WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1942
Dearest Kitty,
Mr. and Mrs. van Daan have had a terrible fight. Ive never seen anything like it, siher and Father wouldnt dream of shouting at each other like that. The argument was based on something so trivial it didnt seem worth wasting a single word on it.
Oh well, to each his own.
Of course, its very difficult for Peter, who gets caught in the middle, but no oakes Peter seriously anymore, since hes hypersensitive and lazy. Yesterday he was beside himself with worry because his tongue was blue instead of pink. This rare phenomenon disappeared as quickly as it came. Today hes walking around with a heavy scarf on because hes got a stiff neck. His Highness has been plaining of lumbago too. Aches and pains in his heart, kidneys and lungs are also par for the course. Hes an absolute hypodriac! (Thats the right word, isnt it?)
Mother and Mrs. van Daa getting along very well. There are enough reasons for the fri. To give you one small example, Mrs. van D. has removed all but three of her sheets from our unal linen closet. Shes assuming that Mothers be used for both families. Shell be in for a nasty surprise when she discovers that Mother has followed her lead.
Furthermore, Mrs. van D. is ticked off because were using her a instead of ours.
Shes still trying to find out what weve doh our plates; theyre a lot closer thahinks, siheyre packed in cardboard boxes iic, behind a load of Opekta advertising material. As long as were in hiding, the plates will remain out of her reach. Since Im always having acts, its just as well! Yesterday I broke one of Mrs. van D.s soup bowls.
"Oh!" she angrily exclaimed. "t you be more careful? That was my last one.」
Please bear in mind, Kitty, that the two ladies speak abomich (I dont dare ent on the gentlemen: theyd be highly insulted). If you were to hear their butempts, youd laugh your head off. Weve given up pointing out their errors, since correg them doesnt help anyway. Whenever I quote Mother or Mrs. van Daan, Ill write proper Dutstead to duplicate their speech.
Last week there was a brief interruption in our monotonous routihis rovided by Peter -- and a book about women. I should explain that Margot aer are allowed to read nearly all the books Mr. Kleiman lends us. But the adults preferred to keep this special book to themselves. This immediately piqued Peters curiosity. What forbidden fruit did it tain? He snuck off with it when his mother was downstairs talking, and took himself and his booty to the loft. For two days all was well. Mrs.
van Daan knew what he to, but kept mum until Mr. van Daan found out about it. He threw a fit, took the book away and assumed that would be the end of the business. However, hed ed to take his sons curiosity into at. Peter, not in the least fazed by his fathers swift a, began thinking up ways to read the rest of this vastly iing book.
In the meantime, Mrs. van D. asked Mother for her opinion. Mother didnt think this particular book was suitable for Margot, but she saw no harm iing her read most other books.
You see, Mrs. van Daan, Mother Said, theres a big differeween Margot aer. To begin with, Margots a girl, and girls are always more mature than boys.
Sed, shes already read many serious books and doesnt go looking for those which are no longer forbidden. Third, Margots much more sensible and intellectually advanced, as a result of her four years at an