yī tiān zǎo chén， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr . sà mǔ shā cóng bù 'ān de shuì mèng zhōng xǐng lái， fā xiàn zì jǐ tǎng zài chuáng shàng biàn chéng liǎo yī zhǐ jù dà de jiá chóng。 tā yǎng wò zhe， nà jiān yìng de xiàng tiě jiá yī bān de bèi tiē zhe chuáng， tā shāo shāo tái liǎo tái tóu， biàn kàn jiàn zì jǐ nà qióng dǐng shìde zōng sè dù zǐ fēn chéng liǎo hǎo duō kuài hú xíng de yìng piàn， bèi zǐ jīhū gài bù zhù dù zǐ jiān， dū kuài huá xià lái liǎo。 bǐ qǐ ruò dà de shēn qū lái， tā nà xǔ duō zhǐ tuǐ zhēn shì xì dé kě lián， dōuzài tā yǎn qián wú kě nài hé dì wǔ dòng zhe。
“ wǒ chū liǎo shénme shì lā？” tā xiǎng。 zhè kě bù shì mèng。 tā de fáng jiān， suī shì xián xiǎo liǎo xiē， díquè shì pǔ pǔ tōng tōng rén zhù de fáng jiān， réng rán 'ān jìng dì tǎng zài sì dǔ shú xī de qiáng bì dāng zhōng。 zài tān fàng zhe dǎ kāi de yī liào yàng pǐn －－ sà mǔ shā shì gè lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán－－ de zhuō zǐ shàng miàn， hái shì guà zhe nà fú huà， zhè shì tā zuì jìn cóng yī běn huà bào shàng jiǎn xià lái zhuāng zài piào liàng de jīn sè jìng kuàng lǐ de。 huà de shì yī wèi dài pí mào zǐ wéi pí wéi jīn de guì fù rén， tā tǐng zhí shēn zǐ zuò zhe， bǎ yī zhǐ tào méi liǎo zhěng gè qián bì de hòu zhòng de pí shǒu tǒng dì gěi kàn huà de rén。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de yǎn jīng jiē zhe yòu cháo chuāng kǒu wàng qù， tiān kōng hěn yīn 'àn héng héng kě yǐ tīng dào yǔ diǎn qiāo dǎ zài chuāng jiàn shàng de shēng yīn héng héng tā de xīn qíng yě biàn dé yōu yù liǎo。“ yào shì zài shuì yī huì 'ér， bǎ zhè yī qiē huì qì shì tǒng tǒng wàng diào nà gāi duō hǎo。” tā xiǎng。 dàn shì wán quán bàn bù dào， píng shí tā xí guàn yú xiàng yòu biān shuì， kě shì zài mù qián de qíng kuàng xià， zài yě bù néng cǎi qǔ nà yàng de zī tài liǎo。 wú lùn zěn yàng yòng lì xiàng yòu zhuǎn， tā réng jiù gǔn liǎo huí lái， dù zǐ cháo tiān。 tā shì liǎo zhì shǎo yī bǎi cì， hái bì shàng yǎn jīng miǎn dé kàn dào nà xiē pīn mìng zhēngzhá de tuǐ， dào hòu lái tā de yāo bù gǎn dào yī zhǒng cóng wèi tǐ wèi guò de yǐn tòng， cái bù dé bù bà xiū。
“ ā， tiān nǎ，” tā xiǎng，“ wǒ zěn me dān dān tiǎo shàng zhè me yī gè lěi rén de chāishi ní！ cháng nián lěi yuè dào chù bēn bō， bǐ zuò bàn gōng shì xīn kǔ duō liǎo。 zài jiā shàng hái yòu jīng cháng chū mén de fán nǎo， dān xīn gè cì huǒ chē de dǎo huàn， bù dìng shí 'ér qiě dī liè de yǐn shí， ér píng shuǐ xiāng féng de rén yě zǒng shì xiē fàn fàn zhī jiāo， bù kě néng yòu shēn hòu de jiāo qíng， yǒng yuǎn bù huì biàn chéng zhī jǐ péng yǒu。 ràng zhè yī qiēdōu jiàn guǐ qù bā！” tā jué dé dù zǐ shàng yòu diǎn 'ér yǎng， jiù màn màn dì nuó dòng shēn zǐ， kào jìn chuáng tóu， hǎo ràng zì jǐ tóu tái qǐ lái gèng róng yì xiē； tā kàn qīng liǎo fā yǎng de dì fāng， nà 'ér bù mǎn zhe bái sè de xiǎo bān diǎn， tā bù míng bái zhè shì zěn me huí shì， xiǎng yòng yī tiáo tuǐ qù sāo yī sāo， kě shì mǎ shàng yòu suō liǎo huí lái， yīn wéi zhè yī pèng shǐ tā hún shēn qǐ liǎo yī zhèn hánzhàn。
tā yòu huá xià lái huī fù dào yuán lái de zī shì。“ qǐ chuáng zhè me zǎo，” tā xiǎng，“ huì shǐ rén biàn shǎ de。 rén shì xū yào shuì jué de。 bié de tuī xiāo yuán shēng huó dé xiàng guì fù rén。 bǐ rú， wǒ yòu yī tiān shàng wǔ gǎn huí lǚ guǎn dēng jì qǔ huí dìng huò dān shí， bié de rén cái zuò xià lái chī zǎo cān。 wǒ ruò shì gēn wǒ de lǎo bǎn yě lái zhè yī shǒu， zhǔn dìng dāng chǎng jiù gěi kāi chú。 yě xǔ kāi chú liǎo dǎo gèng hǎo yī xiē， shuí shuō dé zhǔn ní。 rú guǒ bù shì wèile fù mǔ qīn 'ér zǒng shì jǐn xiǎo shèn wēi， wǒ zǎo jiù cí zhí bùgànliǎo， wǒ zǎo jiù huì páo dào lǎo bǎn miàn qián， bǎ dù zǐ lǐ de qì chū gè tòng kuài。 nà gè jiā huǒ zhǔn huì cóng xiě zì zhuō hòu miàn zhí bèng qǐ lái！ tā de gōng zuò fāng shì yě zhēn qí guài， zǒng shì nà yàng jū gāo lín xià zuò zài zhuō zǐ shàng miàn duì zhí yuán fā hào shī lìng， zài jiā shàng tā de 'ěr duǒ yòu piān piān zhòng tīng， dà jiā bù dé bù zǒu dào tā gēn qián qù。 dàn shì shì qíng yě wèi bì háo wú zhuǎn jī； zhǐ yào děng wǒ cuán gòu liǎo qián hái qīng liǎo fù mǔ qiàn tā de zhài héng héng yě xǔ hái dé wǔ liù nián héng héng kě shì wǒ yī dìng néng zuò dào。 dào nà shí wǒ jiù huì shí lái yùn zhuǎn liǎo。 bù guò yǎn xià wǒ hái shì qǐ chuáng wéi miào， yīn wéi huǒ chē wǔ diǎn zhōng jiù yào kāi liǎo。”
tā kàn liǎo kàn guì zǐ shàng dī dī dā dā xiǎng zhe de nào zhōng。 tiān nǎ！ tā xiǎng dào。 yǐ jīng liù diǎn bàn liǎo， ér shí zhēn hái zài yōu yōu rán xiàng qián yí dòng， lián liù diǎn bàn yě guò liǎo， mǎ shàng jiù yào qī diǎn chā yī kè liǎo。 nào zhōng nán dào méi yòu xiǎng guò má？ cóng chuáng shàng kě yǐ kàn dào nào zhōng míng míng shì bō dào sì diǎn zhōng de； xiǎn rán tā yǐ jīng xiǎng guò liǎo。 shì de， bù guò zài nà zhèn 'ěr yù lóng de xiǎng shēng lǐ， nán dào zhēn de néng 'ān níng dì shuì zhe má？ ǹg， tā shuìde bìng bù 'ān níng， kě shì què zhèng shuō míng tā shuìde bù huài。 nà me tā xiàn zài gāi gànshénme ní？ xià yī bān chē qī diǎn zhōng kāi； yào dā zhè yī bān chē tā dé fā fēng shìde gǎn cái xíng， kě shì tā de yàng pǐn dū hái méi yòu bāo hǎo， tā yě jué dé zì jǐ de jīng shén bù shèn jiā。 ér qiě jí shǐ tā gǎn shàng zhè bān chē， hái shì táo bù guò shàng sī de yī dùn shēn chì， yīn wéi gōng sī de tīngchāi yī dìng shì zài děng hòu wǔ diǎn zhōng nà bān huǒ chē， zhè shí zǎo yǐ huí qù bào gào tā méi yòu gǎn shàng liǎo。 nà tīngchāi shì lǎo bǎn de xīn fù， jì wú gǔ qì yòu yú chǔn bù kān。 nà me， shuō zì jǐ bìng liǎo xíng bù xíng ní？ bù guò zhè jiāng shì zuì bù yú kuài de shì， ér qiě yě xiǎn dé hěn kě yí， yīn wéi tā fú wù wǔ nián yǐ lái méi yòu hài guò yī cì bìng。 lǎo bǎn yī dìng huì qīn zì dài liǎo yī yào gù wèn yī qǐ lái， yī dìng huì zé guài tā de fù mǔ zěn me yǎng chū zhè yàng lǎn duò de 'ér zǐ， tā hái huì yǐn zhèng yī yào gù wèn de huà， cū bào dì bǎ suǒ yòu de lǐ yóu dū bó diào， zài nà gè dà fū kàn lái， shì jiè shàng chú liǎo jiàn kāng zhī zhì de jiǎ bìng hào， zài yě méi yòu dì 'èr zhǒng rén liǎo。 zài shuō jīn tiān zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng， dà fū de huà shì bù shì zhēn de bù duì ní？ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jué dé shēn tǐ tǐng bù cuò， zhǐ chú liǎo yòu xiē kùn fá， zhè zài rú cǐ cháng jiǔ de yī cì shuì mián yǐ hòu shí zài yòu xiē duō yú， lìng wài， tā shèn zhì jué dé tè bié 'è。
zhè yī qiēdōu fēi kuài dì zài tā nǎo zǐ lǐ shǎn guò， tā hái shì méi yòu xià jué xīn qǐ chuáng héng héng nào zhōng qiāo liù diǎn sān kè liǎo héng héng zhè shí， tā chuáng tóu hòu miàn de mén shàng chuán lái liǎo qīng qīng de yī xià kòu mén shēng。“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” yī gè shēng yīn shuō， héng héng zhè shì tā mǔ qīn de shēng yīn héng héng“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn chā yī kè liǎo。 nǐ bù shì hái yào gǎn huǒ chē má？” hǎo wēn hé de shēng yīn！ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào zì jǐ de huí dá shēng shí bù miǎn dà chī yī jīng。 méi cuò， zhè fēn míng shì tā zì jǐ de shēng yīn， kě shì què yòu lìng yī zhǒng kě pà de jī jī zhā zhā de jiān jiào shēng tóng shí fā liǎo chū lái， fǎng fó shì bàn yīn shìde， shǐ tā de huà zhǐ yòu zuì chū jǐ gè zì cái shì qīng qīng chǔ chǔ de， jiē zhe mǎ shàng jiù shòu dào liǎo gān rǎo， nòng dé yì yì hán hùn， shǐ rén jiā shuō bù shàng dào dǐ tīng qīng chǔ méi yòu。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr běn xiǎng huí dá dé xiáng xì xiē， hǎo bǎ yī qiē jiě shì qīng chǔ， kě shì zài zhè yàng de qíng xíng xià tā zhǐ dé jiǎn dān dì shuō：“ shì de， shì de， xiè xiè nǐ， mā mā， wǒ zhè huì 'ér zhèng zài qǐ chuáng ní。” gé zhe mù mén， wài miàn yī dìng tīng bù dào gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shēng yīn de biàn huà， yīn wéi tā mǔ qīn tīng dào zhè xiē huà yě mǎn yì liǎo， jiù tuō zhe bù zǐ zǒu liǎo kāi qù。 rán 'ér zhè chǎng jiǎn duǎn de duì huà shǐ jiā lǐ réndōu zhī dào gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái zài wū zǐ lǐ， zhè shì chū hū tā men yì liào zhī wài de， yú shì zài cè biān de yī shàn mén shàng lì kè jiù xiǎng qǐ liǎo tā fù qīn de kòu mén shēng， hěn qīng， bù guò yòng de què shì quán tóu。“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” tā hǎn dào，“ nǐ zěn me lā？” guò liǎo yī xiǎo huì 'ér tā yòu yòng gèng dī chén de shēng yīn cuī cù dào：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr！ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr！” zài lìng yī cè de mén shàng tā de mèi mèi yě yòng qīng qīng de bēi 'āi de shēng yīn wèn：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， nǐ bù shū fú má？ yào bù yào shénme dōng xī？” tā tóng shí huí dá liǎo tā men liǎng gè rén：“ wǒ mǎ shàng jiù hǎo liǎo。” tā bǎ shēng yīn fā dé gèng qīng xī， shuō wán yī gè zì guò yī huì 'ér cái shuō lìng yī gè zì， jié lì shǐ tā de shēng yīn xiǎn dé zhèng cháng。 yú shì tā fù qīn zǒu huí qù chī tā de zǎo fàn liǎo， tā mèi mèi què dī shēng dì shuō：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， kāi kāi mén bā， qiú qiú nǐ。” kě shì tā bìng bù xiǎng kāi mén， suǒ yǐ 'àn zì qìng xìng zì jǐ yóu yú shí cháng lǚ xíng， tā yǎng chéng liǎo wǎn shàng suǒ zhù suǒ yòu mén de xí guàn。 jí shǐ huí dào jiā lǐ yě shì zhè yàng。
shǒu xiān tā yào jìng qiǎo qiǎo dì bù shòu dǎ rǎo dì qǐ chuáng， chuān hǎo yī fú， zuì yào jǐn de shì chī bǎo zǎo fàn， zài kǎo lǜ xià yī bù gāi zěn me bàn， yīn wéi tā fēi cháng míng bái， tǎng zài chuáng shàng xiā xiǎng yī qì shì xiǎng bù chū shénme míng táng lái de。 tā hái jì dé guò qù yě xǔ shì yīn wéi shuì jué zī shì bù hǎo， tǎng zài chuáng shàng shí wǎng wǎng huì jué dé zhè 'ér nà 'ér yǐn yǐn zuò tòng， jí zhì qǐ lái， jiù zhī dào chún shǔ xīn lǐ zuò yòng， suǒ yǐ tā yīn qiē dì pàn wàng jīn tiān zǎo chén de huàn jué huì zhú jiàn xiāo shì。 tā yě shēn xìn， tā zhī suǒ yǐ biàn shēng yīn bù shì yīn wéi bié de 'ér jǐn jǐn shì zhòng gǎn mào de zhèn zhào， zhè shì lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán de zhí yè bìng。
yào xiān diào bèi zǐ hěn róng yì， tā zhǐ xū bǎ shēn zǐ shāo shāo yī tái bèi zǐ jiù zì jǐ huá xià lái liǎo。 kě shì xià yī gè dòng zuò jiù fēi cháng zhī kùn nán， tè bié shì yīn wéi tā de shēn zǐ kuān dé chū qí。 tā dé yào yòu shǒu hé gēbei cái néng ràng zì jǐ zuò qǐ lái； kě shì tā yòu de zhǐ shì wú shù xì xiǎo de tuǐ， tā men yī kè bù tíng dì xiàng sì miàn bā fāng huī dòng， ér tā zì jǐ què wán quán wú fǎ kòng zhì。 tā xiǎng qū qǐ qí zhōng de yī tiáo tuǐ， kě shì tā piān piān shēn dé bǐ zhí； děng tā zhōng yú ràng tā tīng cóng zì jǐ de zhǐ huī shí， suǒ yòu bié de tuǐ què mò míng qí miào dì luàn dòng bù yǐ。“ zǒng shì dāi zài chuáng shàng yòu shénme yì sī ní。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zì yán zì yǔ dì shuō。
