Words from the Heart of a Little Bird: Anne, An adorable angel

Reading some one’s diary in general would be such an interesting thing at the core as it feeds well the curiosity of human since those secret inner thoughts are supposed to be kept only with that person or with a few closest ones.

I remember how I got to know about this document/book “Anne Frank’s diary” at first. Reincarnation, a topic that always interests me a lot, on which I have read quite a lot of articles and stories. In one of those I came across the story of Barbro Karlen who claims to be the reincarnation of Anne Frank , the famous diary girl that deceased during Nazi Holocaust in 1945. Reincarnation story of Anne Frank

I still remember the cute face posted there of Anne. But that article did not make me eager enough to go and read the diary by that time. But recently when I just vaguely searched on the Google with these terms “world famous books” interesting enough that I got Anne frank’s diary at the top of the list. Following that, I read some reviews and feedbacks on it which of course pushed me reading the diary book. The diary was originally written in “Dutch” language by Anne which later translated in several other languages over the years. Well, let’s get in to Anne’s secret world now.

What most impressed me in the diary is her thoughts on authenticity, wisdom and humanity. As it is a secret diary, she has poured out her thoughts in an unbiased manner. Being authentic, an act that is enough spoken but very hardly followed, was well followed by this little girl.

“I know exactly how I would like to be, how I’m….on the inside. But unfortunately I’m only like that with myself and perhaps that’s why no I’m sure that’s the reason why I think of myself as happy on the inside and other people think I’m happy on the outside”

Before get in to those serious matters, let me share the part of her writings which introduces the sweet, innocent and smart Anne to us. Take a note that she was declared as a chatter box in the class room.

“I get along pretty well with all my teachers. There are nine of them seven men and two women. Mr.keesing, the old fogey who teaches Math, was mad at me for the longest because I talked so much. After several warnings, he assigned me extra home work. An essay on the subject “A Chatter Box”. A chatter box, what can you write about that? I’d worry about that later, I decided. I jotted down the assignment in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and tried to keep quiet.

That evening, after I’d finished rest of my homework, the note about the essay caught my eye. I began thinking about the subject while chewing the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between words, but the trick was to come up with the convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking. I thought and thought, and suddenly had an idea. I wrote the three pages Mr.Keesing had assigned me and was satisfied. I argued that talking is a female trait and I would do my best to keep it under control, but that I would never be able to break myself of the habit, since my mother talked as much as I did, if not more, and that there’s not much you can do about inherited traits.

Mr.Keesing had a good laugh at my arguments, but when I proceeded to talk my way through the next class, he assigned me a second essay. This time it was supposed to be on “An incorrigible chatter box”. I handed it in and Mr.keesing had nothing to complain about for two classes. However, during the third class he’d finally had enough.”Anne Frank,as a punishment for talking in class, write an essay entitled ‘Quack,Quack,Quack ’ said Mistress Chatterback’”.The class roared. I had to laugh too, though I would nearly exhausted my ingenuity on the topic of chatterboxes. It was time to come up with something else, something original. My friend Sanne, Who’s good at poetry, offered to help me write the essay from the beginning to end in verse. I jumped for joy. Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make sure the joke was on him. I finished my poem, and it was beautiful! It was about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the father because they quacked too much. Luckily, Keesing took the joke the right way. He read poem to the class, adding his own comments and to several other classes as well. Since then I’ve been allowed to talk and haven’t been assigned any extra home work. On the contrarary, keesing’s always making jokes these days.”

Isn’t that sweet? :)

As of her writings, she was really a gift to the man kind I would say. Lot of places, her thoughts prove it well. Let me give a few examples.

During their hiding in a secret annex when they supposed to surrender as Jews were requested to do so.

“As for us, we’re quite fortunate. Luckier than millions of people. It’s quiet and safe here, and we are using our own money to buy food. We’re so selfish that we talk about “after the war” and look forward to new clothes and shoes, when actually we should be saving every penny to help others when the war is over, to salvage whatever we can. The children in the neighborhood run around in thin shirts and wooden shoes. They have no coats, no caps, no stockings and no one to help them. Gnawing on a carrot to still their hunger pangs, they walk from their cold houses through cold streets to an even colder classroom. Things have gotten so bad in Holland that hordes of children stop passersby in the streets to beg for a piece of bread.

I could spend hours telling you about the suffering the war has brought, but I’d only make myself more miserable. All we can do is wait, as calmly as possible, for it to end. Jews and Christians alike are waiting, the whole world is waiting, and many are waiting for death. ”

When they accepted a new member in the hiding place along with them

“Just as we thought Mr.Dussel is a very nice man. of course he didn’t mind sharing a room with me; to be honest I’m not exactly delighted at having a Stranger use my things, but you have to make sacrifices for good cause, and I’m glad that I can make this small one. “If we can save even one of our friends, the rest doesn’t matter” said father, and he is absolutely right. ”

And many of the places I find myself in her writings when it comes to appreciation of nature and life morals. As nothing is permanent here, we should worry much neither about the past nor the future, and should not let them make us miserable. And of course the happy-go-lucky nature, I strongly believe that I too possess it.

“As long as this exists I thought this sun shine and cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it how can I be sad? The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, some where they can be alone, alone with sky, nature and God. For then and only then you can feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity”

It is really heart wrenching to read how their lives ended. Children and women of Jews were assigned hard physical slavery work, of course men too; people starved; children gassed to death and all sort of cruelest things happened during Nazi holocaust. It makes me remember the final vanni war. Well, let's not get into that now.

“If God lets me live, I’ll achieve more than mother ever did, I’ll make my voice heard, and I’ll go out in to the world and work for mankind”

"I don't have much in the way of money or worldly possessions, I’m not beautiful intelligent or clever, but I'm happy, I intend to stay that way! I was born happy, I love people, I have a trusting nature, and I'd like everyone else to be happy too."