Part I

One morning, when Gregor Samsa came out of sleep from troubled sleep experience, he found himself greatly changed in his bed into an unpleasing, shocking disgusting animal. He put on his metal war dress-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown stomach, slightly with an arched form and divided by arches into stiff parts. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to go smoothly off any time. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.

"What's happened to me?" he thought. It wasn't a sleep experience. His room, a right mankind room although a little too small, put peacefully between its four everyday walls. A getting-together of cloth selections was spread out on the table - Samsa was a journeying person whose work is exchange of goods for money - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of a picture-full printing and housed in a pleasing, good, delicate gold frame. It showed a woman of respect fitted out with an animal's coat hat and animal's coat of a snake upright, raising a weighty animal's coat cover that covered her lower arm completely in the direction of the viewer.

Gregor then turned to look out the window at the not-bright weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the division of windows, which made him quite a touch sad."How about if I sleep a little bit longer and overlook all this foolish talk", he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position.However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was.He must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the helplessly moving legs, and only stopped when he began to sense a not strong, soft pain there that he had never felt before.

"Surprise!, God", he thought ,"what a forceful living it is that I've chosen! journeying day in and day out.Doing business like this takes much more hard work than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the violent language of journeying, troubles about making train connections, bad and not regular food, in touch with different people all the time so that you can never get to be certain about anyone or become friendly with them.It can all go to a bad, unhappy place!"He felt a small, little troubling desire up on his stomach pushed himself slowly up on his back in the direction of the headboard so that he could lift his head better found where the troubling desire was , and saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn't have knowledge what to make of and when he tried to sense the place with one of his legs he drew it quickly back because as soon as he touched it he was overcome by a cold sign of fear.

He slid back into his former position."Getting up early all the time", he thought,"it makes you not bright. You have got to get enough sleep.Other journeying persons whose work is exchange of goods for money live a living of great comfort.For example of general fact, whenever I go back to the hotel house during the morning to copy out the written agreement , these men with delicate feelings, good taste, pleasing behavior are always still sitting there taking food their morning meals.I would be right to just attempt that with my chief I'd get kicked out on the mark.But who knows, possibly that would be the best thing for me.If I didn't have my parents to have in mind about I'd have given in my note a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the head and told him just what I have in mind, say to him everything I would, let him be certain just what I sense . He'd fall right off his writing-table!And it's a causing amusement sort of business to be sitting up there at your writing-table, talking down at your help from up there, especially when you have to go right up close because the chief is hard of hearing. Well , there's still some hope once I've got the money together to make payment off frommy father and mother' debt to him - another five or six years I take as probable - that's definitely what I'll do . That's when I'll make the great sized change.First of all though, I've got to get up, my train goes at five."

And he looked over at the clock with bell, making a regular sound on the chest of drawers."God in the sky, on high!" he thought.It was half past six and the hands were quietly moving forwards, it was even later than half past, more like quarter to seven.Had the clock with bell not given the bell a pull?He could see from the bed that it had been set for four o'clock as it should have been it certainly must have given the bell a pull.Yes, but was it possible to quietly sleep through that tables, seat and so on &ndashshaking noise?True, he had not slept peacefully, but probably all the more deeply because of that.What should he do now? The next train went at seven if he were to get that he would have to take by sudden attack like a fool and the getting together of selections was still not packed, and he did not at all sense himself particularly bright and moving.And even if he did get the train he would not keep from his chief&rsquos angry look as the office helper would have been there to see the five o'clock train go, he would have put in his statement about Gregor's not being there a long time ago. The office helper was the head's man, backboneless, and with no clear-thinking.What about if he reported ill?But that would be stretched, pulled and doubtful as in 15 years of working Gregor had never once yet been ill.His chief would certainly come round with medical attention from the medical insurance company , make a statement against his parents of having a slow-moving son , and take the expert's suggestion not to make any request as the medical expert believed that no - one was ever ill but that many were against work .And what's more, would he have been entirely wrong in this event?Gregor did in fact, apart from more than enough sleepiness after sleeping for so long , sense himself as completely well and even felt in much need of food more than generally .

