read it. I shall never forget it! It's true that we
agreed we would let one another read our diaries, but we've never done
it yet; after all we're a little shy of one another, and besides after
a long time one can't remember exactly what one has written. What she
writes is always quite short, never more than half a page, but what she
writes is always important. Of course she couldn't sleep but instead
I had to read her a lot of things out of her diary, especially the
holidays when she was in Hungary. She was made much of there. By two
cadets and her two cousins. We laughed so madly over some things that it
hurt Hella's wound and I had to stop reading.

December 29th. We were put in such a frightful rage yesterday. This is
how it happened. It is a long time since we both gave up playing with
dolls and things of that sort but when I was rummaging in Hella's box I
came across the dolls' things; they were quite at the bottom where Hella
never looked at them. I took out the little Paris model and she said:
Give it here and bring all the things that belong to it. I arranged them
all on her bed and we were trying all sorts of things. Then Mother and
Dora came. When they came in Dora gave such a spiteful look and said:
Ah, at their favourite occupation: look, Lizzi, their cheeks are quite
red with excitement over their play. Wasn't it impertinent. We playing
with dolls! Even if we had been, what business was it of hers to make
fun of us? Hella was in a frightful rage and to-day she said: "One is
never safe from spies; please put all those things away in the box
so that I shan't see them any more." It really is too stupid that
one should always be reproached about dolls as if it was something
disgraceful. After all, one doesn't really understand until later how
all the things are made; when one is 7 or 8 or still more when one is
quite a little girl and one first gets dolls, one does not understand
whether they are pretty and nicely dressed or not. Still, to-day we've
done with dolls for ever. A good day to turn over a new leaf, for the
day after to-morrow is New Year's Day.

But what annoys me most of all was this piece of cheek of Dora's; she
says that Lizzi said: "We used to delight in those things at one time,"
but I was in such a rage that I did not hear it. But to eat all the best
things off the Christmas tree on the sly!!! I saw it myself, _that_ is
nothing. _That's_ quite fit and proper for a girl of 15. After supper
ye