FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 1942Dear Kitty,Ive deserted you for aire month, but so little has happehat I t find anewsworthy item to rete every single day. The van Daans arrived on July 13. We thought they were ing on the fourteenth, but from the thirteenth to sixteenth the Germans were sending out call-up notices right a and causing a lot of u, so they decided it would be safer to leave a day too early than a day too te.Peter van Daan arrived at hirty in the m (while we were still at breakfast). Peters going on sixteen, a shy, awkward boy whose pany wont amount to much. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan came half an hour ter.Much to our amusement, Mrs. van Daan was carrying a hatbox with a rge chamber pot inside. "I just dont feel at home without my chamber pot," she excimed, and it was the first item to find a perma pder the divan. Instead of a chamber pot, Mr. van D. was lugging a colpsible tea table under his arm.From the first, we ate our meals together, and after three days it felt as if the seven of us had bee one big family. Naturally, the van Daans had much to tell about the week wed been away from civilization. We were especially ied in what had happeo our apartment and toldschmidt.Mr. van Daan filled us in: "Monday m at nine, Mr. Goldschmidt phoned and asked if I could e over. I went straightaway and found a very distraught Mr.Goldschmidt. He showed me a hat the Frank family had left behind. As instructed, he nning t the cat to the neighbors, which I agreed was a good idea. He was afraid the house was going to be searched, 99lib?hem cross over to Belgium and then to Switzernd. Theres no harm in telling this to any friends of the Franks who e asking about them. Of course, you doo mention the part about Maastricht. And after that I left. This is the story most of your friends have been told, because I heard it ter from several other people.”We thought it was extremely funny, but we ughed even harder when Mr. van Daan told us that certain people have vivid imaginations. For example, one family living onour square cimed they sawall four of us riding by on our bikes early in the m, and another woman was absolutely positive wed been loaded into some kind of military vehicle in the middle of the night.Yours, AnneFRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1942Dear Kitty,Now our Secret Annex has truly bee secret.Because so many houses are being searched for hidden bicycles, Mr. Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrao our hiding pce.It swings out on its hinges and opens like a door. Mr. Voskuijl did the carpentry work.(Mr. Voskuijl has been told that the seven of us are in hiding, and hes been most helpful.)Now whenever we want to go downstairs we have to dud then jump. After the first three days we were all walking around with bumps on our foreheads from banging our heads against the low doorway. Theer cushio by nailing a towel stuffed with wood shavings to the doorframe. Lets see if it helps!Im not doing much schoolwork. Ive given myself a vacation until September. Father wants to start tut me then, but we have to buy all the books first.Theres little ge in our lives here. Peters hair was washed today, but thats nothing special. Mr. van Daan and I are always at loggerheads with each other. Mama always treats me like a baby, which I t stand. For the rest, things are goier. I dont thiers gotten any nicer. Hes an obnoxious boy who lies around on his bed all day, only rousing himself to do a little carpentry work before returning to his nap. What a dope!Mama gave me another one of her dreadful sermons this m. We take the opposite view of everything. Daddys a sweetheart; he may get mad at me, but it s lohan five mis a beautiful day outside, nid hot, and in spite of everything, we make the most of the weather by lounging on the folding bed iic.Yours, Anne