Once when Ole Bull，the world-famous violinist，was giving a concert in Paris，the A string on his violin suddenly snapped.But Ole Bull simply finished the melody on three strings.“That is life，”says Harry Emerson Fosdick，“to have your A string snap and finish on three strings.”
That is not only life.It is more than life.It is life triumphant！If I had the power to do so，I would have these words of WilliamBolitho carved in eternal bronze and hung in every schoolhouse in the land：
The most important thing in life is not to capitalize on your gains.Any fool can do that.The really important thing is to profit from your losses.That requires intelligence；and it makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.
So，to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring us peace and happiness，let’s do something about Rule 6：
When fate hands us a lemon，let’s try to make a lemonade.
Chapter 48
How To Cure Melancholy in Fourteen Days
When I started writing this book，I offered a two-hundred-dollar prize for the most helpful and inspiring true story on “How I Conquered Worry”.
The three judges for this contest were：Eddie Rickenbacker，president，Eastern Air Lines；Dr.Stewart W.McClelland，president，Lincoln Memorial University；H.V.Kaltenborn，radio news analyst.However，we received two stories so superb that the judges found it impossible to choose between them.So we divided the prize.Here is one of the stories that tied for first prize—the story of C.R.Burton.
“I lost my mother when I was nine years old，and my father when I was twelve，”Mr.Burton wrote me.“My father was killed，but my mother simply walked out of the house one day nineteen years ago；and I have never seen her since.Neither have I ever seen my two little sisters that she took with her.She never even wrote me a letter until after she had been gone seven years.My father was killed in an accident three years after Mother left.He and a partner bought a cafe in a small Missouri town；and while Father was away on a business trip，his partner sold the cafe for cash and skipped out.A friend wired Father to hurry back home；and in his hurry，Father was killed in a car accident at Salinas，Kansas.Two of my father’s sisters，who were poor and old and sick took three of the children into their homes.Nobody wanted me and my little brother.We were left at the mercy of the town.We were haunted by the fear of being called orphans and treatedas orphans.Our fears soon materialised，too.I lived for a little while with a poor family in town.But times were hard and the head of the family lost his job，so they couldn’t afford to feed me any longer.Then Mr.and Mrs.Loftin took me to live with them on their farm eleven miles from town.Mr.Loftin was seventy years old，and sick in bed with shingles.He told me I could stay there ‘as long as I didn’t lie，didn’t steal，and did as I was told’.Those three orders became my Bible.I lived by them strictly.I started to school，but the first week found me at home，bawling like a baby.The other children picked on me and poked fun at my big nose and said I was dumb and called me an ‘orphan brat’.I was hurt so badly that I wanted to fight them；but Mr.Loftin，the farmer who had taken me in，said to me：‘Always remember that it takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight than it does to stay and fight.’I didn’t fight until one day a kid picked up some chicken manure from the schoolhouse yard and threw it in my face.I beat the hell out of him；and made a couple of friends.They said he had it coming to him.
“I was proud of a new cap that Mrs.Loftin had bought me.One day one of the big girls jerked it off my head and filled it with water and ruined it.She said she filled it with water so that ‘the water would wet my thick skull and keep my popcorn brains from popping’.
“I never cried at school，but I used to bawl it out at home.Then one day Mrs.Loftin gave me some advice that did away with all troubles and worries and turned my enemies into friends.She said：‘Ralph，they won’t tease you and call you an “orphan brat”any more if you will get interested in them and see how much you can do for them.’I took her advice.I studied hard；and I soon headed the class.I was never envied because I went out of my way to help them.
“I helped several of the boys write their themes and essays.I wrote complete debates for some of the boys.One lad was ashamed to let his folks know that I was helping him.So he used to tell his mother he was going possum hunting.Then he would come to Mr.Loftin’s farm and tie his dogs up in the barn while I helped him with his lessons.I wrote book reviews for one lad and spent several evenings helping one of the girls on her math’s.
“Death struck our neighbourhood.Two elderly farmers died and one woman was deserted by her husband.I was the only male in four families.I helped these widows for two years.On my way to and from school，I stopped at their farms，cut wood for them，milked their cows，and fed and watered their stock.I was now blessed instead of cursed.I was accepted as a friend by everyone.They showed their real feelings when I returned home from the Navy.More than two hundred farmers came to see me the first day I was home.
Some of them drove as far as eighty miles，and their concern for me was really sincere.Because I have been busy and happy trying to help other people，I have few worries；and I haven’t been called an ‘orphan brat’now for thirteen years.”
Hooray for C.R.Burton！He knows how to win friends！And he also knows how to conquer worry and enjoy life.
So did the late Dr.Frank Loope，of Seattle，Washington.He was an invalid for twenty-three years.Arthritis.Yet Stuart Whithouse of the Seattle Star wrote me，saying：“I interviewed Dr.Loope many times；and I have never known a man more unselfish or a man who got more out of life.”