tā xiǎng， xiān xià qù yī dìng kě yǐ shǐ zì jǐ lí chuáng， kě shì tā hái méi yòu jiàn guò zì jǐ de， nǎo zǐ lǐ gēn běn méi yòu gài niàn， bù zhī dào yào yí dòng zhēn shì nán shàng jiā nán， nuó dòng qǐ lái shì nà yàng de chí huǎn； suǒ yǐ dào zuì hòu， tā fán sǐ liǎo， jiù yòng jìn quán lì lǔ mǎng dì bǎ shēn zǐ yī shuǎi， bù liào fāng xiàng suàn cuò， chóngchóng dì zhuàng zài chuáng jiǎo shàng， yī zhèn chè gǔ de tòng chǔ shǐ tā míng bái， rú jīn tā shēn shàng zuì mǐn gǎn de dì fāng yě xǔ zhèng shì tā de。
yú shì tā jiù dǎ suàn xiān ràng shàng shēn lí chuáng， tā xiǎo xīn yì yì dì bǎ tóu bù yī diǎn diǎn nuó xiàng chuáng yán。 zhè què háo bù kùn nán， tā de shēn qū suī rán yòu kuān yòu dà， yě zhōng yú gēn zhe tóu bù yí dòng liǎo。 kě shì， děng dào tóu bù zhōng yú xuán zài chuáng biān shàng， tā yòu hài pà qǐ lái， bù gǎn zài qián jìn liǎo， yīn wéi， lǎo shí shuō， rú guǒ tā jiù zhè yàng ràng zì jǐ diào xià qù， bù shuāi huài nǎo dài cái guài ní。 tā xiàn zài zuì yào jǐn de shì bǎo chí qīng xǐng， tè bié shì xiàn zài； tā nìngyuàn jì xù dài zài chuáng shàng。
kě shì chóngfù liǎo jǐ biàn tóng yàng de nǔ lì yǐ hòu， tā shēn shēn dì tàn liǎo yī kǒu qì， hái shì huī fù liǎo yuán lái de zī shì tǎng zhe， yī miàn qiáo tā nà xiē xì tuǐ zài nán yǐ zhì xìn dì gèng fēng kuáng dì zhēngzhá； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù zhī dào rú hé cái néng bǎi tuō zhè zhǒng huāng táng de hùn luàn chǔjìng， tā jiù zài yī cì gào sù zì jǐ， dài zài chuáng shàng shì bù xíng de， zuì zuì hé lǐ de zuò fǎ hái shì mào yī qiē wēi xiǎn lái shí xiàn lí chuáng zhè gè jí miǎo máng de xī wàng。 kě shì tóng shí tā yě méi yòu wàng jì tí xǐng zì jǐ， lěng jìng dì， jí qí lěng jìng dì kǎo lǜ dào zuì zuì wēi xiǎo de kě néng xìng hái shì bǐ bù gù yī qiē dì mán gān qiáng dé duō。 zhè shí jié， tā jié lì jí zhōng yǎn guāng wàng xiàng chuāng wài， kě shì bù xìng dé hěn， zǎo chén de nóng wù bǎ xiá jiē duì miàn de fáng zǐ yědōu guǒ shàng liǎo， kàn lái tiān qì yī shí bù huì hǎo zhuǎn， zhè jiù shǐ tā gèng jiā dé bù dào gǔ lì hé 'ān wèi。“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn zhōng liǎo，” nào zhōng zài dù qiāo xiǎng shí， tā duì zì jǐ shuō，“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn zhōng liǎo， kě shì wù hái zhè me zhòng。” yòu piàn kè gōng fū， tā jìng jìng dì tǎng zhe， qīng qīng dì hū xī zhe， fǎng fó zhè yàng yī yǎng shén shénme dū huì huī fù zhèng cháng shìde。
kě shì jiē zhe tā yòu duì zì jǐ shuō：“ qī diǎn yī kè qián wǒ wú lùn rú hé fēi dé lí kāi chuáng bù kě。 dào nà shí yī dìng huì yòu rén cóng gōng sī lǐ lái zhǎo wǒ， yīn wéi bù dào qī diǎn gōng sī jiù kāi mén liǎo。” yú shì tā kāi shǐ yòu jié zòu dì lái huí huàng dòng zì jǐ de zhěng gè shēn zǐ， xiǎng bǎ zì jǐ shuǎi chū chuáng qù。 cháng ruò tā zhè yàng fān xià chuáng qù， kě yǐ 'áng qǐ nǎo dài， tóu bù bù zhì yú shòu shāng。 tā de bèi sì hū hěn yìng， kàn lái diē zài dì tǎn shàng bìng bù dǎ jǐn。 tā zuì dān xīn de hái shì zì jǐ kòng zhì bù liǎo de jù dà xiǎng shēng， zhè shēng yīn yī dìng huì zài suǒ yòu de fáng jiān lǐ yǐn qǐ jiāo lǜ， jí shǐ bù shì kǒng jù。 kě shì， tā hái shì dé mào zhè gè xiǎn。
dāng tā yǐ jīng bàn gè shēn zǐ tàn dào chuáng wài de shí hòu héng héng zhè gè xīn fāng fǎ yǔ qí shuō shì kǔ shì， bù rú shuō shì yóu xì， yīn wéi tā zhǐ xū lái huí huàng dòng， zhú jiàn nuó guò qù jiù xíng liǎo héng héng tā hū rán xiǎng qǐ rú guǒ yòu rén bāng máng， zhè jiàn shì gāi shì duō me jiǎn dān。 liǎng gè shēn qiáng lì zhuàng de rén héng héng tā xiǎng dào liǎo tā de fù qīn hé nà gè shǐ nǚ héng héng jiù zú gòu liǎo； tā men zhǐ xū bǎ gēbei shēn dào tā nà yuán gǔ gǔ de bèi hòu， tái tā xià chuáng， fàng xià tā men de fù dān， rán hòu nài xīn dì děng tā zài dì bǎn shàng fān guò shēn lái jiù xíng liǎo， yī pèng dào dì bǎn tā de tuǐ zì rán huì fā huī zuò yòng de。 nà me， gū qiě bù guǎn suǒ yòu de mén dōushì suǒ zhe de， tā shì fǒu zhēn de yīnggāi jiào rén bāng máng ní？ jìn guǎn chǔjìng fēi cháng kùn nán， xiǎng dào zhè yī céng， tā què jìn bù zhù tòu chū yī sī wēi xiào。
tā shǐ jìn dì yáo dòng zhe， shēn zǐ yǐ jīng tàn chū bù shǎo， kuài yào shī qù píng héng liǎo， tā fēi dé gǔ zú yǒng qì cǎi qǔ jué dìng xìng de bù zhòu liǎo， yīn wéi zài guò wǔ fēn zhōng jiù shì qī diǎn yī kè héng héng zhèng zài zhè shí， qián mén de mén líng xiǎng liǎo qǐ lái。“ shì gōng sī lǐ pài shénme rén lái liǎo。” tā zhè me xiǎng， shēn zǐ jiù suí zhī 'ér fā jiāng， kě shì nà xiē xì xiǎo de tuǐ què dòng dàn dé gèng kuài liǎo。 yī shí zhī jiān zhōu wéi yī piàn jìng mò。“ tā men bù yuàn kāi mén。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr huái zhe bù hé cháng qíng de xī wàng zì yán zì yǔ dào。 kě shì shǐ nǚ dāng rán hái shì gēn wǎng cháng yī yàng tà zhe chén zhòng de bù zǐ qù kāi mén liǎo。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào kè rén de dì yī shēng zhāo hū jiù mǎ shàng zhī dào zhè shì shuí héng héng shì mì shū zhù rèn qīn zì chū mǎ liǎo。 zhēn bù zhī zì jǐ shēng jiù shénme mìng， jìng luò dào gěi zhè yàng yī jiā gōng sī dāngchāi， zhǐ yào yòu yī diǎn xiǎo xiǎo de chā cuò， mǎ shàng jiù huì zhāo lái zuì dà de huái yí！ zài zhè yī gè suǒ yòu de zhí yuán quán shì wú lài de gōng sī lǐ， qǐ bù shì zhǐ yòu tā yī gè rén zhōng xīn gěng gěng má？ tā zǎo chén zhǐ zhàn yòng gōng sī liǎng sān gè xiǎo shí， bù shì jiù gěi liáng xīn zhé mó dé jīhū yào fā fēng， zhēn de xià bù liǎo chuáng má？ rú guǒ què yòu bì yào lái dǎ tīng tā chū liǎo shénme shì， pài gè xué tú lái bù yě gòu liǎo má héng héng nán dào mì shū zhù rèn fēi dé qīn zì chū mǎ， yǐ biàn xiàng quán jiā rén， wán quán wú gū de yī jiā rén biǎo shì， zhè gè kě yí de qíng kuàng zhǐ yòu tā zì jǐ nà yàng de nèi xíng lái diào chá cái xíng má？ yǔ qí shuō gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xià liǎo jué xīn， dǎo bù rú shuō tā yīn wéi xiǎng dào zhè xiē shì fēi cháng jī dòng， yīn 'ér yòng jìn quán lì bǎ zì jǐ shuǎi chū liǎo chuáng wài。 pēng de yī shēng hěn xiǎng， dàn zǒng suàn méi yòu xiǎng dé xià rén。 dì tǎn bǎ tā zhuì luò de shēng yīn jiǎn ruò liǎo jǐ fēn， tā de bèi yě bù rú tā suǒ xiǎng xiàng de nà me háo wú tánxìng， suǒ yǐ shēng yīn hěn mèn， bù jīng dòng rén。 zhǐ shì tā bù gòu xiǎo xīn， tóu qiáo dé bù gòu gāo， hái shì zài dì bǎn shàng zhuàng liǎo yī xià； tā niǔ liǎo niǔ nǎo dài， tòng kǔ 'ér fèn mèn dì bǎ tóu 'āi zài dì bǎn shàng mó cèng zhe。
“ nà lǐ yòu shénme dōng xī diào xià lái liǎo。” mì shū zhù rèn zài zuǒ miàn fáng jiān lǐ shuō。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shì tú shè xiǎng， jīn tiān tā shēn shàng fā shēng de shì yòu yī tiān yě ràng mì shū zhù rèn pèng shàng liǎo； shuí yě bù gǎn dān bǎo bù huì chū zhè yàng de shì。 kě shì fǎng fó gěi tā de shè xiǎng yī gè cū bào de huí dá shìde， mì shū zhù rèn zài gé bì de fáng jiān lǐ jiān dìng dì zǒu liǎo jǐ bù， tā nà qī pí xié zǐ fā chū liǎo zī gā zī gā de shēng yīn。 cóng yòu miàn de fáng jiān lǐ， tā mèi mèi yòng 'ěr yǔ xiàng tā tōng bào xiāo xī：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， mì shū zhù rèn lái liǎo。”“ wǒ zhī dào liǎo。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dī shēng dū nóng dào； dàn shì méi yòu yǒng qì tí gāo sǎng mén ràng mèi mèi tīng dào tā de shēng yīn。
“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” zhè shí hòu， fù qīn zài zuǒ biān fáng jiān lǐ shuō huà liǎo，“ mì shū zhù rèn lái liǎo， tā yào zhī dào wèishénme nǐ méi néng gǎn shàng zǎo chén de huǒ chē。 wǒ men yě bù zhī dào zěn me gēn tā shuō。 lìng wài， tā hái yào qīn zì hé nǐ tán huà。 suǒ yǐ， qǐng nǐ kāi mén bā。 tā dù liàng dà， duì nǐ fáng jiān lǐ de líng luàn bù huì jiàn guài de。”“ zǎo shàng hǎo， sà mǔ shā xiān shēng，” yǔ cǐ tóng shí， mì shū zhù rèn hé 'ǎi dì zhāo hū dào。“ tā bù shū fú ní，” mǔ qīn duì kè rén shuō， zhè shí tā fù qīn jì xù gé zhe mén zài shuō huà，“ tā bù shū fú， xiān shēng， xiāng xìn wǒ bā。 tā hái néng wèile shénme yuán yīn wù chē ní！ zhè hái zǐ zhǐ zhī dào cāo xīn gōng shì。 tā wǎn shàng cóng lái bù chū qù， lián wǒ qiáo zhe dōuyào shēng qì liǎo； zhè jǐ tiān lái tā méi yòu chūchāi， kě tā tiān tiān wǎn shàng dū shǒu zài jiā lǐ。 tā zhǐ shì 'ān 'ān jìng jìng dì zuò zài zhuō zǐ bàng biān， kàn kàn bào， huò shì bǎ huǒ chē shí kè biǎo fān lái fù qù dì kàn。 tā wéi yī de xiāo qiǎn jiù shì zuò mù gōng huó 'ér。 bǐ rú shuō， tā huā liǎo liǎng sān gè wǎn shàng kè liǎo yī gè xiǎo jìng kuàng； nín kàn dào tā nà me piào liàng yī dìng huì gǎn dào jīng qí； zhè jìng kuàng guà zài tā fáng jiān lǐ； zài guò yī fēn zhōng děng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dǎ kāi mén nín jiù huì kàn dào liǎo。 nín de guāng lín zhēn jiào wǒ gāo xīng， xiān shēng； wǒ men zěn me yě méi fǎ shǐ tā kāi mén； tā zhēn shì gù zhí； wǒ gǎn shuō tā yī dìng shì bìng liǎo， suī rán tā zǎo chén yìng shuō méi bìng。” héng héng“ wǒ mǎ shàng lái liǎo，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr màn tūn tūn dì xiǎo xīn yì yì dì shuō， kě shì què cùn bù yě méi yòu yí dòng， shēng pà lòu guò tā men tán huà zhōng de měi yī gè zì。“ wǒ yě xiǎng bù chū yòu shénme bié de yuán yīn， tài tài，” mì shū zhù rèn shuō，“ wǒ xī wàng bù shì shénme dà bìng。 suī rán lìng yī fāng miàn wǒ bù dé bù shuō， bù zhī gāi suàn fú qì hái shì huì qì， wǒ men zhè xiē zuò mǎi mài de wǎng wǎng jiù dé bù bǎ zhè xiē xiǎo máo bìng dāng zuò yī huí shì， yīn wéi mǎi mài má zǒng shì yào zuò de。” héng héng“ wèi， mì shū zhù rèn xiàn zài néng jìn lái liǎo má？” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fù qīn bù nài fán dì wèn， yòu qiāo qǐ mén lái liǎo。“ bù xíng。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr huí dá。 zhè shēng jù jué yǐ hòu， zài zuǒ miàn fáng jiān lǐ shì yī zhèn lìng rén tòng kǔ de jì jìng； yòu miàn fáng jiān lǐ tā mèi mèi chuò qì qǐ lái liǎo。
tā mèi mèi wèishénme bù hé bié de rén zài yī qǐ ní？ tā yě xǔ shì gāng gāng qǐ chuáng， hái méi yòu chuān yī fú bā。 nà me， tā wèishénme kū ní？ shì yīn wéi tā bù qǐ chuáng ràng mì shū zhù rèn jìn lái má， shì yīn wéi tā yòu diū diào chāishi de wēi xiǎn má， shì yīn wéi lǎo bǎn yòu yào kāi kǒu xiàng tā de fù mǔ tǎo hái jiù zhài má？ zhè xiē xiǎn rán dōushì yǎn qián bù yòng dān xīn de shì qíng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr réng jiù zài jiā lǐ， sī háo méi yòu qì jiā chū zǒu de niàn tóu。 díquè， tā xiàn zài zàn shí hái tǎng zài dì tǎn shàng， zhī dào tā de chǔjìng de rén dāng rán bù huì pàn wàng tā ràng mì shū zhù rèn zǒu jìn lái。 kě shì zhè diǎn xiǎo xiǎo de shī lǐ yǐ hòu jìn kě yǐ yòng jǐ jù piào liàng de cí lìng jiě shì guò qù， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù jiàn dé mǎ shàng jiù gěi cí tuì。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jué dé， jiù mù qián lái shuō， tā men yǔ qí duì tā mǒ bí zǐ liú lèi kǔ kǔ 'āi qiú， hái bù rú bié dǎ rǎo tā de hǎo。 kě shì， dāng rán lā， tā men de bù míng qíng kuàng shǐ tā men dà huò bù jiě， yě shuō míng liǎo tā men wèishénme yòu zhè yàng de jǔ dòng。
