October 2 + 

Pushkin (as we have named the cat) is coiled up on my bed, purring and quite happy. It does me good to see him. + 

But consider: A paralytic, a screaming infant, two women, a cat and a canary, shut up in a tiny cottage with no money, the war still on, and food always scarcer day by day. “Give us this day, our daily bread.” + 

I want to be loved⁠—above all, I want to love. My great danger is lest I grow maudlin and say petulantly, “Nobody loves me, nobody cares.” I must have more courage and more confidence in other people’s good-nature. Then I can love more freely. + 