Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was bad and that she didnt 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.

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.

He then let them sit and boil， without saying a word to his daughter.

The daughter wondered what he was doing.

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.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her， he asked， “Daughter， what do you see？”

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

“Look closer，” he said， “and touch the potatoes.”

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.

Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

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

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

However， each one reacted differently.

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

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

However， the ground coffee beans were unique.

After they were put into the boiling water， they changed the water and created something new.

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

從前，女儿向父亲抱怨她的人生很糟糕。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。

做厨师的父亲把她带到厨房。

他分别往三口锅里添上了水，并放到大火上煮。

当三口锅里的水沸腾时，他把土豆放到其中一口锅里，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。

然后他把它们放好，让它们继续在沸水中煮。他一句话也没同女儿说。

女儿想知道他在做什么。

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

然后他用勺子盛出咖啡，放进一个杯子里。

他转向女儿，问道：“女儿，你看到了什么？”

“土豆、鸡蛋和咖啡。”她回答道。

他说：“仔细看看，摸摸这些土豆。”

她照做了，并且注意到土豆很软。

然后父亲让她拿一个鸡蛋，并把它剥开。

她把蛋壳剥下后，观察了一下这个煮老了的鸡蛋。

最后，父亲让她喝一口咖啡。

咖啡浓郁的香气让她的脸上露出了笑容。

“爸爸，这是什么意思？”她问道。

然后父亲解释道，土豆、鸡蛋和咖啡豆都面对着相同的处境——沸水。

然而，它们的反应却各不相同。

土豆一开始坚硬，但是在沸水中，它却变得软弱。

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，鸡蛋内部就变坚硬了。

然而，研磨过的咖啡豆却很独特。

把它们放进沸水之后，它们改变了水，创造了新的事物。

“你是哪一种呢？”他问女儿，“当不好的事降临时，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，不过它们的好坏则完全取决于我们自身。

Vocabulary

complain v. 抱怨；埋怨（complained是过去式）

observe v. 观察；注意到（observed是过去式）

react v. 反应（reacted是过去式）

protect v. 保护（protecting是现在分词形式）