friday, june 2, 1944

dear kitty,

"if you're going to the attic, take an umbrella with you, preferably a large one!" this is to protect you from "household showers." there's a dutch proverb: "high and dry, safe and sound," but it obviously doesn't apply to wartime (guns!) and to people in hiding (cat box!). mouschi's gotten into the habit of relieving herself on some newspapers or between the cracks in the floor boards, so we have good reason to fear the splatters and, even worse, the stench. the new moortje in the warehouse has the same problem. anyone who's ever had a cat that's not housebroken can imagine the smells, other than pepper and thyme, that permeate this house.

i also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: when the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. run up and down a few times, making sure to stumble at least once. what with the scratches and the noise of running and falling, you won't even be able to hear the shooting, much less worry about it. yours truly has put this magic formula to use, with great success!

yours, anne m. fran

k