He was still quickly thinking all this through, unable to come to a decision as to get out of the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven.There was a careful hard blow at the door near his head."Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother -"it's quarter to seven.Didn't you need to go somewhere?" That kind, quiet, not rough voice!Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be taken as the voice he had had before.As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable high sound mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first but then there was a sort ofsound coming back which made them unclear, leaving the hearer uncertain whether he had heard rightly or not. Gregor had wanted to give a full answer and give reasons for everything, but in the circumstances made happy himself with saying :"Yes , mother , yes , good of you , I'm getting up now ." The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noted outside through the wood door, as his mother was satisfied with this account and walked without lifting feet away.But this short talk made the other members of the family have knowledge that Gregor, against their ideas was still at home, and soon his father came by giving blows at one of the side doors, kindly, quietly, not roughly, but with his hand shut."Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?" And after a short while he called again with a suggesting deepness in his voice:"Gregor! Gregor!"At the other side door his sister came stretch-voiced:"Gregor? aren't you well? do you need anything?" Gregor answered to both sides:"I'm ready, now", making hard work of removing all the strangeness from his voice by saying very carefully and putting long rest between each, special word.His father went back to his morning meal, but his sister said in a low voice:"Gregor, open the door, I request of you." Gregor, however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himself for his careful tendencies, gotten from his journeying, of locking all doors at night even when he was at home .

The first thing he wanted to do was to get up in peace without being troubled, to get dressed, and most of all to have his morning meal.Only then would he give thought to what to do next, as he was well conscious that he would not take his thoughts to any wise opinions by reasoning by lying in bed.He remembered that he had often felt a small, little pain in bed, perhaps caused by not lying down expertly, but that had always turned out to be unmixed power of invention and he questioned how his mind-pictures would slowly get an answer to themselves today.He did not have even a very small doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first sign of a serious cold, which was a work-caused danger for journeying persons whose work is exchange of goods for money.

It was a simple question to send off through the air the covers he only had to blow himself up a little and they fell off by themselves. But it became not simple after that, especially as he was so exceptionally wide. He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up but instead of them he only had all those little legs as an unbroken stretch moving in different directions, and which he was In addition unable to control.If he wanted to bend one of them, then that was the first one that would stretch itself out and if he finally managed to do what he wanted with that leg, all the others seemed to be set free and would move about painfully."This is something that can't be done in bed", Gregor said to himself,"so don't keep trying to do it".

The first thing he wanted to do was get the lower part of his body out of the bed , but he had never seen this lower part , and could not have an idea of what it looked like it turned out to be too hard to move it went so slowly and finally, almost in a worked-upway, when he without care pushed himself forwards with all the force he could get together, he chose the wrong direction, came against with force hard against the lower bedpost , and learned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, now, be the most sensitive.

So then he tried to get the top part of his body out of the bed first, carefully turning his head to the side.This he managed quite easily, and despite its measure from side to side and its weight, the greater size of his body eventually followed slowly in the direction of the head.But when he had at last got his head out of the bed and into the somewhat cold air it occurred to him that if he let himself fall it would be a strange event if his head were not injured, so he became in fear of keeping on pushing himself forward the same way.And he could not give a hard blow to himself out now at any price better to not go in bed than not keep the condition of being conscious.

It took just as much hard work to get back to where he had been earlier, but when he was there breathing deeply, and was once more watching his legs as they did hard work against each other even harder than before, if that was possible, he could have in mind of no way of bringing peace and order to this event acted on by chance.He told himself once more that it was not possible for him to keep in bed and that the most wise thing to do would be to get free of it in whatever way he could at whatever price.At the same time, though, he did not overlook to put in mind of himself that untroubled care was much better than rushing to needy opinions by reasoning.At times like this he would give direction to his eyes to the window and look out as clearly as he could, but unhappily, even the other side of the narrow street was covered in morning thick mist and the view had little self-belief or cry of approval to offer him."seven o'clock, already", he said to himself when the clock struck again, "seven o'clock, and there's still a thick mist like this." And he was there quietly a while longer, breathing lightly as if he perhaps expected the total stillness to take things back to their true, in fact natural state.

