An elderly woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole that she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection. It spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

從前有位老婦人，用兩個大罐挑水回家，其中一個有條裂縫，另一個完好無損，挑回家滴水不漏。因為路途遙遠，有裂縫的水罐從小河到家里，只剩下半罐水了。

這種情況持續了兩年，好罐子很得意，而有裂縫的破罐子卻很自卑，有一天在河邊，它對老婦人說：“我身上有裂痕，一路漏水，每次到家都只剩半罐，我覺得很丟臉。”

老婦人笑道：“你發現沒？你的那邊路旁長滿了鮮花，但另一邊卻沒有，因為我知道你有缺陷，所以在路旁種了很多花，每天打水回來，你的罐子剛好澆灌了它們。兩年來，我一直用這些美麗的花朵來裝點餐桌。沒有你的缺陷，我的屋子就不會生輝。”

我們每個人都有各自的缺陷，是這些缺陷讓我們的生活更加有趣。重要的是，必須接受每個人的獨特之處，從中發掘出美好的一面。

raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

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（作者周黎明 中國日報網英語點津 編輯陳丹妮）