Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable¹ and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

从前，女儿向父亲抱怨道，她的人生苦不堪言，她不知道如何继续生活下去。她厌倦了一直奋斗挣扎。仿佛解决了一个问题，立刻就会出现另一个问题。

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

做厨师的父亲把她带到厨房里。他分别往三口锅里添上了水，并放到高火上煮。当三口锅里的水沸腾的时候，他把土豆放到一口锅里，把鸡蛋放到第二口锅里，最后把研磨过的咖啡豆放到第三口锅里。

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned² and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

然后他把它们放好，继续在沸水中煮，一句话都不跟女儿说。女儿抱怨着，不耐烦地等待着，想知道他在做什么。

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

二十分钟后，他关掉炉灶，从锅里拿出土豆，放进一个碗里；拿出鸡蛋，也放进一个碗里。

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

然后，他用勺子盛出咖啡，放进一个杯子里。他转向女儿，问道，“孩子，你看到了什么？”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily³ replied.

“土豆、鸡蛋和咖啡，”她急躁地回答道。

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted⁴ 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 sip⁵ the coffee. Its rich aroma⁶ brought a smile to her face.

“仔细看看，”他说，“摸摸这些土豆。”她照做了，注意到土豆很软。然后父亲让她拿一个鸡蛋，并把它敲碎。她把蛋壳剥下后，观察了一下这个煮老了的蛋。最后，父亲让她喝一口咖啡。咖啡浓郁的香气让笑容重新回到她的脸上。

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

“爸爸，这是什么意思？”她问道。

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

然后父亲解释道，土豆、鸡蛋和咖啡豆都分别经历过相同的逆境——沸水。

However, each one reacted differently.

然而，它们的反应却各不相同。

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

土豆一开始强壮、坚硬、不屈不挠，但是在沸水中，它却变得软弱。

The egg was fragile⁷, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior⁸ until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

鸡蛋易碎，只有外面那层薄壳保护着里面的蛋液。当鸡蛋被放进沸水之后，鸡蛋内部就变硬了。

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

然而，研磨过的咖啡豆却很独特。把它们放进沸水中之后，它们改变了水，创造了新的事物。

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

“你是哪一种呢？”他问女儿。“当不幸降临时，你该如何应对？你是一枚土豆、一颗鸡蛋还是一粒咖啡豆？”

Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

寓意：生活中，事情发生在我们身边，发生在我们身上，不过他们的好坏则完全取决于我们自身。

Which one are you?

你是哪一种呢？