A young woman was troubled. She told her mother, “It seems that as one problem is solved, a new one crops up.” Her mother filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second eggs and in the third coffee beans. After boiling them, she took them out. Turning to her daughter, she said, “Touch each of these.” The young woman touched them and said, “The carrots are soft. The eggs are hard-boiled. The coffee has nice aroma.” Her mother said, “Each of these objects had faced the same adversity–boiling water–but each reacted differently. The carrots went in strong; however, it softened. The egg had been fragile but it hardened. And the coffee beans changed the water. So, which one of these are you? When adversity knocks at your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Moral: Always be strong.
A Mother Teaches a Lesson
