wednesday, october 14, 1942

dear kitty,

i'm terribly busy. yesterday i began by translating a chapter from la belle nivemaise and writing down vocabulary words. then i worked on an awful math problem and translated three pages of french grammar besides. today, french grammar and history. i simply refuse to do that wretched math every day. daddy thinks it's awful too.

i'm almost better at it than he is, though in fact neither of us is any good, so we always have to call on margot's help. i'm also working away at my shorthand, which i enjoy. of the three of us, i've made the most progress.

i've read the storm family. it's quite good, but doesn't compare to joop ter heul. anyway, the same words can be found in both books, which makes sense because they're written by the same author. cissy van marxveldt is a terrific writer. i'm definitely going to let my own children read her books too.

moreover, i've read a lot of korner plays. i like the way he writes. for example, hedwig, the cousin from bremen, the governess, the green domino, etc.

mother, margot and i are once again the best of buddies. it's actually a lot nicer that way. last night margot and i were lying side by side in my bed. it was incredibly cramped, but that's what made it fun. she asked if she could read my diary once in a while.

"parts of it," i said, and asked about hers. she gave me permission to read her diary as well.

the conversation turned to the future, and i asked what she wanted to be when she was older. but she wouldn't say and was quite mysterious about it. i gathered it had something to do with teaching; of course, i'm not absolutely sure, but i suspect it's something along those lines. i really shouldn't be so nosy.

this morning i'lay on peter's bed, after first having chased him off it. he was furious, but i didn't care. he might consider being a little more friendly to me from time to time. after all, i did give him an apple last night.

i once asked margot if she thought i was ugly. she said that i was cute and had nice eyes. a little vague, don't you think?

well, until next time!

anne frank

ps. this morning we all took turns on the scale. margot now weighs 132 pounds, mother 136, father 155, anne 96, peter 14g, mrs. van daan 117, mr. van daan 165. in the three months since i've been here, i've gained 19 pounds. a lot, huh?