“ sà mǔ shā xiān shēng，” mì shū zhù rèn xiàn zài tí gāo liǎo sǎng mén shuō，“ nín zhè shì zěn me huí shì？ nín zhè yàng bǎ zì jǐ guān zài fáng jiān lǐ， guāng shì huí dá ‘ shì ’ hé‘ bù shì’， háo wú bì yào dì yǐn qǐ nín fù mǔ jí dà de yōu lǜ， yòu jí yán zhòng dì shū hū liǎo héng héng zhè wǒ zhǐ bù guò shùn biàn tí yī jù héng héng shū hū liǎo gōng shì fāng miàn de zhí zé。 wǒ xiàn zài yǐ nín fù mǔ hé nín jīng lǐ de míng yì hé nín shuō huà， wǒ zhèng shì yào qiú nín lì kè gěi wǒ yī gè míng què de jiě shì。 wǒ zhēn méi xiǎng dào， wǒ zhēn méi xiǎng dào。 wǒ yuán lái hái rèn wéi nín shì gè 'ānfèn shǒu jǐ、 wěn tuǒ kě kào de rén， kě nín xiàn zài què tū rán jué xīn xiǎng ràng zì jǐ diū chǒu。 jīng lǐ jīn tiān zǎo chén hái duì wǒ 'àn shì nín bù lòumiàn de yuán yīn kě néng shì shénme héng héng tā tí dào liǎo zuì jìn jiāo gěi nín guǎn de xiàn kuǎn héng héng wǒ hái jīhū yào yǐ zì jǐ de míng yù xiàng tā dān bǎo zhè gēn běn bù kě néng ní。 kě shì xiàn zài wǒ cái zhī dào nín zhēn shì zhíniù dé kě yǐ， cóng xiàn zài qǐ， wǒ sī háo yě bù xiǎng tǎn hù nín liǎo。 nín zài gōng sī lǐ de dì wèi bìng bù shì nà me wěn gù de。 zhè xiē huà wǒ běn lái xiǎng sī xià lǐ duì nín shuō de， kě shì jì rán nín zhè yàng bái bái zāo tà wǒ de shí jiān， wǒ jiù bù dǒng wèishénme nín de fù mǔ bù yìng gāi tīng dào zhè xiē huà liǎo。 jìn lái nín de gōng zuò jiào rén hěn bù mǎn yì； dāng rán， mù qián mǎi mài bìng bù shì wàng jì， zhè wǒ men yě chéng rèn， kě shì yī nián lǐ zhěng zhěng yī gè jì dù yī diǎn 'ér mǎi mài yě bù zuò， zhè shì bù xíng de， sà mǔ shā xiān shēng， zhè shì wán quán bù yīnggāi de。”
“ kě shì， xiān shēng，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hǎn dào， tā kòng zhì bù zhù liǎo， jī dòng dé wàng jì liǎo yī qiē，“ wǒ zhè huì 'ér zhèng yào lái kāi mén。 yī diǎn 'ér xiǎo xiǎo de bù shū fú， yī zhèn tóuyūn shǐ wǒ qǐ bù liǎo chuáng。 wǒ xiàn zài hái tǎng zài chuáng shàng ní。 bù guò wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo liǎo。 wǒ xiàn zài zhèng yào xià chuáng。 zài děng wǒ yī liǎng fēn zhōng bā！ wǒ bù xiàng zì jǐ suǒ xiǎng de nà yàng jiàn kāng。 bù guò wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo liǎo， zhēn de。 zhè zhǒng xiǎo máo bìng nán dào jiù néng dǎ kuǎ wǒ bù chéng！ wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng hái hǎohǎo 'ér de， zhè wǒ fù qīn mǔ qīn yě kě yǐ gào sù nín， bù， yīnggāi shuō wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng jiù gǎn jué dào liǎo yī xiē yù zhào。 wǒ de yàng zǐ xiǎng bì yǐ jīng bù duì jìn liǎo。 nín yào wèn wèishénme wǒ bù xiàng bàn gōng shì bào gào！ kě shì rén zǒng yǐ wéi yī diǎn diǎn bù shū fú yī dìng néng dǐng guò qù， yòng bù zhe qǐng jiǎ zài jiā xiū xī。 ò， xiān shēng， bié shāng wǒ fù mǔ de xīn bā！ nín gāng cái guài zuì yú wǒ de shìdōu shì méi yòu gēn jù de； cóng lái méi yòu shuí zhè yàng shuō guò wǒ。 yě xǔ nín hái méi yòu kàn dào wǒ zuì jìn dōu lái de dìng dān bā。 zhì shǎo， wǒ hái néng gǎn shàng bā diǎn zhōng de huǒ chē ní， xiū xī liǎo zhè jǐ gè zhōng diǎn wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo duō liǎo。 qiān wàn bù yào yīn wéi wǒ 'ér bǎ nín dān gē zài zhè 'ér， xiān shēng； wǒ mǎ shàng jiù huì kāi shǐ gōng zuò de， zhè yòu láo nín zhuǎn gào jīng lǐ， zài tā miàn qián hái dé qǐng nín duō tì wǒ měi yán jǐ jù ní！”
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr yī kǒu qì shuō zhe， zì jǐ yě gǎo bù qīng chǔ zì jǐ shuō liǎo xiē shénme， yě xǔ shì yīn wéi yòu liǎo chuáng shàng de nà xiē duàn liàn， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr méi fèi duō dà qì lì jiù lái dào guì zǐ bàng biān， dǎ suàn yǐ kào guì zǐ shǐ zì jǐ zhí lì qǐ lái。 tā de què shì xiǎng kāi mén， díquè shì xiǎng chū qù hé mì shū zhù rèn tán huà de； tā hěn xiǎng zhī dào， dà jiā zhè me jiān chí yǐ hòu， kàn dào liǎo tā yòu huì shuō xiē shénme。 yào shì tā mendōu dà chī yī jīng， nà me zé rèn jiù zài yě bù zài tā shēn shàng， tā kě yǐ dé dào 'ān jìng liǎo。 rú guǒ tā men wán quán bù zài yì， nà me tā yě gēn běn bù bì bù 'ān， zhǐ yào zhēn de gǎn jǐn shàng chē zhàn qù dā bā diǎn zhōng de chē jiù xíng liǎo。 qǐ xiān， tā hǎo jǐ cì cóng guāng huá de guì miàn shàng huá xià lái， kě shì zuì hòu， zài yī shǐ jìn zhī hòu， tā zhōng yú zhàn zhí liǎo； xiàn zài tā yě bù guǎn téng dé xiàng huǒ shāo yī bān liǎo。 jiē zhe tā ràng zì jǐ kào xiàng fù jìn yī zhāng yǐ zǐ de bèi bù， yòng tā nà xiē xì xiǎo de tuǐ zhuā zhù liǎo yǐ bèi de biān。 zhè shǐ tā dé yǐ kòng zhì zì jǐ de shēn tǐ， tā bù zài shuō huà， yīn wéi zhè shí hòu tā tīng jiàn mì shū zhù rèn yòu kāi kǒu liǎo。
“ nǐ men tīng dé dǒng nǎ gè zì má？” mì shū zhù rèn wèn，“ tā bù jiàn dé zài kāi wǒ men de wán xiào bā？”“ ò， tiān nǎ，” tā mǔ qīn shēng lèi jù xià dì hǎn dào，“ yě xǔ tā bìng hài dé bù qīng， dǎo shì wǒ men zài zhé mó tā ní。 gé lěi tè！ gé lěi tè！” jiē zhe tā rǎng dào。“ shénme shì， mā mā？” tā mèi mèi dǎ nà yī biān de fáng jiān lǐ hǎn dào。 tā men jiù zhè yàng gé zhe gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fáng jiān duì rǎng qǐ lái。“ nǐ dé mǎ shàng qù qǐng yī shēng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bìng liǎo。 qù qǐng yī shēng， kuài diǎn 'ér。 nǐ méi tīng jiàn tā shuō huà de shēng yīn má？”“ zhè bù shì rén de shēng yīn。” mì shū zhù rèn shuō， gēn mǔ qīn de jiān jiào shēng yī bǐ tā de sǎng yīn xiǎn dé gé wài dī chén。“ ān nà！ ān nà！” tā fù qīn cóng kè tīng xiàng chú fáng lǐ hǎn dào， yī miàn hái pāi zhuóshǒu，“ mǎ shàng qù zhǎo gè suǒ jiàng lái！” yú shì liǎng gè gū niàn bēn páode qún zǐ sōu sōu xiǎng dì chuān guò liǎo kè tīng héng héng tā mèi mèi zěn néng zhè me kuài jiù chuān hǎo yī fú de ní？ héng héng jiē zhe yòu měng rán dà kāi liǎo qián mén， méi yòu tīng jiàn mén chóngxīn guān shàng de shēng yīn； tā men xiǎn rán tīng rèn tā dòng kāi zhe， shénme rén jiā chū liǎo bù xìng de shì qíng jiù zǒng shì zhè yàng。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xiàn zài dǎo zhèn jìng duō liǎo。 xiǎn rán， tā fā chū lái de shēng yīn rén jiā zài yě tīng bù dǒng liǎo， suī rán tā zì jǐ tīng lái hěn qīng chǔ， shèn zhì bǐ yǐ qián gèng qīng chǔ， zhè yě xǔ shì yīn wéi tā de 'ěr duǒ biàn dé néng shì yìng zhè zhǒng shēng yīn liǎo。 bù guò zhì shǎo xiàn zài dà jiā xiāng xìn tā yòu shénme dì fāng bù tài miào， dū zhǔn bèi lái bāng zhù tā liǎo。 zhè xiē chū bù cuò shī jiāng dài lái de jī jí xiào guǒ shǐ tā gǎn dào 'ān wèi。 tā jué dé zì jǐ yòu chóngxīn jìn rù rén lèi de juàn zǐ， duì dà fū hé suǒ jiàng dū jì yú liǎo mò dà de xī wàng， què méi yòu zěn yàng fēn qīng liǎng zhě zhī jiān de qū bié。 wèile shǐ zì jǐ zài jí jiāng dào lái de zhòng yào tán huà zhōng shēng yīn jìn kě néng qīng xī xiē， tā shāo wēi sòu liǎo sòu sǎng zǐ， tā dāng rán jìn liàng yā dī shēng yīn， yīn wéi jiù lián tā zì jǐ tīng qǐ lái， zhè shēng yīn yě bù xiàng rén de ké sòu。 zhè shí hòu， gé bì fáng jiān lǐ yī piàn jì jìng。 yě xǔ tā de fù mǔ zhèng péi liǎo mì shū zhù rèn zuò zài zhuō bàng， zài dī shēng shāng tán， yě xǔ tā mendōu kào zài mén shàng xì xì dì tīng ní。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr màn màn dì bǎ yǐ zǐ tuī xiàng mén biān， jiē zhe biàn fàng kāi yǐ zǐ， zhuā zhù liǎo mén lái zhī chēng zì jǐ－－ tā nà xiē xì tuǐ de jiǎo dǐ shàng dǎo shì pō yòu nián xìng de－－ tā zài mén shàng kào liǎo yī huì 'ér， chuǎn guò yī kǒu qì lái。 jiē zhe tā kāi shǐ yòng zuǐ bā lái zhuàndòng chā zài suǒ kǒng lǐ de yàoshì。 bù xìng de shì， tā bìng méi yòu shénme yá chǐ－－ tā dé yòng shénme lái yǎo zhù yàoshì ní？－－ bù guò tā de xià 'è dǎo hǎo xiàng fēi cháng jiēshí； kào zhe zhè xià 'è zǒng suàn zhuàndòng liǎo yàoshì， tā zhǔn shì bù xiǎo xīn nòng shāng liǎo shénme dì fāng， yīn wéi yòu yī gǔ zōng sè de yè tǐ cóng tā zuǐ lǐ liú chū lái， tǎng guò yàoshì， dī dào dì shàng。“ nǐ men tīng，” mén hòu de mì shū zhù rèn shuō，“ tā zài zhuàndòng yàoshì liǎo。” zhè duì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shì gè hěn dà de gǔ lì； bù guò tā men yīnggāi dōulái gěi tā dǎ qì， tā de fù qīn mǔ qīn dū yìng gāi hǎn：“ jiā yóu， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr。” tā men yīnggāi dà shēng hǎn dào：“ jiān chí xià qù， yǎo jǐn yàoshì！” tā xiāng xìn tā mendōu zài quán shén guàn zhù dì guān xīn zì jǐ de nǔ lì， jiù jí zhōng quán lì sǐ mìng yǎo zhù yàoshì。 yàoshì xū yào zhuàndòng shí， tā biàn yòng zuǐ bā xián zhe tā， zì jǐ yě rào zhe suǒ kǒng zhuǎn liǎo yī juàn， hǎo bǎ yàoshì niǔ guò qù， huò zhě bù rú shuō， yòng quán shēn de zhòng liàng shǐ tā zhuàndòng。 zhōng yú qū fú de suǒ fā chū xiǎng liàng díkǎ dā yī shēng， shǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dà wéi gāo xīng。 tā shēn shēn dì shū liǎo yī kǒu qì， duì zì jǐ shuō：“ zhè yàng yī lái wǒ jiù bù yòng suǒ jiàng liǎo。” jiē zhe jiù bǎ tóu gē zài mén bǐng shàng， xiǎng bǎ mén zhěng gè dǎ kāi。 mén shì xiàng tā zì jǐ zhè biān lā de， suǒ yǐ suī rán yǐ jīng dǎ kāi， rén jiā hái shì qiáo bù jiàn tā。 tā dé màn màn dì cóng duì kāi de nà bàn shàn mén hòu miàn bǎ shēn zǐ nuó chū lái， ér qiě dé fēi cháng xiǎo xīn， yǐ miǎn bèi jǐ zhí tǐng tǐng dì diē dǎo zài fáng jiān lǐ。 tā zhèng zài kùn nán dì nuó dòng zì jǐ， gù bù shàng zuò rèn hé guān chá， què tīng dào mì shū zhù rèn“ ò！” de yī shēng dà jiào－－ fā chū lái de shēng yīn xiàng yī gǔ měng fēng－－ xiàn zài tā kě yǐ kàn jiàn nà gè rén liǎo， tā zhàn dé kào jìn mén kǒu， yī zhǐ shǒu zhē zài zhāng dà de zuǐ shàng， màn màn dì wǎng hòu tuì qù， fǎng fó yòu shénme wú xíng de qiáng dà yā lì zài qū zhú tā shìde。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de mǔ qīn－－ suī rán mì shū zhù rèn zài chǎng， tā de tóu fā réng rán méi yòu shū hǎo， hái shì luàn qī bā zāo dì shù zhe－－ tā xiān shì shuāng shǒu hé zhǎng qiáo qiáo tā fù qīn， jiē zhe xiàng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zǒu liǎo liǎng bù， suí jí dǎo zài dì shàng， qún zǐ tān liǎo kāi lái， liǎn chuí dào xiōng qián， wán quán kàn bù jiàn liǎo。 tā fù qīn wò jǐn quán tóu， yī fù 'è hěn hěn de yàng zǐ， fǎng fó yào bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dǎ huí dào fáng jiān lǐ qù， jiē zhe tā yòu yóu yù bù dìng dì xiàng qǐ zuò shì sǎo liǎo yī yǎn， rán hòu bǎ shuāng shǒu zhē zhù yǎn jīng， kū qì qǐ lái， lián tā nà kuān kuò de xiōng táng dōuzài qǐ fú bù dìng
"What's happened to me?" he thought. It wasn't a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table - Samsa was a travelling salesman - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer.
Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense", 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 floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before.
"Oh, God", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen! Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell!" He felt a slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard so that he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn't know what to make of; and when he tried to feel 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 shudder.
