THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL : THE DEFINITIVE EDITION ... - Fidele
THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL : THE DEFINITIVE EDITION ... - Fidele
THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL : THE DEFINITIVE EDITION ... - Fidele
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efforts? Ingratitude and rude remarks. I'm always the black sheep; I get blamed<br />
for everything. What's more, it's my opinion that the war is making very little<br />
progress. The Germans will win in the end. I'm terrified that we're going to<br />
starve, and when I'm in a bad mood, I snap at everyone who comes near."<br />
Mr. van Daan: "I just smoke and smoke and smoke. Then the food, the political<br />
situation and Kerli's moods don't seem so bad. Kerli's a sweetheart. If I don't<br />
have anything to smoke, I get sick, then I need to eat meat, life becomes<br />
unbearable, nothing's good enough, and there's bound to be a flaming row. My<br />
Kerli's an idiot."<br />
Mrs. Frank: "Food's not very important, but I'd love a slice of rye bread right<br />
now, because I'm so hungry. If I were Mrs. van Daan, I'd have put a stop to Mr.<br />
van Daan's smoking long ago. But I desperately need a cigarette now, because my<br />
head's in such a whirl. The van Daans are horrible people; the English may make a<br />
lot of mistakes, but the war is progressing. I should keep my mouth shut and be<br />
grateful I'm not in Poland."<br />
Mr. Frank: "Everything's fine, I don't need a thing. Stay calm, we've got plenty<br />
of time. Just give me my potatoes, and I'll be quiet. Better set aside some of my<br />
rations for Bep. The political situation is improving, I'm extremely optimistic."<br />
Mr. Dussel: "I must complete the task I've set for myself, everything must be<br />
finished on time. The political situation is looking 'gut,' it's 'eempossible' for<br />
us to get caught. Me, me, me . . . ."<br />
Yours, Anne<br />
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1944<br />
Dearest Kitty,<br />
Whew! Released from the gloom and doom for a few moments! All I've been hearing<br />
today is: "If this and that happens, we're in trouble, and if so-and-so gets sick,<br />
we'll be left to fend for ourselves, and if . . ."<br />
Well, you know the rest, or at any rate I assume you're famthar enough with the<br />
residents of the Annex to guess what they'd be talking about.<br />
The reason for all the "ifs" is that Mr. Kugler has been called up for a six-day<br />
work detail, Bep is down with a bad cold and will probably have to stay home<br />
tomorrow, Miep hasn't gotten over her flu, and Mr. Kleiman's stom- ach bled so<br />
much he lost consciousness. What a tale of woe!<br />
We think Mr. Kugler should go directly to a reliable doctor for a medical<br />
certificate of ill health, which he can present to the City Hall in Hilversum. The<br />
warehouse -- employees have been given a day off tomorrow, so Bep will be alone in<br />
the office. If (there's another "if') Bep has to stay home, the door will remain<br />
locked and we'll have to be as quiet as mice so the Keg Company won't hear us. At<br />
one o'clock Jan will come for half an hour to check on us poor forsaken souls,<br />
like a zookeeper.<br />
This afternoon, for the first time in ages, Jan gave us some news of the outside<br />
world. You should have seen us gathered around him; it looked exactly like a<br />
print: "At Grandmother's Knee."<br />
He regaled his grateful audience with talk of-what else?-food. Mrs. P., a friend<br />
of Miep's, has been cooking his meals. The day before yesterday Jan ate carrots