wing
That God wished for a buttercup
Just here, where you are growing.'

Take this little lesson to heart, dear, and make sunshine where you
are, instead of being sorrowful because you can't have what Carrie has.
Maybe when you have learned the lesson thoroughly, these other things
will come to you; but if they don't, then keep on making sunshine.
Everyone loves a happy heart, and every smile or kind word spoken cheers
the old world a little. Life is like a stairway, but because all of us
can't reach the top of the flight, we should not sit down on the first
step and mourn because we can't have what those on the last stair are
enjoying. We must climb as fast and as far as we can if we want to make
the most of our lives; but when we have done our very best, that is all
we can do. If there are others who can do better than we can, we must
try not to envy them, but be glad of their success. It is a question,
dear, that you will understand better as you grow older. But if you will
remember the buttercup verses and make the most of what you are and
have, I am sure you will be happier."

"Teach me the verses, Mrs. Vane, and I will try to remember them when I
get to envying again; though I still wish I could have nice dresses and
go to boarding school."

Mrs. Vane smiled at her candor, but found the little poem for Tabitha,
and when she skipped out into the dusk for home, she was saying over and
over,

"Look bravely up into the sky,
And be content with knowing
That God wished for a buttercup
Just here, where you are growing."

She had hardly disappeared over the hill when another visitor climbed
the steep path to the Vane cottage and knocked. The doctor himself
opened the door and was confronted by a tall stranger muffled to his
ears in a heavy ulster.

"Come right in, sir," said the doctor, motioning his visitor into the
cosy office, and waiting for him to state his errand.

"You don't remember me?" asked the man, as he sat down and threw open
his coat. The voice sounded very familiar, but at first the doctor could
place neither face nor figure. Then he remembered--it was Surly Sim.

"Well, well, where did you come from? I have often wondered what became
of you. This country is a bad place for a sick man to get lost in."

The hermit laughed. "I had some business that had to be attended to and
I was afraid you wouldn't let me go so soon. Can you keep a secret?"

The doctor was sta