But then he said to himself:"Before it strikes quarter past seven I'll definitely have to have got rightly out of bed.And by then somebody will have come round from work to question what's happened to me as well, as they open up at work before seven o'clock."And so he set himself to the work of be hanging the complete end-to-end of his body out of the bed all at the same time.If he succeeded in falling out of bed in this way and kept his head raised as he did so he could probably keep from doing damage to it.His back seemed to be quite hard, and probably nothing would come about to it falling onto the soft floor covering.His main trouble was for the loud noise he was bound to make, and which even through all the doors would probably get lifted up, make higher be important to if not a danger sign.But it was something that had to be chanced.

When Gregor was already sticking half way out of the bed - the new acting was more of a play with fixed rules than hard work, all he had to do was move about back and forth - it occurred to him how simple everything would be if somebody came to help him.Two strong people - he had his father and the female servant in mind - would have been more than enough they would only have to push their arms under the round roof of his back, take the skin off him away from the bed, bend down with the weight and then putting up with and done with care as he went from side to side over onto the floor, where, hopefully, the little legs would see a use.Should he really use the telephone for help though, even apart from the fact that all the doors were locked?Despite all the hard point he was in, he could not put out of the way a smile at this thought.

After a while he had already moved so far across that it would have been hard for him to keep his balance if he moved from side to side too hard. The time was now ten past seven and he would have to make a last change decision very soon. Then there was a ring at the door of the flat."That will be someone from work", he said to himself, and was feeling very cold very still, although his little legs only became all the more moving as they danced around.For the current time everything remained quiet.

"They are not opening the door", Gregor said to himself, caught in some senseless hope.But then naturally, the girl's business steps went to the door as ever and opened it.Gregor only needed to hear the newcomer's first words of words said on meeting and he knew who it was - the chief office worker himself.Why did Gregor have to be the only one condemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly doubtful at the very smallest shortcoming? were all employees, every one of them, rough men, was there not one of them who was true to and devoted who would go so off one's head with sharp pains of sense of right and wrong that he couldn't get out of bed if he didn't give at least two hours in the morning on company business?Was it really not enough to let one of the learners make questions - taking it to be true questions were even necessary - did the chief office worker have to come himself, and did they have to make clear the complete, without knowledge family that this was so doubtful that only the chief office worker could be made responsible for having the wisdom to research it?And more because these thoughts had made him get out of order than through any right decision, he went from side to side himself with all his force out of the bed.There was a loud blow as if with shut hand, but it wasn't really a loud noise.His fall was softened a little by the soft floor covering, and Gregor's back was also more elastic than he had thought, which made the sound covered and not too readily noted.He had not held his head carefully enough, though, and took a blow with it as he fell troubled and in pain, he turned it and rubbed it against the soft floor covering.

"Something's fallen down in there", said the chief office worker in the room on the left.Gregor tried to see in one's mind whether something of the sort that had happened to him today could ever come about to the chief office worker too you had to give way on that it was possible.But as if in a rough answer to this question, the chief worker's solid steps footsteps in his highly polished boots could now be heard in the adjoining room.From the room on his right, Gregor's sister said in a low voice to him to let him be certain:"Gregor, the chief office worker is here.""Yes, I am certain", said Gregor to himself but without daring to get lifted up and make higher his voice loud enough for his sister to hear him.