He slid back into his former position. "Getting up early all the time", he thought, "it makes you stupid. You've got to get enough sleep. Other travelling salesmen live a life of luxury. For instance, whenever I go back to the guest house during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are always still sitting there eating their breakfasts. I ought to just try that with my boss; I'd get kicked out on the spot. But who knows, maybe that would be the best thing for me. If I didn't have my parents to think about I'd have given in my notice a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel. He'd fall right off his desk! And it's a funny sort of business to be sitting up there at your desk, talking down at your subordinates from up there, especially when you have to go right up close because the boss is hard of hearing. Well, there's still some hope; once I've got the money together to pay off my parents' debt to him - another five or six years I suppose - that's definitely what I'll do. That's when I'll make the big change. First of all though, I've got to get up, my train leaves at five. "
And he looked over at the alarm clock, ticking on the chest of drawers. "God in Heaven!" 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 alarm clock not rung? He could see from the bed that it had been set for four o'clock as it should have been; it certainly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible to quietly sleep through that furniture-rattling 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 catch that he would have to rush like mad and the collection of samples was still not packed, and he did not at all feel particularly fresh and lively. And even if he did catch the train he would not avoid his boss's anger as the office assistant would have been there to see the five o'clock train go, he would have put in his report about Gregor's not being there a long time ago. The office assistant was the boss's man, spineless, and with no understanding. What about if he reported sick? But that would be extremely strained and suspicious as in fifteen years of service Gregor had never once yet been ill. His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from the medical insurance company, accuse his parents of having a lazy son, and accept the doctor's recommendation not to make any claim as the doctor believed that no-one was ever ill but that many were workshy. And what's more, would he have been entirely wrong in this case? Gregor did in fact, apart from excessive sleepiness after sleeping for so long, feel completely well and even felt much hungrier than usual.
He was still hurriedly thinking all this through, unable to decide to get out of the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven. There was a cautious knock at the door near his head. "Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother - "it's quarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?" That gentle voice! Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be recognised as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear, leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not. Gregor had wanted to give a full answer and explain everything, but in the circumstances contented himself with saying: "Yes, mother, yes, thank-you, I'm getting up now. " The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noticed outside through the wooden door, as his mother was satisfied with this explanation and shuffled away. But this short conversation made the other members of the family aware that Gregor, against their expectations was still at home, and soon his father came knocking at one of the side doors, gently, but with his fist. "Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?" And after a short while he called again with a warning deepness in his voice: "Gregor! Gregor!" At the other side door his sister came plaintively: "Gregor? Aren't you well? Do you need anything?"
Gregor answered to both sides: "I'm ready, now", making an effort to remove all the strangeness from his voice by enunciating very carefully and putting long pauses between each, individual word. His father went back to his breakfast, but his sister whispered: "Gregor, open the door, I beg of you. " Gregor, however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himself for his cautious habit, acquired from his travelling, 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 disturbed, to get dressed, and most of all to have his breakfast. Only then would he consider what to do next, as he was well aware that he would not bring his thoughts to any sensible conclusions by lying in bed. He remembered that he had often felt a slight pain in bed, perhaps caused by lying awkwardly, but that had always turned out to be pure imagination and he wondered how his imaginings would slowly resolve themselves today. He did not have the slightest doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first sign of a serious cold, which was an occupational hazard for travelling salesmen.
It was a simple matter to throw off the covers; he only had to blow himself up a little and they fell off by themselves. But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad. He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up; but instead of them he only had all those little legs continuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover 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 imagine what it looked like; it turned out to be too hard to move; it went so slowly; and finally, almost in a frenzy, when he carelessly shoved himself forwards with all the force he could gather, he chose the wrong direction, hit hard against the lower bedpost, and learned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, at present, 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 breadth and its weight, the bulk 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 fresh air it occurred to him that if he let himself fall it would be a miracle if his head were not injured, so he became afraid to carry on pushing himself forward the same way. And he could not knock himself out now at any price; better to stay in bed than lose consciousness.
It took just as much effort to get back to where he had been earlier, but when he lay there sighing, and was once more watching his legs as they struggled against each other even harder than before, if that was possible, he could think of no way of bringing peace and order to this chaos. He told himself once more that it was not possible for him to stay in bed and that the most sensible thing to do would be to get free of it in whatever way he could at whatever sacrifice. At the same time, though, he did not forget to remind himself that calm consideration was much better than rushing to desperate conclusions. At times like this he would direct his eyes to the window and look out as clearly as he could, but unfortunately, even the other side of the narrow street was enveloped in morning fog and the view had little confidence or cheer to offer him. "Seven o'clock, already", he said to himself when the clock struck again, "seven o'clock, and there's still a fog like this. " And he lay there quietly a while longer, breathing lightly as if he perhaps expected the total stillness to bring things back to their real and natural state.
But then he said to himself: "Before it strikes quarter past seven I'll definitely have to have got properly out of bed. And by then somebody will have come round from work to ask what's happened to me as well, as they open up at work before seven o'clock. " And so he set himself to the task of swinging the entire length 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 avoid injuring it. His back seemed to be quite hard, and probably nothing would happen to it falling onto the carpet. His main concern was for the loud noise he was bound to make, and which even through all the doors would probably raise concern if not alarm. But it was something that had to be risked.
When Gregor was already sticking half way out of the bed - the new method was more of a game than an effort, all he had to do was rock 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 maid in mind - would have been more than enough; they would only have to push their arms under the dome of his back, peel him away from the bed, bend down with the load and then be patient and careful as he swang over onto the floor, where, hopefully, the little legs would find a use. Should he really call for help though, even apart from the fact that all the doors were locked? Despite all the difficulty he was in, he could not suppress 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 rocked too hard. The time was now ten past seven and he would have to make a final decision very soon. Then there was a ring at the door of the flat. "That'll be someone from work", he said to himself, and froze very still, although his little legs only became all the more lively as they danced around. For a moment everything remained quiet. "They're not opening the door", Gregor said to himself, caught in some nonsensical hope. But then of course, the maid's firm steps went to the door as ever and opened it. Gregor only needed to hear the visitor's first words of greeting and he knew who it was - the chief clerk himself. Why did Gregor have to be the only one condemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly suspicious at the slightest shortcoming? Were all employees, every one of them, louts, was there not one of them who was faithful and devoted who would go so mad with pangs of conscience that he couldn't get out of bed if he didn't spend at least a couple of hours in the morning on company business? Was it really not enough to let one of the trainees make enquiries - assuming enquiries were even necessary - did the chief clerk have to come himself, and did they have to show the whole, innocent family that this was so suspicious that only the chief clerk could be trusted to have the wisdom to investigate it? And more because these thoughts had made him upset than through any proper decision, he swang himself with all his force out of the bed. There was a loud thump, but it wasn't really a loud noise. His fall was softened a little by the carpet, and Gregor's back was also more elastic than he had thought, which made the sound muffled and not too noticeable. He had not held his head carefully enough, though, and hit it as he fell; annoyed and in pain, he turned it and rubbed it against the carpet.
