had no time to-day and shan't have to--morrow. I wonder
whether I should send the Gold Fairy a Christmas card. I wish she had a
prettier name. Anastasia Klastoschek; it is so ugly. All Czech names
are so ugly. Father knows a Count Wilczek, but a still worse name is
Schafgotsch. Nothing would induce me to marry anyone called Schafgotsch
or Wilczek even if he were a count and a millionaire. Yesterday we
paid our respects to the staff, Verbenowitsch and I went to Frau Doktor
because she is fondest of us, or is _said_ to be. Nobody wanted to go to
Professor Rigl, Igel, we always say Nikel, for when he has respects paid
to him he always says: "Aw ri'." But it would have been rude to leave
him out and so the monitors had to go. When Christmas was drawing near
Frau Doktor told us that we were none of us to give presents to the
staff. "I beg you, girls, to bear in mind what I am saying, for if you
do not there will only be trouble. You remember what happened on St.
Nicholas' day. And you must not send anything to the homes of the staff,
nor must the Christ Child leave anything on any one's doorstep." As she
said this she looked hard at me and Edith Bergler, so she knows who left
the Krampus. I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open. Hurrah, to-morrow
is Christmas Eve!!!

December 24th. Christmas Eve afternoon is horrid. One does not know what
to be at. I'm not allowed to go skating so the best thing is to write.
Oswald came home yesterday. Everyone says he's looking splendid; I think
he's awfully pale and he snorted when everyone said he had such a fine
colour; of course, how can he look well when he has such a _heartache_.
I wish I could tell him that I understand what he feels, but he's too
proud to accept sympathy from me. He has wished for an army revolver for
Christmas, but I don't think he'll get one for boys at the middle school
are not allowed to have any firearms. Not long ago at a Gymnasium in
Galicia one of the boys shot a master out of revenge; they said it was
because the boy was getting on badly with his work, but really it was
about a girl, although the master was 36 years old. This morg. I was
in town with Oswald shopping; we met the Warths, Elli and . . . Robert.
Oswald said that Elli was quite nice-looking but that Robert was an ugly
beast. Besides, he can't stand him he said, because he glared at me so.
If only he knew what happened in the summer! I was awfully condescending
to Robert and that made him furious.