"Gregor", said his father now from the room to his left,"the chief office worker has come round and wants to have knowledge why you didn't go on the early train.We are not certain what to say to him.And anyway, he wants to say things to you personally .So please open up this door.I'm certain he'll be good enough to not be angry with the unordered nature of your room."Then the chief office worker called "good morning, Mr. Samsa"."He isn't well", said his mother to the chief office worker, while his father continued to say through the door."He isn't well, please have belief in me. Why else would Gregor have missed a train! The boy only ever thinks about the business.It nearly makes me troubled the way he never goes out in the night falls he's been in town for a week now but stayed home every night fall.He is seated with us in the cooking place and just reads the paper or studies train times of events. His idea of loosening is working with his narrow-bladed fine-toothed saw.He's made a little frame , for example of general fact , it only took him two or three night falls , you'll be very surprised how pleasing, good, delicate it is it's hanging up in his room you'll see it as soon as Gregor opens the door.Anyway, I'm pleased, happy you're here we wouldn't have been able to get Gregor to open the door by ourselves he's so fixed and I'm certain he isn't well , he said this morning that he is, but he isn't.""I'll be there in a short time", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully, but without moving so that he would hear any word of the talk."Well I can't have in mind any other way of giving an account of it, Mrs. Samsa", said the chief office worker,"I hope it's nothing serious.But on the other hand, I must say that if we people in trade ever become slightly unwell then, happily or unhappily as you like, we simply have to overcome it because of business care.""May the chief office worker come in to see you now then?", asked his father without the power of waiting, giving blows to at the door again."No", said Gregor.In the room on his right there followed a painful quiet, no sound in the room on his left his sister began to cry.

So why did his sister not go and join the others?She had probably only just got up and had not even begun to get dressed.And why was she crying?was it because he had not got up, and had not let the chief office worker in, because he was in danger of losing his mixed bag of goods and if that happened his chief would once more go after their parents with the same demands as before? There was no need to trouble about things like that yet.Gregor was still there and had not the very smallest purpose of giving up his family.For the time being he just was there on the soft floor covering, and no-one who knew the condition he was in would seriously have expected him to let the chief office worker in.It was only an unimportant unpolished behavior, and a right let-off could easily be found for it later on, it was not something for which Gregor could be sent away for.And it seemed to Gregor much more conscious with sense to free him now in peace instead of making trouble for him with talking at him and crying.But the others didn't have knowledge of what was happening, they were troubled, that would let off their behavior.

The chief office worker now raised his voice, "Mr. Samsa", he called to him,"what is wrong? You make a safe structure for yourself in your room, give us no more than yes or no for an answer, you are causing serious and unnecessary trouble to your parents and you come short - and I say something about this just incidentally - you come short to do your business duties in a way that is quite unheard of.I'm speaking here on the name of your parents and of your head of the works, and really must request a clear and straight-away account.I am surprised , quite surprised.I thought I knew you as an untroubled and conscious with senses person, and now you suddenly seem to be showing off with special sudden desires.This morning, your head of the works did suggest a possible reason for your shortcoming to come into view, it's true - it had to do with the money that was recently given into care of to you - but I came near to giving him my word of great respect that could not be the right account.But now that I see your not able to see clearly fixed mind I no longer have desire any desire whatever to put in a word on your name.And nor is your position all that safe, certain.I had originally intended to say all this to you in private, but since you cause me to waste my time here for no good reason I don't see why your parents should not also learn of it. Your turnover has been very unpleasing of late I grant you that it's not the time of year to do especially good business, we are conscious of that but there simply is no time of year to do no business at all, Mr. Samsa, we cannot let there be."

"But Sir", called Gregor, at the side of himself and overlooking all else in a worked-up condition,"I'll open up immediately, just a short time.I'm slightly unwell, an attack of balance-loss, I have not been able to get up.I'm still in bed now.I'm quite new, different, bright again now, though.I'm just getting out of bed.Just a short time.Be un-protesting!It's not quite as simple, not hard as I'd thought. I'm quite all right now, though.It's shocking, what can suddenly come about to a person!I was quite all right last night, my parents be certain about it, perhaps better than me, I had a small sign of it last night already. They must have noted, seen, took note of it.I don't have knowledge why I didn't let you have knowledge at work!But you always have in mind you can get over a disease, being ill without going home. Please, don't make my parents have pain! There's no base for any of the statements against me you're making nobody's ever said a word to me about any of these things. Maybe you have not read the latest contracts I sent in.I'll set off with the eight o'clock train, as well, these few hours of rest have given me power. You don't need to wait, sir I'll be in the office soon after you, and please be so good as to say that to the head and say a good word for me to him!"

