says we have plenty of work to do, and that when
we are not at work we ought to be out in the fresh
air. I can't manage to go skating every day. I do
love the Gold Fairy, that is my name for _her_, for
I hate her real name. Inspee declares that they call
her Stasi for short, but I don't believe that; most
likely they call her Anna, but that's so common.
Thank goodness Hella always calls me Rita, so at
school I'm known as Rita. It's only at home that
they will call me Gretl. The other day I said to
Inspee: If you want me to call you Thea you must
call me Rita; and anyhow I won't let you call me
Gretl, that's what they call a little girl or a peasant
girl. She said: I don't care tuppence what _you_ call
me. All right, then, she shall be Dora till the end
of time.

November 27th. Father has been made Appeal
Court Judge. He is awfully glad and so is Mother.
The news came yesterday evening. Now he can
become President of the Supreme Court, not directly,
but in a few years. We shall probably move to a
larger house in May. Inspee said to Mother that
she hoped she would have her _own_ room where she
would not be _disturbed_. How absurd, who disturbs
her, I suppose I do? Much more like she disturbs
me, always watching while I'm writing my diary.
Hella always says: "There really ought not to be
any elder sisters; she's jolly well right. It's a pity
we can't alter things. Mother says we are really too
big to keep St. Nicholas, but I don't see why one
should ever be too big for that. Last year Inspee
got something from St. Nicholas when she was 13
and I'm not 12 yet. All we get are chocolates and
sweets and dates and that sort of thing, not proper
presents. The girls want to give the Frau Doktor
a great Krampus[1] to leave it on her desk. I think
that's silly. It's not a proper present for a teacher
one is really fond of, one doesn't want to waste sweets
on a teacher one doesn't like, and to give an empty
Krampus would be rude. Mother is really right and
a Krampus is only suitable for children.

[1] Krampus=Ruprechtsknecht, i.e. a little Demon, who serves
St. Nicholas, and is a bogey man to carry off naughty children
An image of this Demon filled with sweets, is given as a present
on the feast of St. Nicholas which inaugurates the Christmas
season.--Translators' Note.

December 1st. We are giving everyone of the staff
a Krampus, each of us is to subscribe a crown, I hope
Father will give me the crown extra. Perhaps he'll
give us more pocket money now, at least another
crown, that would be splendid. We are going to give
big Krampuses to the ones we like best, and: small
ones to those we are not so fond of. We're afraid to
give one to Professor J. But if he doesn't get one
perhaps he'll be offended.

December 2nd. To-day we went to buy Krampuses
for the staff. The one for Frau Doktor M. is the
finest. When you open it the first thing you see is
little books with Schiller, Goethe, and Fairy Tales
written on the backs, and then underneath these
are the sweets. That's exactly suited for her, for the
Frau Doktor teaches German and in the Fourth in
German they are reading these poets. Last month in
the Fourth they had a Schiller festival and Frau Doktor
made a splendid speech and some of the girls
gave recitations. Besides Hella has shown me an
awful poem by Schiller. There you can read: if
only I could catch her in the bath, she would cry for
mercy, for I would soon show the girl that I am a
man. And then in another place: "To my mate
in God's likeness I can show _that_ which is the source
of life." But you can only find that in the _large_
editions of Schiller. I believe we've got some books
of that sort in our bookcase, for when Inspee was
rummaging there the other day Mother called from
the next room: "Dora, what are you hunting for
in the bookcase? I can tell you where it is." And
she said: Oh, it's nothing, I was just looking for
something, and shut the door quickly.

December 4th. The girls are so tiresome and have
made such a muddle about the Krampuses for the
staff. The money didn't come out right and Keller
said that Markus had taken some but Markus said
not taken only kept. Of course Markus complained
to Frau Doktor and her father went to the head
and complained too. Frau Doktor said we know quite
well that collections are not allowed and that we
must not give any one a Krampus. Now Keller has
the five Krampuses and we don't know what to do
about it. Mother says that sort of thing never turns
out well but always ends in a quarrel.

December 5th. We are in such a funk: Hella
and I and Edith Bergler have taken the Krampus
which we bought for Frau Doktor M. and put it on