November 1st. To-day we began to work at the tablecloth for Father's
Christmas present. Of course Inspee bagged the right side because that's
easier to work at and I had to take the left side and then one has
the whole caboodle on one's hand. For Mother I'm making an embroidered
leather book cover, embroidered with silk and with a painted design;
I can do the painting part at school in Fraulein H.'s lesson, she's
awfully nice too. But I like Frau Doktor M. best of all. I'm _not_ going
to invite Berta Franke because of the way she laughed yesterday, and
besides Mother doesn't like having strange girls to the house. November
2nd. I don't know all about things yet. Hella knows a lot more. We said
we were going to go over our natural history lesson together and we went
in to the drawing-room, and there she told me a lot more. Then Mali,
our new servant, came in, and she told us something horrid. Resi is in a
hospital because she's ill. Mali told us that all the Jews when they
are quite little have to go through a very dangerous operation; it hurts
frightfully and that's why they are so cruel. It's done so that they can
have more children; but only little boys, not little girls. It's horrid,
and I should not like to marry a Jew. Then we asked Mali whether it is
true that it hurts so frightfully and she laughed and said: It can't be
so bad as all that, for if it were you wouldn't find everyone doing it.
Then Hella asked her: But have you done it already, you haven't got a
husband? She said: Go on, Miss! One mustn't ask such questions it's not
ladylike. We were in an awful funk, and begged her not to tell Mother.
She promised not to.

November 5th. Everything has come out through that stupid waist band.
Yesterday when I was tidying my drawers Mali came in to make the beds
and saw my fringed waistband. "I say, she said, that is pretty!" You
can have it if you like, I said, for I've given up wearing it. At dinner
yesterday I noticed that Mother was looking at Mali and I blushed
all over. After dinner Mother said, Gretel, did you give Mali that
waistband? Yes, I said, she asked me for it. She came in at that moment
to clear away and said: "No, I never asked for it, Fraulein Grete gave
it to me herself." I don't know what happened after that, I'd gone back
to my room when Mother came in and said: A fine lot of satisfaction one
gets out of one's children. Mali has told me the sort of things you and
Hella talk about. I ran straight off to the kitchen and said to Mali:
How could you tell such tales of us? It was you who chipped in when we
were talking. It was frightfully mean of you. In the evening _she_ must
needs go and complain of me to Father and he scolded me like anything
and said: You're a fine lot, you children, I must say. You are not to
see so much of Hella now, do you understand?

November 6th. A fine thing this, that I'm a silly fool now. When I gave
Hella a nudge so that she should not go on talking before Mali, she
laughed and said: What does it matter, Mali knows all about it, probably
a great deal more than we do. It was only after that that Mali told us
about the Jews. Now, if you please, I am a silly fool. All right, now
that I know what I am, a silly fool. And that's what one's best friend
calls one!

November 7th. Hella and I are very stand-offish. We walk together, but
we only talk of everyday things, school and lessons, nothing else. We
went skating to-day for the first time and we shall go whenever we have
time, which is not very often. Mother is working at the table cloth.
It's very hard work but she has not got as much to do as we have.

November 8th. There was such a lovely young lady skating to-day, and
she skates so beautifully, inside and outside edge and figures of 8. I
skated along behind her. When she went to the cloak room there was such
a lovely scent. I wonder if she is going to be married soon and whether
_she_ knows all about everything. She is so lovely and she pushes back
the hair from her forehead so prettily. I wish I were as pretty as she
is. But I am dark and she is fair. I wish I could find out her name and
where she lives. I must go skating again to-morrow; do my lessons in the
evening.

November 9th. I'm so upset; _she_ didn't come to skate. I'm afraid she
may be ill.

November 10th. She didn't come to-day either. I waited two hours, but it
was no good.

November 11th. She came to-day, at last! Oh how pretty she is.

November 12th. She has spoken to me. I was standing near the entrance
gate and suddenly I heard some one laughing behind me and I knew
directly: That is _she!_ So it was. She came up and said: Shall we skate
together? Please, if I may, said I, and we went off together crossing
arms. My heart was beating furiously, and I wanted to say something,
but couldn't think of anything sensible to say. When we came back to the
entrance a gentleman stood there and took off his hat and she bowed, and
she said to me: Till next time. I said quickly: When? Tomorrow?
Perhaps, she called back. . . . Only perhaps, perhaps, oh I wish it were
to-morrow already.

November 13th. Inspee declares that her name is Anastasia Klastoschek.
I'm sure it can't be true that she has such a name, she might be called
Eugenie or Seraphine or Laura, but Anastasia, impossible. Why are there
such horrid names? Fancy if she is really called that. Klastoschek,
too, a Czech name, and she is supposed to come from Moravia and to be 26
already; 26, absurd, she's 18 at most. I'm sure she's not so much as
18. Dora says she lives in Phorusgasse, and that she doesn't think her
particularly pretty. Of course that's rank jealousy; Dora thinks no one
pretty except herself.

November 14th. I asked the woman at the pay box, her name really is
Anastasia Klastoschek and she lives in the Phorusgasse; but the woman
didn't know how old she is. She would not tell me at first but asked why
I wanted to know and who had sent me to enquire. She wouldn't look into