ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR

　　A COFEE BEAN?

　　你是胡萝卜、鸡蛋还是咖啡豆？

　　A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. Shedid not know if she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting andstruggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

　　Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each ona 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. Inabout twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in abowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placedit 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 reacteddifferently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting; but after being subjected to theboiling water, it became softened and weak. The egg had been fragile; its thin outer shell hadprotected 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 hadchanged the water.

　　“Which are you?” he asked his daughter.

　　女儿向爸爸抱怨生活，感慨世事艰辛。她不知道自己会不会成功，想要放弃。她厌倦了奋斗和拼搏，生活好像总是按下葫芦浮起瓢。

　　父亲是位厨师，他把女儿带进厨房，在三口锅里都加满水，每一口锅都用大火加热。

　　很快，锅里的水就沸腾了。他在一口锅里放入胡萝卜，第二口锅里放入鸡蛋，最后一口锅里放的是磨好的咖啡豆。他一句话也不说，任由这些东西在三口锅里煮沸。

　　女儿咂着嘴，等得不耐烦了，好奇父亲在做什么。大约二十分钟以后，父亲把火关掉，捞出胡萝卜，盛在一个碗里。又捞出鸡蛋，也放在一个碗里。接着，他舀出咖啡，倒进马克杯里。他转身对女儿说：“宝贝，你能看到什么？”

　　“胡萝卜、鸡蛋和咖啡呗。”女儿回答。

　　他让她走近些，摸摸胡萝卜。她照办了，发现胡萝卜都软了。他又让女儿拿一个鸡蛋磕开。她剥掉蛋壳，观察到鸡蛋都被煮得过熟了。最后，他让她抿一口咖啡。尝到咖啡浓香的时候，她笑了。

　　“这能说明什么啊，爸爸？”她恭敬地问。

　　父亲解释说每一种食材都经历了沸水这一逆境的考验，但是反应却不同。胡萝卜入锅前强势、坚硬、不屈不挠；沸水煮过以后，就变得软弱。鸡蛋入锅前一碰就碎，液体的内在全靠薄薄的外壳保护，可是当它坚持挺过煮沸过程之后，内在变得坚硬起来。磨碎的咖啡豆却别具一格，放入沸水以后，他们改变了水的样貌。

　　“你是哪一个？”父亲问女儿。