"Something's fallen down in there", said the chief clerk in the room on the left. Gregor tried to imagine whether something of the sort that had happened to him today could ever happen to the chief clerk too; you had to concede that it was possible. But as if in gruff reply to this question, the chief clerk's firm footsteps in his highly polished boots could now be heard in the adjoining room. From the room on his right, Gregor's sister whispered to him to let him know: "Gregor, the chief clerk is here. "
"Yes, I know", said Gregor to himself; but without daring to raise his voice loud enough for his sister to hear him.
"Gregor", said his father now from the room to his left, "the chief clerk has come round and wants to know why you didn't leave on the early train. We don't know what to say to him. And anyway, he wants to speak to you personally. So please open up this door. I'm sure he'll be good enough to forgive the untidiness of your room. "
Then the chief clerk called "Good morning, Mr. Samsa".
"He isn't well", said his mother to the chief clerk, while his father continued to speak through the door. "He isn't well, please believe me. Why else would Gregor have missed a train! The lad only ever thinks about the business. It nearly makes me cross the way he never goes out in the evenings; he's been in town for a week now but stayed home every evening. He sits with us in the kitchen and just reads the paper or studies train timetables. His idea of relaxation is working with his fretsaw. He's made a little frame, for instance, it only took him two or three evenings, you'll be amazed how nice it is; it's hanging up in his room; you'll see it as soon as Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I'm glad you're here; we wouldn't have been able to get Gregor to open the door by ourselves; he's so stubborn; and I'm sure he isn't well, he said this morning that he is, but he isn't. "
"I'll be there in a moment", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully, but without moving so that he would not miss any word of the conversation. "Well I can't think of any other way of explaining it, Mrs. Samsa", said the chief clerk, "I hope it's nothing serious. But on the other hand, I must say that if we people in commerce ever become slightly unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you like, we simply have to overcome it because of business considerations. " "Can the chief clerk come in to see you now then?", asked his father impatiently, knocking at the door again. "No", said Gregor. In the room on his right there followed a painful silence; 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 clerk in, because he was in danger of losing his job and if that happened his boss would once more pursue their parents with the same demands as before? There was no need to worry about things like that yet. Gregor was still there and had not the slightest intention of abandoning his family. For the time being he just lay there on the carpet, and no-one who knew the condition he was in would seriously have expected him to let the chief clerk in. It was only a minor discourtesy, and a suitable excuse could easily be found for it later on, it was not something for which Gregor could be sacked on the spot. And it seemed to Gregor much more sensible to leave him now in peace instead of disturbing him with talking at him and crying. But the others didn't know what was happening, they were worried, that would excuse their behaviour. The chief clerk now raised his voice, "Mr. Samsa", he called to him, "what is wrong? You barricade yourself in your room, give us no more than yes or no for an answer, you are causing serious and unnecessary concern to your parents and you fail - and I mention this just by the way - you fail to carry out your business duties in a way that is quite unheard of. I'm speaking here on behalf of your parents and of your employer, and really must request a clear and immediate explanation. I am astonished, quite astonished. I thought I knew you as a calm and sensible person, and now you suddenly seem to be showing off with peculiar whims. This morning, your employer did suggest a possible reason for your failure to appear, it's true - it had to do with the money that was recently entrusted to you - but I came near to giving him my word of honour that that could not be the right explanation. But now that I see your incomprehensible stubbornness I no longer feel any wish whatsoever to intercede on your behalf. And nor is your position all that secure. 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 unsatisfactory of late; I grant you that it's not the time of year to do especially good business, we recognise that; but there simply is no time of year to do no business at all, Mr. Samsa, we cannot allow there to be. "
“ wǒ chū liǎo shénme shì lā？” tā xiǎng。 zhè kě bù shì mèng。 tā de fáng jiān， suī shì xián xiǎo liǎo xiē， díquè shì pǔ pǔ tōng tōng rén zhù de fáng jiān， réng rán 'ān jìng dì tǎng zài sì dǔ shú xī de qiáng bì dāng zhōng。 zài tān fàng zhe dǎ kāi de yī liào yàng pǐn －－ sà mǔ shā shì gè lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán－－ de zhuō zǐ shàng miàn， hái shì guà zhe nà fú huà， zhè shì tā zuì jìn cóng yī běn huà bào shàng jiǎn xià lái zhuāng zài piào liàng de jīn sè jìng kuàng lǐ de。 huà de shì yī wèi dài pí mào zǐ wéi pí wéi jīn de guì fù rén， tā tǐng zhí shēn zǐ zuò zhe， bǎ yī zhǐ tào méi liǎo zhěng gè qián bì de hòu zhòng de pí shǒu tǒng dì gěi kàn huà de rén。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de yǎn jīng jiē zhe yòu cháo chuāng kǒu wàng qù， tiān kōng hěn yīn 'àn héng héng kě yǐ tīng dào yǔ diǎn qiāo dǎ zài chuāng jiàn shàng de shēng yīn héng héng tā de xīn qíng yě biàn dé yōu yù liǎo。“ yào shì zài shuì yī huì 'ér， bǎ zhè yī qiē huì qì shì tǒng tǒng wàng diào nà gāi duō hǎo。” tā xiǎng。 dàn shì wán quán bàn bù dào， píng shí tā xí guàn yú xiàng yòu biān shuì， kě shì zài mù qián de qíng kuàng xià， zài yě bù néng cǎi qǔ nà yàng de zī tài liǎo。 wú lùn zěn yàng yòng lì xiàng yòu zhuǎn， tā réng jiù gǔn liǎo huí lái， dù zǐ cháo tiān。 tā shì liǎo zhì shǎo yī bǎi cì， hái bì shàng yǎn jīng miǎn dé kàn dào nà xiē pīn mìng zhēngzhá de tuǐ， dào hòu lái tā de yāo bù gǎn dào yī zhǒng cóng wèi tǐ wèi guò de yǐn tòng， cái bù dé bù bà xiū。
“ ā， tiān nǎ，” tā xiǎng，“ wǒ zěn me dān dān tiǎo shàng zhè me yī gè lěi rén de chāishi ní！ cháng nián lěi yuè dào chù bēn bō， bǐ zuò bàn gōng shì xīn kǔ duō liǎo。 zài jiā shàng hái yòu jīng cháng chū mén de fán nǎo， dān xīn gè cì huǒ chē de dǎo huàn， bù dìng shí 'ér qiě dī liè de yǐn shí， ér píng shuǐ xiāng féng de rén yě zǒng shì xiē fàn fàn zhī jiāo， bù kě néng yòu shēn hòu de jiāo qíng， yǒng yuǎn bù huì biàn chéng zhī jǐ péng yǒu。 ràng zhè yī qiēdōu jiàn guǐ qù bā！” tā jué dé dù zǐ shàng yòu diǎn 'ér yǎng， jiù màn màn dì nuó dòng shēn zǐ， kào jìn chuáng tóu， hǎo ràng zì jǐ tóu tái qǐ lái gèng róng yì xiē； tā kàn qīng liǎo fā yǎng de dì fāng， nà 'ér bù mǎn zhe bái sè de xiǎo bān diǎn， tā bù míng bái zhè shì zěn me huí shì， xiǎng yòng yī tiáo tuǐ qù sāo yī sāo， kě shì mǎ shàng yòu suō liǎo huí lái， yīn wéi zhè yī pèng shǐ tā hún shēn qǐ liǎo yī zhèn hánzhàn。
tā yòu huá xià lái huī fù dào yuán lái de zī shì。“ qǐ chuáng zhè me zǎo，” tā xiǎng，“ huì shǐ rén biàn shǎ de。 rén shì xū yào shuì jué de。 bié de tuī xiāo yuán shēng huó dé xiàng guì fù rén。 bǐ rú， wǒ yòu yī tiān shàng wǔ gǎn huí lǚ guǎn dēng jì qǔ huí dìng huò dān shí， bié de rén cái zuò xià lái chī zǎo cān。 wǒ ruò shì gēn wǒ de lǎo bǎn yě lái zhè yī shǒu， zhǔn dìng dāng chǎng jiù gěi kāi chú。 yě xǔ kāi chú liǎo dǎo gèng hǎo yī xiē， shuí shuō dé zhǔn ní。 rú guǒ bù shì wèile fù mǔ qīn 'ér zǒng shì jǐn xiǎo shèn wēi， wǒ zǎo jiù cí zhí bùgànliǎo， wǒ zǎo jiù huì páo dào lǎo bǎn miàn qián， bǎ dù zǐ lǐ de qì chū gè tòng kuài。 nà gè jiā huǒ zhǔn huì cóng xiě zì zhuō hòu miàn zhí bèng qǐ lái！ tā de gōng zuò fāng shì yě zhēn qí guài， zǒng shì nà yàng jū gāo lín xià zuò zài zhuō zǐ shàng miàn duì zhí yuán fā hào shī lìng， zài jiā shàng tā de 'ěr duǒ yòu piān piān zhòng tīng， dà jiā bù dé bù zǒu dào tā gēn qián qù。 dàn shì shì qíng yě wèi bì háo wú zhuǎn jī； zhǐ yào děng wǒ cuán gòu liǎo qián hái qīng liǎo fù mǔ qiàn tā de zhài héng héng yě xǔ hái dé wǔ liù nián héng héng kě shì wǒ yī dìng néng zuò dào。 dào nà shí wǒ jiù huì shí lái yùn zhuǎn liǎo。 bù guò yǎn xià wǒ hái shì qǐ chuáng wéi miào， yīn wéi huǒ chē wǔ diǎn zhōng jiù yào kāi liǎo。”
tā kàn liǎo kàn guì zǐ shàng dī dī dā dā xiǎng zhe de nào zhōng。 tiān nǎ！ tā xiǎng dào。 yǐ jīng liù diǎn bàn liǎo， ér shí zhēn hái zài yōu yōu rán xiàng qián yí dòng， lián liù diǎn bàn yě guò liǎo， mǎ shàng jiù yào qī diǎn chā yī kè liǎo。 nào zhōng nán dào méi yòu xiǎng guò má？ cóng chuáng shàng kě yǐ kàn dào nào zhōng míng míng shì bō dào sì diǎn zhōng de； xiǎn rán tā yǐ jīng xiǎng guò liǎo。 shì de， bù guò zài nà zhèn 'ěr yù lóng de xiǎng shēng lǐ， nán dào zhēn de néng 'ān níng dì shuì zhe má？ ǹg， tā shuìde bìng bù 'ān níng， kě shì què zhèng shuō míng tā shuìde bù huài。 nà me tā xiàn zài gāi gànshénme ní？ xià yī bān chē qī diǎn zhōng kāi； yào dā zhè yī bān chē tā dé fā fēng shìde gǎn cái xíng， kě shì tā de yàng pǐn dū hái méi yòu bāo hǎo， tā yě jué dé zì jǐ de jīng shén bù shèn jiā。 ér qiě jí shǐ tā gǎn shàng zhè bān chē， hái shì táo bù guò shàng sī de yī dùn shēn chì， yīn wéi gōng sī de tīngchāi yī dìng shì zài děng hòu wǔ diǎn zhōng nà bān huǒ chē， zhè shí zǎo yǐ huí qù bào gào tā méi yòu gǎn shàng liǎo。 nà tīngchāi shì lǎo bǎn de xīn fù， jì wú gǔ qì yòu yú chǔn bù kān。 nà me， shuō zì jǐ bìng liǎo xíng bù xíng ní？ bù guò zhè jiāng shì zuì bù yú kuài de shì， ér qiě yě xiǎn dé hěn kě yí， yīn wéi tā fú wù wǔ nián yǐ lái méi yòu hài guò yī cì bìng。 lǎo bǎn yī dìng huì qīn zì dài liǎo yī yào gù wèn yī qǐ lái， yī dìng huì zé guài tā de fù mǔ zěn me yǎng chū zhè yàng lǎn duò de 'ér zǐ， tā hái huì yǐn zhèng yī yào gù wèn de huà， cū bào dì bǎ suǒ yòu de lǐ yóu dū bó diào， zài nà gè dà fū kàn lái， shì jiè shàng chú liǎo jiàn kāng zhī zhì de jiǎ bìng hào， zài yě méi yòu dì 'èr zhǒng rén liǎo。 zài shuō jīn tiān zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng， dà fū de huà shì bù shì zhēn de bù duì ní？ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jué dé shēn tǐ tǐng bù cuò， zhǐ chú liǎo yòu xiē kùn fá， zhè zài rú cǐ cháng jiǔ de yī cì shuì mián yǐ hòu shí zài yòu xiē duō yú， lìng wài， tā shèn zhì jué dé tè bié 'è。
