"It is called The School of Pain," replied Cousin Helen, with her
sweetest smile. "And the place where the lessons are to be learned is
this room of yours. The rules of the school are pretty hard, but the
good scholars, who keep them best, find out after a while how right and
kind they are. And the lessons aren't easy, either, but the more you
study the more interesting they become."

"What are the lessons?" asked Katy, getting interested, and beginning to
feel as if Cousin Helen were telling her a story.

"Well, there's the lesson of Patience. That's one of the hardest
studies. You can't learn much of it at a time, but every bit you get by
heart, makes the next bit easier. And there's the lesson of
Cheerfulness. And the lesson of Making the Best of Things."

"Sometimes there isn't anything to make the best of," remarked Katy,
dolefully.

"Yes there is, always! Everything in the world has two handles. Didn't
you know that? One is a smooth handle. If you take hold of it, the thing
comes up lightly and easily, but if you seize the rough handle, it hurts
your hand and the thing is hard to lift. Some people always manage to
get hold of the wrong handle."

"Is Aunt Izzie a 'thing?'" asked Katy. Cousin Helen was glad to hear
her laugh.

"Yes--Aunt Izzie is a _thing_--and she has a nice pleasant handle too,
if you just try to find it. And the children are 'things,' also, in one
sense. All their handles are different. You know human beings aren't