me and no one knows anything about it.” This way I can get over all the snubs I receive. Who would ever think that so much can go on in the soul of a young girl?
Yours, Anne
Saturday, 15 January, 1944
Dear Kitty, There is no point in telling you every time the exact details of our rows and arguments. Let it suffice to tell you that we have divided up a great many things, such as butter and meat, and that we fry our own potatoes. For some time now we’ve been eating some extra rye bread because by 4 o’clock in the afternoon we are longing for our supper so much that we hardly know how to control our rumbling tummies.
Mummy’s birthday is rapidly approaching. She got some extra sugar from Kugler, which made the van Daans jealous as Mrs. van Daan had not been favoured in this way for her birthday. But what’s the use of annoying each other with yet more unkind words, tears, and angry outbursts. You can be sure of one thing, Kitty, that we are even more fed up with them than ever! Mummy has expressed the wish—one which cannot come true just now—not to see the van Daans for a fortnight.
I keep asking myself, whether one would have trouble in the long run, whoever one shared a house with. Or did we strike it extra unlucky? Are most people so selfish and stingy then? I think it’s all to the good to have learnt a bit about human beings, but now I think I’ve learnt enough. The war goes on just the same, whether or not we choose to quarrel, or long for freedom and fresh air, and so we should try to make the best of our stay here. Now I’m preaching, but I also believe that if I stay here for very long I
