A certain good woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years. She regretted immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back . What she said hurt the friend so much that this good woman was herself hurt for the pain she caused . In an effort to undo what she had done , she went to an older ,wise woman in the village, explained her situation ,and asked for advice.
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 the 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 single feather on the doorstep of each house in the 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 wise woman,"go back and refill your pillows with the feather you have put on the steps .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 never return them to your mouth. Choose your words well and guard them most of all the presence of those of you love. "
（英语故事www.lyy5.com ）
翻译：
一位善良的女人一天说了一些话伤害了她最好的有多年友情的朋友；她话一出口就后悔了，她想做任何事来收回她的话。她的话伤害朋友如此之深，以至于这个善良的女人为自己给朋友造成痛苦而伤心不已。为了努力消除自己所做错事的影响，她拜访本村一位有智慧的年长妇女，介绍她的现状，寻求解决办法。
听着年轻女的述说，年长女感觉到年轻女的忧伤，并且意识到自己得帮助年轻女。年长女知道她不可能减轻年轻女的伤痛，但她可以让年轻女从中吸取教训。她明白事情的结果只能是取决于年轻女的性格。她说：“今晚，拆开你最好的羽毛枕头，在太阳升起之前，在本镇每家的门阶上放一根羽毛。”
年轻女匆匆回家准备这事，尽管这些枕头是她非常心爱的。一整夜，她独自在严寒中劳动。最后，天放亮时，她终于将最后一根羽毛放在最后一家的台阶上。太阳升起时，她回到年长女的家。
“现在”，年长女说道，“回去再用你放在每家台阶上的羽毛把枕头填满，然后，一切事情就象是没有发生过，一如往昔。
“你知道这是不可能的！我把羽毛一放在台阶上，风就把它们吹跑了！”年轻女非常惊讶年长女这个建议。
“没错。”年长女说道，“你要永远记住，你的每句话就象是风中的羽毛，覆水难收。一旦不计后果，话已说出，尽管你的愿望是如何真心、如何诚意，但说话如沷水不可收回。适当选择你的话，并且当心
