wednesday, may 10, 1944

dearest kitty,

we were sitting in the attic yesterday afternoon working on our french when suddenly i heard the splatter of water behind me. i asked peter what it might be. without pausing to reply, he dashed up to the loft-the scene of the disaster -- and shoved mouschi, who was squatting beside her soggy litter box, back to the right place. this was followed by shouts and squeals, and then mouschi, who by that time had finished peeing, took off downstairs. in search of something similar to her box, mouschi had found herself a pile of wood shavings, right over a crack in the floor. the puddle immediately trickled down to the attic and, as luck would have it, landed in and next to the potato barrel. the cethng was dripping, and since the attic floor has also got its share of cracks, little yellow drops were leaking through the ceiling and onto the dining table, between a pile of stockings and books.

i was doubled up with laughter, it was such a funny sight. there was mouschi crouched under a chair, peter armed with water, powdered bleach and a cloth, and mr. van daan trying to calm everyone down. the room was soon set to rights, but it's a well-known fact that cat puddles stink to high heaven. the potatoes proved that all too well, as did the wood shavings, which father collected in a bucket and brought downstairs to burn.

poor mouschi! how were you to know it's impossible to get peat for your box?

anne