And while Gregor burst out these words, hardly knowing what he was saying, he made his way over to the chest of drawers - this was easily done, probably because of the experience he had already had in bed - where he now tried to get himself upright.He really did need to open the door, really did need to let them see him and to say things to the chief office worker the others were being so headstrong, and he was over-interested to learn what they would say when they caught a view of him.If they were shocked then it would no longer be Gregor's care which one is responsible and he could rest.If, however, they took everything quietly he would still have no reason to be put out of order, and if he were quick he really could be at the station for eight o'clock.The first few times he tried to go up on the smooth chest of drawers he just slid down again, but he finally gave himself one last go from side to side and stood there upright the lower part of his body was in serious pain but he no longer gave any attention to it.Now he let himself fall against the back of a near seat and held tightly to the edges of it with his little legs. By now he had also quieted down, and kept quiet so that he could give attention to what the chief office worker was saying.

"Did you get clearly a word of all that?" the chief office worker asked his parents,"surely he's not trying to make foolish persons of us"."surprise!, God!" called his mother, who was already with drops from eyes,"he could be seriously ill and we're making him have pain.Grete! Grete! "she then cried ." mother?" his sister called from the other side. They joined together across Gregor's room."You will have to go for the medical man straight away. Gregor is ill. Quick, get the medical man. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just now?""That was the voice of an animal", said the chief office worker, with a quietness that was opposite to his mother's cries."Anna! Anna!" his father called into the cooking place through the way-in hall, making noise with his hands,"get a locks expert here, now!" And the two girls, their skirts whipping, immediately ran out through the hall, twisting open the front door of the flat as they went. How had his sister managed to get dressed so quickly? There was no sound of the door sounding shut again they must have left it open people often do in homes where something disgusting has happened.

Gregor, in comparison, had become much quieter.So they couldn't get clearly his words any more, although they seemed clear enough to him, clearer than before - perhaps his ears had become used to the sound.They had noted, though, that there was something wrong with him, and were ready to help. The first answer to his position had been with self-belief and wise, and that made him sense better.He felt that he had been drawn back in among people, and from the medical attention and the locks expert he expected great and surprising things done - although he did not really see what is different of one from the other.Whatever was said next would be important, so, in order to make his voice as clear as possible, he coughed a little, but taking care to do this not too loudly as even this may well sound different from the way that a man coughs and he was no longer clear he could judge this for himself.Meanwhile, it had become very quiet in the next room.Perhaps his parents were sat at the table in low voice with the chief office worker, or perhaps they were all crushed together against the door and listening.

Gregor slowly pushed his way over to the door with the seat.Once there he let go of it and threw himself onto the door, having himself upright against it using the sticky bits on the tips of his legs.He rested there a little while to get back from the hard work involved and then set himself to the work of turning the key in the lock with his mouth.He seemed, unhappily, not to have the right teeth - how was he, then, to take the key? - but the need of teeth was, of nature, made up for with a very strong mouth bone using the mouth bone, he really was able to start the key turning, having nothing to do with the fact that he must have been causing some kind of damage as a brown liquid came from his mouth, moved as liquid over the key and came drop by drop onto the floor."Give attention", said the chief office worker in the next room," he's turning the key."Gregor was greatly encouraged by this but they all should have been calling to him, his father and his mother too:"well done, Gregor", they should have cried,"keep at it, keep not give way of the lock!"And with the idea that they were all in a worked-up way following his efforts, he bit on the key with all his power, paying no attention to the pain he was causing himself.As the key turned round he turned around the lock with it, only having himself upright with his mouth, and hung onto the key or pushed it down again with the all weight of his body as needed.The clear sound of the lock as it bit back was Gregor's sign that he could break his attention, and as he got back his breath he said to himself:"So, I didn't need the locks expert at the end". Then he put his head on the hands of the door to open it completely.

Because he had to open the door in this way, it was already wide open before he could be seen.He had first to slowly turn himself around one of the something like-looking doors, and he had to do it very carefully if he did not need to fall flat on his back before entering the room. He was still was living with this not simple moving part, unable to give attention to anything else , when he heard the chief office worker say suddenly a loud"surprise!!" , which sounded like the crying of the wind.Now he also saw him - he was the nearest to the door - his hand was against his open mouth and slowly giving way as if driven by a steady and unseen force.Gregor's mother, her hair still mixed up bed despite the chief worker's being there, looked at his father.Then she put out her arms, took two steps forward in the direction of Gregor and sank down onto the floor into her skirts that spread themselves out around her as her head gone from view down onto her woman's milk parts.His father looked violent, and fixed by hammering sideways his shut hands as if wanting to give hard blow Gregor back into his room.Then he looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands and cried so that his powerful chest shook.

