自分の(じぶんの)羽(はね)を一本ずつ(いっぽんずつ)抜いて(ぬいて)糸(いと)に織り込んで(おりこんで)いた

What the young man saw was not a woman, but a 'crane' plucking its own feathers one by one to weave them into the cloth. Having her identity discovered, the crane said sadly, 'I am the crane you saved. I wove this cloth to thank you, but now that I have been seen, I must depart,' and flew away high into the sky. The young man regretted deeply.