Feather in the wind

 　　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 undo¹ 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 distress² and knew she must help her . She also knew she could never alleviate³ the pain , but she could teach . She knew the outcome⁴ would depend solely⁵ 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 labored⁶ 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. "

1 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

2 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 outcome   

n.结果，出口，演变

参考例句：

• The outcome of the experiment is in the lap of the gods.实验结果尚难预料。
• The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。

5 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

6 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句