zhè yī qiēdōu fēi kuài dì zài tā nǎo zǐ lǐ shǎn guò， tā hái shì méi yòu xià jué xīn qǐ chuáng héng héng nào zhōng qiāo liù diǎn sān kè liǎo héng héng zhè shí， tā chuáng tóu hòu miàn de mén shàng chuán lái liǎo qīng qīng de yī xià kòu mén shēng。“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” yī gè shēng yīn shuō， héng héng zhè shì tā mǔ qīn de shēng yīn héng héng“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn chā yī kè liǎo。 nǐ bù shì hái yào gǎn huǒ chē má？” hǎo wēn hé de shēng yīn！ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào zì jǐ de huí dá shēng shí bù miǎn dà chī yī jīng。 méi cuò， zhè fēn míng shì tā zì jǐ de shēng yīn， kě shì què yòu lìng yī zhǒng kě pà de jī jī zhā zhā de jiān jiào shēng tóng shí fā liǎo chū lái， fǎng fó shì bàn yīn shìde， shǐ tā de huà zhǐ yòu zuì chū jǐ gè zì cái shì qīng qīng chǔ chǔ de， jiē zhe mǎ shàng jiù shòu dào liǎo gān rǎo， nòng dé yì yì hán hùn， shǐ rén jiā shuō bù shàng dào dǐ tīng qīng chǔ méi yòu。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr běn xiǎng huí dá dé xiáng xì xiē， hǎo bǎ yī qiē jiě shì qīng chǔ， kě shì zài zhè yàng de qíng xíng xià tā zhǐ dé jiǎn dān dì shuō：“ shì de， shì de， xiè xiè nǐ， mā mā， wǒ zhè huì 'ér zhèng zài qǐ chuáng ní。” gé zhe mù mén， wài miàn yī dìng tīng bù dào gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shēng yīn de biàn huà， yīn wéi tā mǔ qīn tīng dào zhè xiē huà yě mǎn yì liǎo， jiù tuō zhe bù zǐ zǒu liǎo kāi qù。 rán 'ér zhè chǎng jiǎn duǎn de duì huà shǐ jiā lǐ réndōu zhī dào gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái zài wū zǐ lǐ， zhè shì chū hū tā men yì liào zhī wài de， yú shì zài cè biān de yī shàn mén shàng lì kè jiù xiǎng qǐ liǎo tā fù qīn de kòu mén shēng， hěn qīng， bù guò yòng de què shì quán tóu。“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” tā hǎn dào，“ nǐ zěn me lā？” guò liǎo yī xiǎo huì 'ér tā yòu yòng gèng dī chén de shēng yīn cuī cù dào：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr！ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr！” zài lìng yī cè de mén shàng tā de mèi mèi yě yòng qīng qīng de bēi 'āi de shēng yīn wèn：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， nǐ bù shū fú má？ yào bù yào shénme dōng xī？” tā tóng shí huí dá liǎo tā men liǎng gè rén：“ wǒ mǎ shàng jiù hǎo liǎo。” tā bǎ shēng yīn fā dé gèng qīng xī， shuō wán yī gè zì guò yī huì 'ér cái shuō lìng yī gè zì， jié lì shǐ tā de shēng yīn xiǎn dé zhèng cháng。 yú shì tā fù qīn zǒu huí qù chī tā de zǎo fàn liǎo， tā mèi mèi què dī shēng dì shuō：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， kāi kāi mén bā， qiú qiú nǐ。” kě shì tā bìng bù xiǎng kāi mén， suǒ yǐ 'àn zì qìng xìng zì jǐ yóu yú shí cháng lǚ xíng， tā yǎng chéng liǎo wǎn shàng suǒ zhù suǒ yòu mén de xí guàn。 jí shǐ huí dào jiā lǐ yě shì zhè yàng。
shǒu xiān tā yào jìng qiǎo qiǎo dì bù shòu dǎ rǎo dì qǐ chuáng， chuān hǎo yī fú， zuì yào jǐn de shì chī bǎo zǎo fàn， zài kǎo lǜ xià yī bù gāi zěn me bàn， yīn wéi tā fēi cháng míng bái， tǎng zài chuáng shàng xiā xiǎng yī qì shì xiǎng bù chū shénme míng táng lái de。 tā hái jì dé guò qù yě xǔ shì yīn wéi shuì jué zī shì bù hǎo， tǎng zài chuáng shàng shí wǎng wǎng huì jué dé zhè 'ér nà 'ér yǐn yǐn zuò tòng， jí zhì qǐ lái， jiù zhī dào chún shǔ xīn lǐ zuò yòng， suǒ yǐ tā yīn qiē dì pàn wàng jīn tiān zǎo chén de huàn jué huì zhú jiàn xiāo shì。 tā yě shēn xìn， tā zhī suǒ yǐ biàn shēng yīn bù shì yīn wéi bié de 'ér jǐn jǐn shì zhòng gǎn mào de zhèn zhào， zhè shì lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán de zhí yè bìng。
yào xiān diào bèi zǐ hěn róng yì， tā zhǐ xū bǎ shēn zǐ shāo shāo yī tái bèi zǐ jiù zì jǐ huá xià lái liǎo。 kě shì xià yī gè dòng zuò jiù fēi cháng zhī kùn nán， tè bié shì yīn wéi tā de shēn zǐ kuān dé chū qí。 tā dé yào yòu shǒu hé gēbei cái néng ràng zì jǐ zuò qǐ lái； kě shì tā yòu de zhǐ shì wú shù xì xiǎo de tuǐ， tā men yī kè bù tíng dì xiàng sì miàn bā fāng huī dòng， ér tā zì jǐ què wán quán wú fǎ kòng zhì。 tā xiǎng qū qǐ qí zhōng de yī tiáo tuǐ， kě shì tā piān piān shēn dé bǐ zhí； děng tā zhōng yú ràng tā tīng cóng zì jǐ de zhǐ huī shí， suǒ yòu bié de tuǐ què mò míng qí miào dì luàn dòng bù yǐ。“ zǒng shì dāi zài chuáng shàng yòu shénme yì sī ní。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zì yán zì yǔ dì shuō。
tā xiǎng， xiān xià qù yī dìng kě yǐ shǐ zì jǐ lí chuáng， kě shì tā hái méi yòu jiàn guò zì jǐ de， nǎo zǐ lǐ gēn běn méi yòu gài niàn， bù zhī dào yào yí dòng zhēn shì nán shàng jiā nán， nuó dòng qǐ lái shì nà yàng de chí huǎn； suǒ yǐ dào zuì hòu， tā fán sǐ liǎo， jiù yòng jìn quán lì lǔ mǎng dì bǎ shēn zǐ yī shuǎi， bù liào fāng xiàng suàn cuò， chóngchóng dì zhuàng zài chuáng jiǎo shàng， yī zhèn chè gǔ de tòng chǔ shǐ tā míng bái， rú jīn tā shēn shàng zuì mǐn gǎn de dì fāng yě xǔ zhèng shì tā de。
yú shì tā jiù dǎ suàn xiān ràng shàng shēn lí chuáng， tā xiǎo xīn yì yì dì bǎ tóu bù yī diǎn diǎn nuó xiàng chuáng yán。 zhè què háo bù kùn nán， tā de shēn qū suī rán yòu kuān yòu dà， yě zhōng yú gēn zhe tóu bù yí dòng liǎo。 kě shì， děng dào tóu bù zhōng yú xuán zài chuáng biān shàng， tā yòu hài pà qǐ lái， bù gǎn zài qián jìn liǎo， yīn wéi， lǎo shí shuō， rú guǒ tā jiù zhè yàng ràng zì jǐ diào xià qù， bù shuāi huài nǎo dài cái guài ní。 tā xiàn zài zuì yào jǐn de shì bǎo chí qīng xǐng， tè bié shì xiàn zài； tā nìngyuàn jì xù dài zài chuáng shàng。
kě shì chóngfù liǎo jǐ biàn tóng yàng de nǔ lì yǐ hòu， tā shēn shēn dì tàn liǎo yī kǒu qì， hái shì huī fù liǎo yuán lái de zī shì tǎng zhe， yī miàn qiáo tā nà xiē xì tuǐ zài nán yǐ zhì xìn dì gèng fēng kuáng dì zhēngzhá； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù zhī dào rú hé cái néng bǎi tuō zhè zhǒng huāng táng de hùn luàn chǔjìng， tā jiù zài yī cì gào sù zì jǐ， dài zài chuáng shàng shì bù xíng de， zuì zuì hé lǐ de zuò fǎ hái shì mào yī qiē wēi xiǎn lái shí xiàn lí chuáng zhè gè jí miǎo máng de xī wàng。 kě shì tóng shí tā yě méi yòu wàng jì tí xǐng zì jǐ， lěng jìng dì， jí qí lěng jìng dì kǎo lǜ dào zuì zuì wēi xiǎo de kě néng xìng hái shì bǐ bù gù yī qiē dì mán gān qiáng dé duō。 zhè shí jié， tā jié lì jí zhōng yǎn guāng wàng xiàng chuāng wài， kě shì bù xìng dé hěn， zǎo chén de nóng wù bǎ xiá jiē duì miàn de fáng zǐ yědōu guǒ shàng liǎo， kàn lái tiān qì yī shí bù huì hǎo zhuǎn， zhè jiù shǐ tā gèng jiā dé bù dào gǔ lì hé 'ān wèi。“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn zhōng liǎo，” nào zhōng zài dù qiāo xiǎng shí， tā duì zì jǐ shuō，“ yǐ jīng qī diǎn zhōng liǎo， kě shì wù hái zhè me zhòng。” yòu piàn kè gōng fū， tā jìng jìng dì tǎng zhe， qīng qīng dì hū xī zhe， fǎng fó zhè yàng yī yǎng shén shénme dū huì huī fù zhèng cháng shìde。
kě shì jiē zhe tā yòu duì zì jǐ shuō：“ qī diǎn yī kè qián wǒ wú lùn rú hé fēi dé lí kāi chuáng bù kě。 dào nà shí yī dìng huì yòu rén cóng gōng sī lǐ lái zhǎo wǒ， yīn wéi bù dào qī diǎn gōng sī jiù kāi mén liǎo。” yú shì tā kāi shǐ yòu jié zòu dì lái huí huàng dòng zì jǐ de zhěng gè shēn zǐ， xiǎng bǎ zì jǐ shuǎi chū chuáng qù。 cháng ruò tā zhè yàng fān xià chuáng qù， kě yǐ 'áng qǐ nǎo dài， tóu bù bù zhì yú shòu shāng。 tā de bèi sì hū hěn yìng， kàn lái diē zài dì tǎn shàng bìng bù dǎ jǐn。 tā zuì dān xīn de hái shì zì jǐ kòng zhì bù liǎo de jù dà xiǎng shēng， zhè shēng yīn yī dìng huì zài suǒ yòu de fáng jiān lǐ yǐn qǐ jiāo lǜ， jí shǐ bù shì kǒng jù。 kě shì， tā hái shì dé mào zhè gè xiǎn。
dāng tā yǐ jīng bàn gè shēn zǐ tàn dào chuáng wài de shí hòu héng héng zhè gè xīn fāng fǎ yǔ qí shuō shì kǔ shì， bù rú shuō shì yóu xì， yīn wéi tā zhǐ xū lái huí huàng dòng， zhú jiàn nuó guò qù jiù xíng liǎo héng héng tā hū rán xiǎng qǐ rú guǒ yòu rén bāng máng， zhè jiàn shì gāi shì duō me jiǎn dān。 liǎng gè shēn qiáng lì zhuàng de rén héng héng tā xiǎng dào liǎo tā de fù qīn hé nà gè shǐ nǚ héng héng jiù zú gòu liǎo； tā men zhǐ xū bǎ gēbei shēn dào tā nà yuán gǔ gǔ de bèi hòu， tái tā xià chuáng， fàng xià tā men de fù dān， rán hòu nài xīn dì děng tā zài dì bǎn shàng fān guò shēn lái jiù xíng liǎo， yī pèng dào dì bǎn tā de tuǐ zì rán huì fā huī zuò yòng de。 nà me， gū qiě bù guǎn suǒ yòu de mén dōushì suǒ zhe de， tā shì fǒu zhēn de yīnggāi jiào rén bāng máng ní？ jìn guǎn chǔjìng fēi cháng kùn nán， xiǎng dào zhè yī céng， tā què jìn bù zhù tòu chū yī sī wēi xiào。
tā shǐ jìn dì yáo dòng zhe， shēn zǐ yǐ jīng tàn chū bù shǎo， kuài yào shī qù píng héng liǎo， tā fēi dé gǔ zú yǒng qì cǎi qǔ jué dìng xìng de bù zhòu liǎo， yīn wéi zài guò wǔ fēn zhōng jiù shì qī diǎn yī kè héng héng zhèng zài zhè shí， qián mén de mén líng xiǎng liǎo qǐ lái。“ shì gōng sī lǐ pài shénme rén lái liǎo。” tā zhè me xiǎng， shēn zǐ jiù suí zhī 'ér fā jiāng， kě shì nà xiē xì xiǎo de tuǐ què dòng dàn dé gèng kuài liǎo。 yī shí zhī jiān zhōu wéi yī piàn jìng mò。“ tā men bù yuàn kāi mén。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr huái zhe bù hé cháng qíng de xī wàng zì yán zì yǔ dào。 kě shì shǐ nǚ dāng rán hái shì gēn wǎng cháng yī yàng tà zhe chén zhòng de bù zǐ qù kāi mén liǎo。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào kè rén de dì yī shēng zhāo hū jiù mǎ shàng zhī dào zhè shì shuí héng héng shì mì shū zhù rèn qīn zì chū mǎ liǎo。 zhēn bù zhī zì jǐ shēng jiù shénme mìng， jìng luò dào gěi zhè yàng yī jiā gōng sī dāngchāi， zhǐ yào yòu yī diǎn xiǎo xiǎo de chā cuò， mǎ shàng jiù huì zhāo lái zuì dà de huái yí！ zài zhè yī gè suǒ yòu de zhí yuán quán shì wú lài de gōng sī lǐ， qǐ bù shì zhǐ yòu tā yī gè rén zhōng xīn gěng gěng má？ tā zǎo chén zhǐ zhàn yòng gōng sī liǎng sān gè xiǎo shí， bù shì jiù gěi liáng xīn zhé mó dé jīhū yào fā fēng， zhēn de xià bù liǎo chuáng má？ rú guǒ què yòu bì yào lái dǎ tīng tā chū liǎo shénme shì， pài gè xué tú lái bù yě gòu liǎo má héng héng nán dào mì shū zhù rèn fēi dé qīn zì chū mǎ， yǐ biàn xiàng quán jiā rén， wán quán wú gū de yī jiā rén biǎo shì， zhè gè kě yí de qíng kuàng zhǐ yòu tā zì jǐ nà yàng de nèi xíng lái diào chá cái xíng má？ yǔ qí shuō gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xià liǎo jué xīn， dǎo bù rú shuō tā yīn wéi xiǎng dào zhè xiē shì fēi cháng jī dòng， yīn 'ér yòng jìn quán lì bǎ zì jǐ shuǎi chū liǎo chuáng wài。 pēng de yī shēng hěn xiǎng， dàn zǒng suàn méi yòu xiǎng dé xià rén。 dì tǎn bǎ tā zhuì luò de shēng yīn jiǎn ruò liǎo jǐ fēn， tā de bèi yě bù rú tā suǒ xiǎng xiàng de nà me háo wú tánxìng， suǒ yǐ shēng yīn hěn mèn， bù jīng dòng rén。 zhǐ shì tā bù gòu xiǎo xīn， tóu qiáo dé bù gòu gāo， hái shì zài dì bǎn shàng zhuàng liǎo yī xià； tā niǔ liǎo niǔ nǎo dài， tòng kǔ 'ér fèn mèn dì bǎ tóu 'āi zài dì bǎn shàng mó cèng zhe。
