able to hold your temper, pull out one nail each day."
Being obedient, the boy never cheated. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by hand andled him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never ever be the same. When you speak and act in anger, they leave scars just like holes in the fence. It wont matter how many times you say you are sorry, the wound is still there."
The boy was full of remorse. He felt miserable.
"It's okay, son"continued his father. "At your age, you dont put scars on others yet,but if I dont correct you now, you might hurt many people one day."
"I really learned my lesson, Dad. You're the best dad in the world!" claimed the boy.
* * * * * * *
The boy have learnt his lesson. Have we?
(dedicated to my dear little princess Ilham. moga tumbuh jadi hamba Allah yang solehah. itu doaku saban waktu, sayang)
There was once a little boy who had a bad temper. His temper was so bad that no one would come near him - nor his brother, nor his sister. Even his friends left him alone.
"I had just bought a pair of boots. I'll join you in the field today" said the boy to his neighbour one afternoon.
When he turned up, nobody was there. His neihbour and the rest of the boy had gone missing. He stood all alone at one corner of the field, looking very sad, wondering...
Soon, he was at his front gate. His father who was watering the plants, pretended not to see him. The boy dumped his boots to the ground. Turning back, he gave them a hard kick and the boots went flying - landing on a shrub, a few inches from where his father was standing.
The boy walked straight into the house, still showing his anger. He felt proud to see his brother and sister running away from him. He went to the kitchen, looking for his mother.
"Anything for me?" he aske rudely.
His mother walked away without a word, leaving him alone in the kitchen. He took a bite of a bun on the table and went to his room. Suddenly, he rushed out of his room and shouted at the top of his voice, "Where's my towel?!" Nobody answered. it was all quiet! He become furious. Bang! He shut the door behind him. "Tap, tap". He heard a soft knock on his door. He opened the door.
"Here's your towel, sir. Would you like anything else, sir?"
"Oh, oh!" responded the boy.
He stood still. His face turned red. No words could come out of his mouth. Had he seen a ghost? Of course not. It was his father! With just a piece of 'sarong' around him, making himself look like a servant.
"Is that all, sir?" asked the father.
"Oh, dad. Please dont do this to me" pleaded the boy, crying. "I know I'm bad. Please forgive me."
The father invited the boy to sit next to him on the bed. "I dont keep 'bad' people in my house, son. You arent bad. It's your temper which is bad."
"I'm scared, Dad" said the boy.
"Son, because of your temper, you have lost your friends, rothers, sisters and even your own mom. If I lose my temper, I could punish you, then you'll run away from me too" he said.
"I'm sorry, Dad" answered the boy. "Would you please help me?"
"Of course, but you've to promise that you really want to change" said the father.
"I promise I'll do anything to correct myself."
"Go and take your bath. We'll talk again after dinner" said his father.
For the first time, the family had a quiet dinner together. After the meal, the old man had the family gathered at the living room. The boy sat next to his mother. The old man came in last. he was holding a box of nails and a hammer in his hand.
"Son, you had promise that you want to change. It's not going to be easy" said his father.
"A promise is a promise, Dad" affirmed the boy.
"Well, here's a box of nails and a hammer. Everytime you lose your temper, you must hammer a nail into the wooden fence" his father explained.
"Is that all?" asked the boy.
"Yes" replied his father.
The boy was sincere. He really wanted to change for better. In the first few hours, he had driven 13 nails into the fence. Whenever he's not around, he recorded the number of times he showed his anger. As he reached home, more nails were driven in. On the first day alone, he had driven 33 nails into the fence!
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily become less and less. He discovered that it was easier to hold his temper that to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didint lose his temper at all. He felt proud and happy.
"Dad, I dont need these nails anymore. I have friends around me now."
The old man smiled and said, "I'll take back the nails, but you'd still need the hammer."
"Why?" asked the boy.
"Now that you are able to hold your temper, pull out one nail each day."
Being obedient, the boy never cheated. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by hand andled him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never ever be the same. When you speak and act in anger, they leave scars just like holes in the fence. It wont matter how many times you say you are sorry, the wound is still there."
The boy was full of remorse. He felt miserable.
"It's okay, son"continued his father. "At your age, you dont put scars on others yet,but if I dont correct you now, you might hurt many people one day."
"I really learned my lesson, Dad. You're the best dad in the world!" claimed the boy.
* * * * * * *
The boy have learnt his lesson. Have we?
(dedicated to my dear little princess Ilham. moga tumbuh jadi hamba Allah yang solehah. itu doaku saban waktu, sayang)
oh.. tiba-tiba rasa macam dah lubangkan semua pagar uia.. T_T
ReplyDelete