佚名/Anonymous
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, wiser 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 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 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 in the presence of those you love."
一天，一個善良的女人說了一些話，傷害了多年的好友。話剛出口，她就後悔了，若能收回已說出口的話，她願意付出一切代價。她的話不但深深地傷害了朋友，自己也因此痛苦不堪。為了彌補自己的過失，她求助於村裏的一位有智慧的老婦人，向她訴說了自己的苦惱。
從這個年輕女人的話裏，老婦人能體會到她的苦惱，因此，她決定幫她一把。同時，她也知道，自己雖不可能減輕她的痛苦，但至少可以讓她吸取教訓；結果將會取決於這個年輕女人的性格。於是，老婦人說：“今夜，你將最好的羽絨枕頭拿出來，天亮之前，在鎮上每一戶人家的門階上放一根羽毛。”
盡管這個年輕女人舍不得那些珍貴的羽絨枕頭，但她還是匆忙回家，準備按老婦人的話去做。整整一夜，她頂著寒風，一個人奔忙於鎮上。終於在天快亮時，她把最後一根羽毛放在了最後一幢房子的門階上。日出之時，她又來到老婦人那裏。
這位智慧長者說：“現在回去，將你放在門階前的羽毛收齊裝進枕頭。然後，一切就會恢複從前的樣子。”
年輕女人驚呼：“那怎麽可能！我把羽毛一放在門階上，風馬上就將它吹走了！”
老婦人說：“沒錯。所以，你得記住，你所說的每一句話就像風中的羽毛一樣。一旦說出口，不論你怎樣努力，也不管你如何有誠意，都再也收不回來。說話要慎重，在你愛的人麵前尤其要注意這點。”
心靈小語
古語雲：“覆水難收”，事後想辦法補救固然是好的，但事情已經隨著時間的流逝而不可逆轉了。如果真的要自己問心無愧，就要在說每一句話、做每一件事之前三思，尊重別人，也尊重自己，為自己留下無悔的記憶，也為別人帶去溫暖。
W 詞匯筆記
undo[?n?du]v.鬆開；解開
例 It is better for the doer to undo what he has done.
解鈴還須係鈴人。
distress[dis?tres]n.悲痛；痛苦；憂傷；苦惱
例 Company in distress makes trouble less.
同病相憐，痛苦減輕。
alleviate[??li?vieit]v.減輕；緩解；緩和
例 Tea with milk can alleviate fatigue, stimulate appetite and help assimilation.
奶茶有解除疲勞、使人興奮、增強食欲、幫助消化等作用。
refill[?ri?fil]v.再注滿；重新裝滿
例 Print your document after you refill your ink to check the nozzle condition.
填充墨水後，打印文檔，檢查噴嘴狀態。
S 小試身手
你所說的每一句話就像風中的羽毛一樣。
譯___________________________________________
一旦說出口，不論你怎樣努力，也不管你如何有誠意，都再也收不回來。
譯___________________________________________
說話要慎重，在你愛的人麵前尤其要注意這點。
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
She regretted immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back.
take back：收回；撤回
造___________________________________________
Choose your words well and guard them most of all in the presence of those you love.
in the presence of：在……麵前
造___________________________________________