Gossip

Feathers

There was a wise man who lived on a mountain.  Everyone in the village would seek his wisdom when problems arose.  There was a young man in the village who had offended his best friend.  The young man explained what happened to the wise man.  He told the story of how he had told the other people in the village secrets that his best friend had told him.  He shared things about his friend that he swore he would never tell.  He asked the wise man what he should do.  The wise man told him to go into the village and get the largest down-feather filled pillow he could find.  Confused, the young man left and found the pillow.  He brought the pillow back to the wise man.  The wise man took the pillow to the edge of the cliff, tore it open and flung the feathers into the wind.  The young man looked at the wise man and asked, "Well, how do I fix what I have done?"  The wise man said, "Go pick up all the feathers."  The young man looked over the mountainside at the feathers that were still floating to the depths below.  "It's impossible," he answered. 

"These feathers are exactly like your words.  You cannot take them back."
So, the young man left, faced with the new challenge of earning back the trust of his friend.