So Gregor did not go into the room, but supported himself against the inside of the other door which was still held pinned in place.In this way only half of his body could be seen, in company with his head above it which he supported against over to one side as he took a look out at the others.Meanwhile the day had become much lighter part of the without end, gray-black building on the other side of the street - which was a hospital - could be seen quite clearly with the careful and regular line of windows making a hole through its face of building the rain was still falling, now throwing down wide, of great size, special droplets which were in touch the floor one at a time.The washing up from morning meal was on the table there was so much of it because, for Gregor's father, morning meal was the most important meal of the day and he would stretch it out for several hours as he sat reading a number of different newspapers.On the wall exactly opposite there was picture by camera of Gregor when he was a second in authority in the army, his military blade in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forth respect for his military dress and behavior.The door to the way-in hall was open and as the front door of the flat was also open he could see onto the landing and the flights of steps where they began their way down below.

"Now, then", said Gregor, well having knowledge that he was the only one to have kept quiet,"I'll get dressed straight away now, put away my selections and set off.Will you please just let me go? You can see", he said to the chief office worker,"that I'm not of affixed mind and like I like to do my regular work being a trading journeying person is hard but without journeying I couldn't make, get my living.So where are you going, in to the office? Yes? will you say to the person in authority everything without error, then? It's quite possible for someone to be temporarily unable to work, but that's just the right time to have in mind what's been achieved in the past and give thought to that later on, once the trouble has been removed, he will certainly work with all the more attention and attention.You're well having knowledge of that I'm seriously in debt to our head of the works as well as having to look after my parents and my sister, so that I'm got by tricking in a not simple position, but I will work my way out of it again. Please don't make things any harder for me than they are already, and don't take sides against me at the office. I be certain that nobody likes the journeying persons.They have in mind we make, get money a great payment as well as having a soft time of it. That's just opinions but they have no one reason to have in mind better.But you , sir , you have a better overview than the rest of the working group, in fact, if I can say this in secret, a better overview than the head himself - it's very simple, not hard for a businessman like him to make mistakes about his employees and judge them more cruelly than he should. And you're also well having knowledge of that we journeying persons give almost the complete year away from the office, so that we can very easily fall attacked talked about and unreasoned protests, and it's almost not possible to keep from attack yourself from that sort of thing, we don't usually even hear about them, or if at all it's when we get back home made tired from a journey, and that's when we touch the damaging effects of what's been going on without even knowing what caused them.Please, don't go away, at least first say something to make clear that you grant that I'm at least partly right!"

But the chief office worker had turned away as soon as Gregor had started to say, and, with overfull lips, only was looking long back at him over his shaking arms as he left. He did not keep still for a short time while Gregor was speaking, but moved smoothly in the direction of the door without taking his eyes off him.He moved very gradually, as if there had been some secret stop on leaving the room.It was only when he had reached the way-in hall that he made a sudden move, drew his foot from the living room, and acted quickly forward in great fear.In the hall, he stretched his right hand far out in the direction of the flights of steps as if out there , there were some outside the natural orderforces waiting to keep him.

Gregor noted that it was out of the question to let the chief office worker go away in this mind condition if his position in the business was not to be put into at the end in danger.That was something his parents did not get clearly very well over the years, they had become convinced that this regular work would give for Gregor his complete living, and in addition to, they had so much to trouble about now that they had lost view of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did have in mind about the future.The chief office worker had to be held back, quieted down, convinced and finally won over the future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only his sister were here! She was quick she was already with drops from eyes while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back.And the chief office worker was a lover of women, surely she could get to him she would close the front door in the way-in hall and talk him out of his shocked state.But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the regular work himself.

