Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire, and soon the pots came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground[grind的过去分词,磨碎] coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out[从……中取出] and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled[舀] the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. Her grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip[小口喝] the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma[香气] then asked, “What does it mean, Grandmother?”
Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting[不屈不挠的]. However, after being subjected to[使服从] the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior[内部], 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?” she asked her granddaughter.
一个女孩去找她的祖母聊天,诉说自己的生活以及近期所遇到的事情多么让人难受。她不知道自己该如何面对,想放弃了事。她厌倦了不断地抗争与奋斗。问题总是解决了一个,下一个又接踵而至。祖母把她带到厨房。她在三个锅里装满水,放到高火上烧,锅里的水很快就开了。她在第一个锅里放入胡萝卜,在第二个锅里放入鸡蛋,最后往第三个锅里加入磨碎的咖啡豆。她就这样让它们在水里煮着,一言不发。大约二十分钟后,她关掉炉子,捞出胡萝卜并把它们放入一个碗中,随后把鸡蛋也盛出来装进另一个碗里。最后,她把咖啡舀出来用第三个碗装着。
祖母转身问孙女:“告诉我你看到了什么。”
“胡萝卜、鸡蛋和咖啡,”孙女回答道。祖母把孙女拉过来,叫她摸一下胡萝卜。她摸了摸,发现胡萝卜变软了。祖母接着让孙女拿起一个鸡蛋并打破它。她把蛋壳剥掉后,看到煮熟的鸡蛋。最后,祖母让孙女啜一口咖啡。孙女尝了尝芳香四溢的咖啡,笑着问:“这是什么意思呢,奶奶?”
祖母解释道,这些东西都面临同样的困境——滚烫的开水。每一种材料都作出了不同的反应。胡萝卜入开水前坚强刚硬、不屈不挠,向开水屈服之后却软化了,变得不堪一击。鸡蛋原本很脆弱,靠薄薄的外壳保护其液态的内在,经过水煮,它的内部却变硬了。磨碎的咖啡豆却最为独特。它们在水中煮过之后,把水也改变了。
“你是哪一种呢?”她向孙女问道。