“ nà lǐ yòu shénme dōng xī diào xià lái liǎo。” mì shū zhù rèn zài zuǒ miàn fáng jiān lǐ shuō。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shì tú shè xiǎng， jīn tiān tā shēn shàng fā shēng de shì yòu yī tiān yě ràng mì shū zhù rèn pèng shàng liǎo； shuí yě bù gǎn dān bǎo bù huì chū zhè yàng de shì。 kě shì fǎng fó gěi tā de shè xiǎng yī gè cū bào de huí dá shìde， mì shū zhù rèn zài gé bì de fáng jiān lǐ jiān dìng dì zǒu liǎo jǐ bù， tā nà qī pí xié zǐ fā chū liǎo zī gā zī gā de shēng yīn。 cóng yòu miàn de fáng jiān lǐ， tā mèi mèi yòng 'ěr yǔ xiàng tā tōng bào xiāo xī：“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， mì shū zhù rèn lái liǎo。”“ wǒ zhī dào liǎo。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dī shēng dū nóng dào； dàn shì méi yòu yǒng qì tí gāo sǎng mén ràng mèi mèi tīng dào tā de shēng yīn。
“ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr，” zhè shí hòu， fù qīn zài zuǒ biān fáng jiān lǐ shuō huà liǎo，“ mì shū zhù rèn lái liǎo， tā yào zhī dào wèishénme nǐ méi néng gǎn shàng zǎo chén de huǒ chē。 wǒ men yě bù zhī dào zěn me gēn tā shuō。 lìng wài， tā hái yào qīn zì hé nǐ tán huà。 suǒ yǐ， qǐng nǐ kāi mén bā。 tā dù liàng dà， duì nǐ fáng jiān lǐ de líng luàn bù huì jiàn guài de。”“ zǎo shàng hǎo， sà mǔ shā xiān shēng，” yǔ cǐ tóng shí， mì shū zhù rèn hé 'ǎi dì zhāo hū dào。“ tā bù shū fú ní，” mǔ qīn duì kè rén shuō， zhè shí tā fù qīn jì xù gé zhe mén zài shuō huà，“ tā bù shū fú， xiān shēng， xiāng xìn wǒ bā。 tā hái néng wèile shénme yuán yīn wù chē ní！ zhè hái zǐ zhǐ zhī dào cāo xīn gōng shì。 tā wǎn shàng cóng lái bù chū qù， lián wǒ qiáo zhe dōuyào shēng qì liǎo； zhè jǐ tiān lái tā méi yòu chūchāi， kě tā tiān tiān wǎn shàng dū shǒu zài jiā lǐ。 tā zhǐ shì 'ān 'ān jìng jìng dì zuò zài zhuō zǐ bàng biān， kàn kàn bào， huò shì bǎ huǒ chē shí kè biǎo fān lái fù qù dì kàn。 tā wéi yī de xiāo qiǎn jiù shì zuò mù gōng huó 'ér。 bǐ rú shuō， tā huā liǎo liǎng sān gè wǎn shàng kè liǎo yī gè xiǎo jìng kuàng； nín kàn dào tā nà me piào liàng yī dìng huì gǎn dào jīng qí； zhè jìng kuàng guà zài tā fáng jiān lǐ； zài guò yī fēn zhōng děng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dǎ kāi mén nín jiù huì kàn dào liǎo。 nín de guāng lín zhēn jiào wǒ gāo xīng， xiān shēng； wǒ men zěn me yě méi fǎ shǐ tā kāi mén； tā zhēn shì gù zhí； wǒ gǎn shuō tā yī dìng shì bìng liǎo， suī rán tā zǎo chén yìng shuō méi bìng。” héng héng“ wǒ mǎ shàng lái liǎo，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr màn tūn tūn dì xiǎo xīn yì yì dì shuō， kě shì què cùn bù yě méi yòu yí dòng， shēng pà lòu guò tā men tán huà zhōng de měi yī gè zì。“ wǒ yě xiǎng bù chū yòu shénme bié de yuán yīn， tài tài，” mì shū zhù rèn shuō，“ wǒ xī wàng bù shì shénme dà bìng。 suī rán lìng yī fāng miàn wǒ bù dé bù shuō， bù zhī gāi suàn fú qì hái shì huì qì， wǒ men zhè xiē zuò mǎi mài de wǎng wǎng jiù dé bù bǎ zhè xiē xiǎo máo bìng dāng zuò yī huí shì， yīn wéi mǎi mài má zǒng shì yào zuò de。” héng héng“ wèi， mì shū zhù rèn xiàn zài néng jìn lái liǎo má？” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fù qīn bù nài fán dì wèn， yòu qiāo qǐ mén lái liǎo。“ bù xíng。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr huí dá。 zhè shēng jù jué yǐ hòu， zài zuǒ miàn fáng jiān lǐ shì yī zhèn lìng rén tòng kǔ de jì jìng； yòu miàn fáng jiān lǐ tā mèi mèi chuò qì qǐ lái liǎo。
tā mèi mèi wèishénme bù hé bié de rén zài yī qǐ ní？ tā yě xǔ shì gāng gāng qǐ chuáng， hái méi yòu chuān yī fú bā。 nà me， tā wèishénme kū ní？ shì yīn wéi tā bù qǐ chuáng ràng mì shū zhù rèn jìn lái má， shì yīn wéi tā yòu diū diào chāishi de wēi xiǎn má， shì yīn wéi lǎo bǎn yòu yào kāi kǒu xiàng tā de fù mǔ tǎo hái jiù zhài má？ zhè xiē xiǎn rán dōushì yǎn qián bù yòng dān xīn de shì qíng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr réng jiù zài jiā lǐ， sī háo méi yòu qì jiā chū zǒu de niàn tóu。 díquè， tā xiàn zài zàn shí hái tǎng zài dì tǎn shàng， zhī dào tā de chǔjìng de rén dāng rán bù huì pàn wàng tā ràng mì shū zhù rèn zǒu jìn lái。 kě shì zhè diǎn xiǎo xiǎo de shī lǐ yǐ hòu jìn kě yǐ yòng jǐ jù piào liàng de cí lìng jiě shì guò qù， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù jiàn dé mǎ shàng jiù gěi cí tuì。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jué dé， jiù mù qián lái shuō， tā men yǔ qí duì tā mǒ bí zǐ liú lèi kǔ kǔ 'āi qiú， hái bù rú bié dǎ rǎo tā de hǎo。 kě shì， dāng rán lā， tā men de bù míng qíng kuàng shǐ tā men dà huò bù jiě， yě shuō míng liǎo tā men wèishénme yòu zhè yàng de jǔ dòng。
“ sà mǔ shā xiān shēng，” mì shū zhù rèn xiàn zài tí gāo liǎo sǎng mén shuō，“ nín zhè shì zěn me huí shì？ nín zhè yàng bǎ zì jǐ guān zài fáng jiān lǐ， guāng shì huí dá ‘ shì ’ hé‘ bù shì’， háo wú bì yào dì yǐn qǐ nín fù mǔ jí dà de yōu lǜ， yòu jí yán zhòng dì shū hū liǎo héng héng zhè wǒ zhǐ bù guò shùn biàn tí yī jù héng héng shū hū liǎo gōng shì fāng miàn de zhí zé。 wǒ xiàn zài yǐ nín fù mǔ hé nín jīng lǐ de míng yì hé nín shuō huà， wǒ zhèng shì yào qiú nín lì kè gěi wǒ yī gè míng què de jiě shì。 wǒ zhēn méi xiǎng dào， wǒ zhēn méi xiǎng dào。 wǒ yuán lái hái rèn wéi nín shì gè 'ānfèn shǒu jǐ、 wěn tuǒ kě kào de rén， kě nín xiàn zài què tū rán jué xīn xiǎng ràng zì jǐ diū chǒu。 jīng lǐ jīn tiān zǎo chén hái duì wǒ 'àn shì nín bù lòumiàn de yuán yīn kě néng shì shénme héng héng tā tí dào liǎo zuì jìn jiāo gěi nín guǎn de xiàn kuǎn héng héng wǒ hái jīhū yào yǐ zì jǐ de míng yù xiàng tā dān bǎo zhè gēn běn bù kě néng ní。 kě shì xiàn zài wǒ cái zhī dào nín zhēn shì zhíniù dé kě yǐ， cóng xiàn zài qǐ， wǒ sī háo yě bù xiǎng tǎn hù nín liǎo。 nín zài gōng sī lǐ de dì wèi bìng bù shì nà me wěn gù de。 zhè xiē huà wǒ běn lái xiǎng sī xià lǐ duì nín shuō de， kě shì jì rán nín zhè yàng bái bái zāo tà wǒ de shí jiān， wǒ jiù bù dǒng wèishénme nín de fù mǔ bù yìng gāi tīng dào zhè xiē huà liǎo。 jìn lái nín de gōng zuò jiào rén hěn bù mǎn yì； dāng rán， mù qián mǎi mài bìng bù shì wàng jì， zhè wǒ men yě chéng rèn， kě shì yī nián lǐ zhěng zhěng yī gè jì dù yī diǎn 'ér mǎi mài yě bù zuò， zhè shì bù xíng de， sà mǔ shā xiān shēng， zhè shì wán quán bù yīnggāi de。”
“ kě shì， xiān shēng，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hǎn dào， tā kòng zhì bù zhù liǎo， jī dòng dé wàng jì liǎo yī qiē，“ wǒ zhè huì 'ér zhèng yào lái kāi mén。 yī diǎn 'ér xiǎo xiǎo de bù shū fú， yī zhèn tóuyūn shǐ wǒ qǐ bù liǎo chuáng。 wǒ xiàn zài hái tǎng zài chuáng shàng ní。 bù guò wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo liǎo。 wǒ xiàn zài zhèng yào xià chuáng。 zài děng wǒ yī liǎng fēn zhōng bā！ wǒ bù xiàng zì jǐ suǒ xiǎng de nà yàng jiàn kāng。 bù guò wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo liǎo， zhēn de。 zhè zhǒng xiǎo máo bìng nán dào jiù néng dǎ kuǎ wǒ bù chéng！ wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng hái hǎohǎo 'ér de， zhè wǒ fù qīn mǔ qīn yě kě yǐ gào sù nín， bù， yīnggāi shuō wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng jiù gǎn jué dào liǎo yī xiē yù zhào。 wǒ de yàng zǐ xiǎng bì yǐ jīng bù duì jìn liǎo。 nín yào wèn wèishénme wǒ bù xiàng bàn gōng shì bào gào！ kě shì rén zǒng yǐ wéi yī diǎn diǎn bù shū fú yī dìng néng dǐng guò qù， yòng bù zhe qǐng jiǎ zài jiā xiū xī。 ò， xiān shēng， bié shāng wǒ fù mǔ de xīn bā！ nín gāng cái guài zuì yú wǒ de shìdōu shì méi yòu gēn jù de； cóng lái méi yòu shuí zhè yàng shuō guò wǒ。 yě xǔ nín hái méi yòu kàn dào wǒ zuì jìn dōu lái de dìng dān bā。 zhì shǎo， wǒ hái néng gǎn shàng bā diǎn zhōng de huǒ chē ní， xiū xī liǎo zhè jǐ gè zhōng diǎn wǒ yǐ jīng hǎo duō liǎo。 qiān wàn bù yào yīn wéi wǒ 'ér bǎ nín dān gē zài zhè 'ér， xiān shēng； wǒ mǎ shàng jiù huì kāi shǐ gōng zuò de， zhè yòu láo nín zhuǎn gào jīng lǐ， zài tā miàn qián hái dé qǐng nín duō tì wǒ měi yán jǐ jù ní！”
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr yī kǒu qì shuō zhe， zì jǐ yě gǎo bù qīng chǔ zì jǐ shuō liǎo xiē shénme， yě xǔ shì yīn wéi yòu liǎo chuáng shàng de nà xiē duàn liàn， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr méi fèi duō dà qì lì jiù lái dào guì zǐ bàng biān， dǎ suàn yǐ kào guì zǐ shǐ zì jǐ zhí lì qǐ lái。 tā de què shì xiǎng kāi mén， díquè shì xiǎng chū qù hé mì shū zhù rèn tán huà de； tā hěn xiǎng zhī dào， dà jiā zhè me jiān chí yǐ hòu， kàn dào liǎo tā yòu huì shuō xiē shénme。 yào shì tā mendōu dà chī yī jīng， nà me zé rèn jiù zài yě bù zài tā shēn shàng， tā kě yǐ dé dào 'ān jìng liǎo。 rú guǒ tā men wán quán bù zài yì， nà me tā yě gēn běn bù bì bù 'ān， zhǐ yào zhēn de gǎn jǐn shàng chē zhàn qù dā bā diǎn zhōng de chē jiù xíng liǎo。 qǐ xiān， tā hǎo jǐ cì cóng guāng huá de guì miàn shàng huá xià lái， kě shì zuì hòu， zài yī shǐ jìn zhī hòu， tā zhōng yú zhàn zhí liǎo； xiàn zài tā yě bù guǎn téng dé xiàng huǒ shāo yī bān liǎo。 jiē zhe tā ràng zì jǐ kào xiàng fù jìn yī zhāng yǐ zǐ de bèi bù， yòng tā nà xiē xì xiǎo de tuǐ zhuā zhù liǎo yǐ bèi de biān。 zhè shǐ tā dé yǐ kòng zhì zì jǐ de shēn tǐ， tā bù zài shuō huà， yīn wéi zhè shí hòu tā tīng jiàn mì shū zhù rèn yòu kāi kǒu liǎo。
