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you havent met boche yet； despite the fact that she was here before we went into hiding。 shes the warehouse and office cat； who keeps the rats at bay in the storeroom。
her odd； political name can easily be explained。 for a while the firm gies & co。 had two cats： one for the warehouse and one for the attic。 their paths crossed from time to time； which invariably resulted in a fight。 the warehouse cat was always the aggressor； while the attic cat was ultimately the victor； just as in politics。 so the warehouse cat was named the german； or 〃boche；〃 and the attic cat the englishman； or 〃tommy。〃 sometime after that they got rid of tommy； but boche is always there to amuse us when we go downstairs。
vveve eaten so many brown beans and navy beans that i cant stand to look at them。 just thinking about them makes me sick。
our evening serving of bread has been canceled。
daddy just said that hes not in a very cheerful mood。 his eyes look so sad again； the poor man！
i cant tear myself away from the book a knock at the door by ina bakker boudier。
this family saga is extremely well written； but the parts dealing with war； writers and the emancipation of women arent very good。 to be honest； these subjects dont interest me much。
terrible bombing raids on germany。 mr。 van daan is grouchy。 the reason： the
cigarette shortage。
the debate about whether or not to start eating the canned food ended in our favor。
i cant wear any of my shoes； except my ski boots； which are not very practical around the house。 a pair of straw thongs that were purchased for 6。50 guilders were worn down to the soles within a week。 maybe miep will be able to scrounge up something on the black market。
its time to cut fathers hair。 pim swears that i do such a good job hell never go to another barber after the war。 if only i didnt nick his ear so often！
yours； anne
thursday； march 18； 1943
my dearest kitty；
turkeys entered the war。 great excitement。 anxiously awaiting radio reports。
friday； march 19； 1943
dearest kitty；
in less than an hour； joy was followed by disappoint ment。 turkey hasnt entered the war yet。 it was only a cabinet minister talking about turkey giving up its neu trality sometime soon。 the newspaper vendor in dam square was shouting 〃turkey on englands side！〃 and the papers were being snatched out of his hands。 this was how wed heard the encouraging rumor。
thousand…guilder notes are being declared invalid。 thatll be a blow to the black marketeers and others like them； but even more to pe ie in hiding and anyone else with money that cant be accounted for。 to turn in a thousand…guilder bill； you have to be able to state how you came by it and provide proof。 they can still be used to pay taxes； but only until next week。 the five…hundred notes will lapse at the same time。 gies & co。 still had some unaccounted…for thousand…guilder bills； which they used to pay their estimated taxes for the ing years； so everything seems to be aboveboard。
dussel has received an old…fashioned； foot…operated dentists drill。 that means ill probably be getting a thorough checkup soon。
dussel is terribly lax when it es to obeying the rules of the house。 not only does he write letters to his charlotte； hes also carrying on a chatty correspondence with various other people。 margot； the annexs dutch teacher； has been correcting these letters for him。 father has forbidden him to keep up the practice and margot has stopped correcting the letters； but i think it wont be long before he starts up again。
the fuhrer has been talking to wounded soldiers。 we listened on the radio； and it was pathetic。 the questions and answers went something like this：
〃my name is heinrich scheppel。鈥�
〃where were you wounded？鈥�
〃near stalingrad。鈥�
〃what kind of wound is it？鈥�
〃two frostbitten feet and a fracture of the left arm。鈥�
this is an exact report of the hideous puppet show aired on the radio。 the wounded seemed proud of their wounds the more the better。 one was so beside himself at the thought of shaking hands （i presume he still had one） with the fuhrer that he could barely say a word。
i happened to drop dussels soap on the floor and step on it。 now theres a whole piece missing。 ive already asked father to pensate him for the damages； especially since dussel only gets one bar of inferior wartime soap a month。
yours； anne
thursday； march 25； 1943
dearest kitty；
mother； father； margot and i were sitting quite pleasantly together last night when peter suddenly came in and whispered in fathers ear。 i caught the words 〃a barrel falling over in the warehouse〃 and 〃someone fiddling with the door。鈥�
margot heard it too； but was trying to calm me down； since id turned white as chalk and was extremely nervous。 the three of us waited while father and peter went
downstairs。 a minute or two later mrs。 van daan came up from where shed been listening to the radio and told us that pim had asked her to turn it off and tiptoe upstairs。 but you know what happens when youre trying to be quiet the old stairs creaked twice as loud。 five minutes later peter and pim； the color drained from their faces； appeared again to relate their experiences。
they had positioned themselves under the staircase and waited。 nothing happened。
then all of a sudden they heard a couple of bangs； as if two doors had been slammed shut inside the house。 pim bounded up the stairs； while peter went to warn dussel； who finally pre sented himself upstairs； though not without kicking up a fuss and making a lot of noise。 then we all tiptoed in our stockinged feet to the van daans on the next floor。 mr。 van d。 had a bad cold and had already gone to bed； so we gathered around his bedside and discussed our suspicions in a whisper。 every time mr。
van d。 coughed loudly； mrs。 van d。 and i nearly had a nervous fit。 he kept coughing until someone came up with the bright idea of giving him codeine。 his cough subsided immediately。
once again we waited and waited； but heard nothing。 finally we came to the conclusion that the burglars had taken to their heels when they heard footsteps in an otherwise quiet building。 the problem now was that the chairs in the private office were neatly grouped around the radio； which was tuned to england。 if the burglars had forced the door and the air…raid wardens were to notice it and call the police； there could be very serious repercus sions。 so mr。 van daan got up； pulled on his coat and pants； put on his hat and cautiously followed father down the stairs； with peter （armed with a heavy hammer； to be on the safe side） right behind him。 the ladies （including margot and me） waited in suspense until the men returned five minutes later and reported that there was no sign of any activity in the building。 we agreed not to run any water or flush the toilet； but since everyones stomach was churning from all the tension； you can imagine the stench after wed each had a turn in the bathroom。
incidents like these are always acpanied by other disasters； and this was no exception。 number one： the westertoren bells stopped chiming； and id always found them so forting。 number two： mr。 voskuijlleft early last night； and we w