生活的启示

余文礼

A daughter complained to her father about her life and things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and want to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

Her father， a cook， took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots， in the second he placed eggs， and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil， without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited， wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners， He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her， he asked， “Darling， what do you see？”

“Carrots， eggs， and coffee，” she replied. He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots； she did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell， she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally， he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled， as she tasted its rich aroma.

“What does it mean， Father？” she humbly asked. He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity—boiling water， but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong， hard， and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water， it softened and weakened. The egg had being fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water， its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique， however. After they were in the boiling water， they had changed the water.“Which are you？” he asked his daughter.

When adversity knocks on your door， how do you respond？ Are you a carrot， an egg or a coffee bean？

一个女孩向父亲抱怨她的生活，她觉得凡事都很艰难，不知该怎样挺过去，想放弃努力。她厌倦了不断地抗争和奋斗。

她的父亲是个厨师，把她带到厨房里。他在三个壶里分别装满了水，然后分别放到高温的火上。很快，壶里的水沸腾了。他往第一个壶里放了些胡萝卜，第二个壶里放了几个鸡蛋，在最后一个壶里放了些磨碎的咖啡豆。然后，他一句话也没说，等着水再次沸腾。

女儿用嘴吸着牙缝发出声响，不耐烦地等着，纳闷父亲到底在干什么。大约20分钟后，父亲关了火。父亲把胡萝卜捞出来，放到一个碗里；把鸡蛋拣出来，放进另一个碗里；把咖啡舀出来，倒进一个杯子里，然后转身对她说：“亲爱的，你看到的是什么？”

“胡萝卜、鸡蛋和咖啡。”她答道。父亲带她走近些，要她摸摸胡萝卜。她摸了摸，感觉到它们变软了。然后，他又要她拿一个鸡蛋并把壳敲破，剥壳后，她察看了这个煮熟后变硬的鸡蛋。最后，父亲要她喝一口咖啡。尝着芳香四溢的咖啡，她微笑起来。

“这是什么意思，父亲？”她谦逊地问道。父亲解释说，这三样东西面临着同样的逆境——煮沸的水。但它们的反应各不相同。胡萝卜本是强大的、坚硬的、不屈不挠的，但在水中煮过后，它变弱了，柔软了。鸡蛋本来易碎，薄薄的外壳保护着里面的液体。但是在水中煮过后，它里面变坚硬了。不过，最独特的却是磨碎的咖啡豆，当它们被放入煮沸的水之后，它们却改变了水。“哪一个是你呢？”他问女儿。

当逆境找上你时，你该如何应对呢？你是胡萝卜、鸡蛋，还是咖啡豆？endprint