selfish, you chill them and drive them farther away. They are loving
little things, and are so sorry for you now, that nothing you do makes
them angry. But by and by they will get used to having you sick, and if
you haven't won them as friends, they will grow away from you as they
get older."

Just then Dr. Carr came in.

"Oh, Papa! you haven't come to take Cousin Helen, have you?" cried Katy.

"Indeed I have," said her father. "I think the big invalid and the
little invalid have talked quite long enough. Cousin Helen looks tired."

For a minute, Katy felt just like crying. But she choked back the tears.
"My first lesson in Patience," she said to herself, and managed to give
a faint, watery smile as Papa looked at her.

"That's right, dear," whispered Cousin Helen, as she bent forward to
kiss her. "And one last word, Katy. In this school, to which you and I
belong, there is one great comfort, and that is that the Teacher is
always at hand. He never goes away. If things puzzle us, there He is,
close by, ready to explain and make all easy. Try to think of this,
darling, and don't be afraid to ask Him for help if the lesson seems
too hard."

Katy had a strange dream that night. She thought she was trying to study
a lesson out of a book which wouldn't come quite open. She could just
see a little bit of what was inside, but it was in a language which she
did not understand. She tried in vain; not a word could she read; and
yet, for all that, it looked so interesting that she longed to go on.