Feather in the Wind(风中的羽毛)

       Listening to her, the older woman sensed the younger woman’s distress and knew she must help her. She also knew she could never alleviate her pain, but she could teach. She knew the outcome would depend solely on the character of the younger woman. She said, “Tonight, take your best feather pillows and put a single feather on the doorstep of each house in town before the sun rises.”

       The young woman hurried home to prepare for her chore, even though the feather pillows were very dear to her. All night long, she labored alone in the cold. Finally the sky was getting light; she placed the last feather on the steps of the last house. Just as the sun rose, she returned to the older woman.

       “Now,” said the woman, “Go back and refill your pillows. Then everything will be as it was before”.

       “You know that’s impossible! The wind blew away each feather as fast as I placed them, on the doorsteps!” The young woman was surprised.

       “That’s true.” said the older woman. “Never forget. Each of your words is like a feather in the wind. Once spoken, no amount of effort, regardless how heartfelt or sincere, can ever return them to your mouth. Choose your words will and guard them most of all in the presence of those you love.”

风中的羽毛

     有一个善良的女人有一次说了一些话,伤害了一个多年的朋友。话一出口她就后悔了，她愿意做任何事来收回说出口的话。她的话常常地伤害了她的朋友，这个善良的女人也由于自己带来的伤害而痛苦。为了收回她说的话，她来到村子里一位智慧的长者那儿，向她描述了自己的情况，并寻求建议。

      听她说完后，这位年长的妇人感受到着个年轻女人的悲伤，并决定帮助她。虽然年长的妇人知道不可能减轻她的悲伤，但至少能让她吸取教训。最后的结果取决于这个年轻女人的性格。 “今晚，把你最好的羽绒枕头拿出来，天亮之前在镇子里每一户人家门口的台阶上放上一根羽毛。

     年轻女人急忙赶回家，准备做这件事。虽然那些羽绒枕头对她来说非常珍贵。一整夜，她独自一个人在寒冷中辛苦劳动。最后，天快亮了，她在最后一撞房子前放上了最后一根羽毛太阳一出来，她就来到那位年长妇人那儿。

      这位智慧的女人说道：“现在，再回去，用你放在台阶前的羽毛把你的枕头装满。然后，一切就和以前一样了。”

      年轻的女人大吃一惊：“你知道那是不可能的！我在台阶上每放一根羽毛，羽毛就立刻被风吹走了！”

      年长妇女说道：“不错。不要忘了。你说的每一句话就像风中的羽毛一样。一旦说出口，不管你如何努力，也不管你是多么真诚，再也不可能收回了。因此谨慎地选择你要说的话，在你爱的人面前要更当心。”