And without giving thought to that he still was not with great knowledge with how well he could move about in his present state, or that his use of words still might not - or probably would not - be clear, he let go of the door pushed himself through the opening tried to get to, go as far as the chief office worker on the landing who, foolishly, was keeping on to the hand-rail with both hands but Gregor fell immediately over and, with a little cause of laughing as he sought something to keep onto, landed on his great number of little legs.Hardly had that happened than, for the first time that day, he began to sense all right with his body the little legs had the solid floor under them to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them they were even making the hard work to take him where he wanted to go and he was soon believing that all his causes of trouble would soon be finally at an end.He held back the heart to move but moved from side to side as he bent over there on the floor.His mother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite taken up with all attention in herself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her fingers spread crying:"help, for kindness' pleasure, help!"The way she held her head suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the thoughtless way she was moving quickly back first showed that she did not she had forgotten that the table was behind her with all the morning meal things on it when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing without even seeming to note that the coffee pot had been knocked over and an outburst of coffee was coming down onto the soft floor covering.

"Mother, mother", said Gregor kindly, quietly, not roughly, looking up at her.He had completely forgotten the chief office worker for the current time, but could not help himself biting uncertainly with his teeth bones at the view of the move of coffee.That set his mother crying again, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as he over-quickly in the direction of her.Gregor, though, had no time to free for his parents now the chief office worker had already reached the flights of steps with his chin on the hand-rail, he looked back for the last time. Gregor made a run for him he wanted to be safe of reaching him the chief office worker must have expected something, as he jumped down several steps at once and gone from view his cries sounding strongly good in a number of ways down the steps to another floor.The flight of the chief office worker seemed, unhappily , to put Gregor's father into a great fear as well.Until then he had been relatively self controlled, but now, instead of running after the chief office worker himself, or at least not stopping Gregor as he ran after him, Gregor's father got the chief worker's stick in his right hand (the chief office worker had left it behind on a seat, in company with his hat and overcoat), picked up a great size newspaper from the table with his left, and used them to make go Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went.Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his appeals were simply not taken knowledge of, however much he poorly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder.Across the room, despite the cold weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window, supported against of it far out and crushed together her hands to her face.A strong rough wind of air flew in from the street in the direction of the flights of steps, the curtains flew up, the newspapers on the table moved un-regularly and some of them were blown onto the floor. Nothing would stop Gregor's father as he drove him back, making hissing noises at him like a rough man. Gregor had never had any experience in moving back part first and was only able to go very slowly.If Gregor had only been allowed to turn round he would have been back in his room straight away, but he was in fear of that if he took the time to do that his father would become not able to put up with it, and there was the sign of danger of a causing death blow to his back or head from the stick in his father's hand any time. In the end , though , Gregor got clear that he had no selection as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite unable of going back-part first in a straight line so he began, as quickly as possible and with frequent troubled quick looks at his father, to turn himself round.

It went very slowly, but perhaps his father was able to see his good intentions as he did nothing to get in the way of him, in fact now and then he used the endbit of his stick to give directions from a distance in connection with which way to turn.If only his father would stop that not take-able hissing!It was making Gregor quite unordered. When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening to that hissing, he made an error and turned himself back a little the way he had just come.He was pleased when he finally had his head in front of the doorway, but then saw that it was too narrow, and his body was too wide to get through it without further trouble.In his present mind condition, it obviously did not take place for his father to open the other of the like doors so that Gregor would have enough space to get through.He was merely fixed on the idea that Gregor should be got back into his room as quickly as possible.And not would he ever have allowed Gregor the time to get himself upright ready for getting through the doorway.What he did, making more noise than ever, was to make go Gregor forwards all the harder as if there had been nothing in the way it sounded to Gregor as if there was now more than one father behind him it was not a pleasing, pleasurable experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway without thought, attention for what might come about.One side of his body lifted itself, he put at an angle in the doorway, one flank rubbed roughly on the white door and was painfully injured, leaving bad brown bits on it, soon he was stuck tightly and would not have been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hung shaking uncertainly while those on the other side were ironed painfully against the floor.Then his father gave him a weighty push from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily producing blood, deep into his room.The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all was quiet.

Part II