“ nǐ men tīng dé dǒng nǎ gè zì má？” mì shū zhù rèn wèn，“ tā bù jiàn dé zài kāi wǒ men de wán xiào bā？”“ ò， tiān nǎ，” tā mǔ qīn shēng lèi jù xià dì hǎn dào，“ yě xǔ tā bìng hài dé bù qīng， dǎo shì wǒ men zài zhé mó tā ní。 gé lěi tè！ gé lěi tè！” jiē zhe tā rǎng dào。“ shénme shì， mā mā？” tā mèi mèi dǎ nà yī biān de fáng jiān lǐ hǎn dào。 tā men jiù zhè yàng gé zhe gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fáng jiān duì rǎng qǐ lái。“ nǐ dé mǎ shàng qù qǐng yī shēng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bìng liǎo。 qù qǐng yī shēng， kuài diǎn 'ér。 nǐ méi tīng jiàn tā shuō huà de shēng yīn má？”“ zhè bù shì rén de shēng yīn。” mì shū zhù rèn shuō， gēn mǔ qīn de jiān jiào shēng yī bǐ tā de sǎng yīn xiǎn dé gé wài dī chén。“ ān nà！ ān nà！” tā fù qīn cóng kè tīng xiàng chú fáng lǐ hǎn dào， yī miàn hái pāi zhuóshǒu，“ mǎ shàng qù zhǎo gè suǒ jiàng lái！” yú shì liǎng gè gū niàn bēn páode qún zǐ sōu sōu xiǎng dì chuān guò liǎo kè tīng héng héng tā mèi mèi zěn néng zhè me kuài jiù chuān hǎo yī fú de ní？ héng héng jiē zhe yòu měng rán dà kāi liǎo qián mén， méi yòu tīng jiàn mén chóngxīn guān shàng de shēng yīn； tā men xiǎn rán tīng rèn tā dòng kāi zhe， shénme rén jiā chū liǎo bù xìng de shì qíng jiù zǒng shì zhè yàng。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xiàn zài dǎo zhèn jìng duō liǎo。 xiǎn rán， tā fā chū lái de shēng yīn rén jiā zài yě tīng bù dǒng liǎo， suī rán tā zì jǐ tīng lái hěn qīng chǔ， shèn zhì bǐ yǐ qián gèng qīng chǔ， zhè yě xǔ shì yīn wéi tā de 'ěr duǒ biàn dé néng shì yìng zhè zhǒng shēng yīn liǎo。 bù guò zhì shǎo xiàn zài dà jiā xiāng xìn tā yòu shénme dì fāng bù tài miào， dū zhǔn bèi lái bāng zhù tā liǎo。 zhè xiē chū bù cuò shī jiāng dài lái de jī jí xiào guǒ shǐ tā gǎn dào 'ān wèi。 tā jué dé zì jǐ yòu chóngxīn jìn rù rén lèi de juàn zǐ， duì dà fū hé suǒ jiàng dū jì yú liǎo mò dà de xī wàng， què méi yòu zěn yàng fēn qīng liǎng zhě zhī jiān de qū bié。 wèile shǐ zì jǐ zài jí jiāng dào lái de zhòng yào tán huà zhōng shēng yīn jìn kě néng qīng xī xiē， tā shāo wēi sòu liǎo sòu sǎng zǐ， tā dāng rán jìn liàng yā dī shēng yīn， yīn wéi jiù lián tā zì jǐ tīng qǐ lái， zhè shēng yīn yě bù xiàng rén de ké sòu。 zhè shí hòu， gé bì fáng jiān lǐ yī piàn jì jìng。 yě xǔ tā de fù mǔ zhèng péi liǎo mì shū zhù rèn zuò zài zhuō bàng， zài dī shēng shāng tán， yě xǔ tā mendōu kào zài mén shàng xì xì dì tīng ní。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr màn màn dì bǎ yǐ zǐ tuī xiàng mén biān， jiē zhe biàn fàng kāi yǐ zǐ， zhuā zhù liǎo mén lái zhī chēng zì jǐ－－ tā nà xiē xì tuǐ de jiǎo dǐ shàng dǎo shì pō yòu nián xìng de－－ tā zài mén shàng kào liǎo yī huì 'ér， chuǎn guò yī kǒu qì lái。 jiē zhe tā kāi shǐ yòng zuǐ bā lái zhuàndòng chā zài suǒ kǒng lǐ de yàoshì。 bù xìng de shì， tā bìng méi yòu shénme yá chǐ－－ tā dé yòng shénme lái yǎo zhù yàoshì ní？－－ bù guò tā de xià 'è dǎo hǎo xiàng fēi cháng jiēshí； kào zhe zhè xià 'è zǒng suàn zhuàndòng liǎo yàoshì， tā zhǔn shì bù xiǎo xīn nòng shāng liǎo shénme dì fāng， yīn wéi yòu yī gǔ zōng sè de yè tǐ cóng tā zuǐ lǐ liú chū lái， tǎng guò yàoshì， dī dào dì shàng。“ nǐ men tīng，” mén hòu de mì shū zhù rèn shuō，“ tā zài zhuàndòng yàoshì liǎo。” zhè duì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shì gè hěn dà de gǔ lì； bù guò tā men yīnggāi dōulái gěi tā dǎ qì， tā de fù qīn mǔ qīn dū yìng gāi hǎn：“ jiā yóu， gé lǐ gāo 'ěr。” tā men yīnggāi dà shēng hǎn dào：“ jiān chí xià qù， yǎo jǐn yàoshì！” tā xiāng xìn tā mendōu zài quán shén guàn zhù dì guān xīn zì jǐ de nǔ lì， jiù jí zhōng quán lì sǐ mìng yǎo zhù yàoshì。 yàoshì xū yào zhuàndòng shí， tā biàn yòng zuǐ bā xián zhe tā， zì jǐ yě rào zhe suǒ kǒng zhuǎn liǎo yī juàn， hǎo bǎ yàoshì niǔ guò qù， huò zhě bù rú shuō， yòng quán shēn de zhòng liàng shǐ tā zhuàndòng。 zhōng yú qū fú de suǒ fā chū xiǎng liàng díkǎ dā yī shēng， shǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dà wéi gāo xīng。 tā shēn shēn dì shū liǎo yī kǒu qì， duì zì jǐ shuō：“ zhè yàng yī lái wǒ jiù bù yòng suǒ jiàng liǎo。” jiē zhe jiù bǎ tóu gē zài mén bǐng shàng， xiǎng bǎ mén zhěng gè dǎ kāi。 mén shì xiàng tā zì jǐ zhè biān lā de， suǒ yǐ suī rán yǐ jīng dǎ kāi， rén jiā hái shì qiáo bù jiàn tā。 tā dé màn màn dì cóng duì kāi de nà bàn shàn mén hòu miàn bǎ shēn zǐ nuó chū lái， ér qiě dé fēi cháng xiǎo xīn， yǐ miǎn bèi jǐ zhí tǐng tǐng dì diē dǎo zài fáng jiān lǐ。 tā zhèng zài kùn nán dì nuó dòng zì jǐ， gù bù shàng zuò rèn hé guān chá， què tīng dào mì shū zhù rèn“ ò！” de yī shēng dà jiào－－ fā chū lái de shēng yīn xiàng yī gǔ měng fēng－－ xiàn zài tā kě yǐ kàn jiàn nà gè rén liǎo， tā zhàn dé kào jìn mén kǒu， yī zhǐ shǒu zhē zài zhāng dà de zuǐ shàng， màn màn dì wǎng hòu tuì qù， fǎng fó yòu shénme wú xíng de qiáng dà yā lì zài qū zhú tā shìde。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de mǔ qīn－－ suī rán mì shū zhù rèn zài chǎng， tā de tóu fā réng rán méi yòu shū hǎo， hái shì luàn qī bā zāo dì shù zhe－－ tā xiān shì shuāng shǒu hé zhǎng qiáo qiáo tā fù qīn， jiē zhe xiàng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zǒu liǎo liǎng bù， suí jí dǎo zài dì shàng， qún zǐ tān liǎo kāi lái， liǎn chuí dào xiōng qián， wán quán kàn bù jiàn liǎo。 tā fù qīn wò jǐn quán tóu， yī fù 'è hěn hěn de yàng zǐ， fǎng fó yào bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dǎ huí dào fáng jiān lǐ qù， jiē zhe tā yòu yóu yù bù dìng dì xiàng qǐ zuò shì sǎo liǎo yī yǎn， rán hòu bǎ shuāng shǒu zhē zhù yǎn jīng， kū qì qǐ lái， lián tā nà kuān kuò de xiōng táng dōuzài qǐ fú bù dìng
"What's happened to me?" he thought. It wasn't a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table - Samsa was a travelling salesman - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer.
Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense", 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 floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before.
"Oh, God", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen! Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell!" He felt a slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard so that he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn't know what to make of; and when he tried to feel 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 shudder.
He slid back into his former position. "Getting up early all the time", he thought, "it makes you stupid. You've got to get enough sleep. Other travelling salesmen live a life of luxury. For instance, whenever I go back to the guest house during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are always still sitting there eating their breakfasts. I ought to just try that with my boss; I'd get kicked out on the spot. But who knows, maybe that would be the best thing for me. If I didn't have my parents to think about I'd have given in my notice a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel. He'd fall right off his desk! And it's a funny sort of business to be sitting up there at your desk, talking down at your subordinates from up there, especially when you have to go right up close because the boss is hard of hearing. Well, there's still some hope; once I've got the money together to pay off my parents' debt to him - another five or six years I suppose - that's definitely what I'll do. That's when I'll make the big change. First of all though, I've got to get up, my train leaves at five. "
And he looked over at the alarm clock, ticking on the chest of drawers. "God in Heaven!" 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 alarm clock not rung? He could see from the bed that it had been set for four o'clock as it should have been; it certainly must have rung. Yes, but was it possible to quietly sleep through that furniture-rattling 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 catch that he would have to rush like mad and the collection of samples was still not packed, and he did not at all feel particularly fresh and lively. And even if he did catch the train he would not avoid his boss's anger as the office assistant would have been there to see the five o'clock train go, he would have put in his report about Gregor's not being there a long time ago. The office assistant was the boss's man, spineless, and with no understanding. What about if he reported sick? But that would be extremely strained and suspicious as in fifteen years of service Gregor had never once yet been ill. His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from the medical insurance company, accuse his parents of having a lazy son, and accept the doctor's recommendation not to make any claim as the doctor believed that no-one was ever ill but that many were workshy. And what's more, would he have been entirely wrong in this case? Gregor did in fact, apart from excessive sleepiness after sleeping for so long, feel completely well and even felt much hungrier than usual.
He was still hurriedly thinking all this through, unable to decide to get out of the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven. There was a cautious knock at the door near his head. "Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother - "it's quarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?" That gentle voice! Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be recognised as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear, leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not. Gregor had wanted to give a full answer and explain everything, but in the circumstances contented himself with saying: "Yes, mother, yes, thank-you, I'm getting up now. " The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noticed outside through the wooden door, as his mother was satisfied with this explanation and shuffled away. But this short conversation made the other members of the family aware that Gregor, against their expectations was still at home, and soon his father came knocking at one of the side doors, gently, but with his fist. "Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?" And after a short while he called again with a warning deepness in his voice: "Gregor! Gregor!" At the other side door his sister came plaintively: "Gregor? Aren't you well? Do you need anything?"
Gregor answered to both sides: "I'm ready, now", making an effort to remove all the strangeness from his voice by enunciating very carefully and putting long pauses between each, individual word. His father went back to his breakfast, but his sister whispered: "Gregor, open the door, I beg of you. " Gregor, however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himself for his cautious habit, acquired from his travelling, 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 disturbed, to get dressed, and most of all to have his breakfast. Only then would he consider what to do next, as he was well aware that he would not bring his thoughts to any sensible conclusions by lying in bed. He remembered that he had often felt a slight pain in bed, perhaps caused by lying awkwardly, but that had always turned out to be pure imagination and he wondered how his imaginings would slowly resolve themselves today. He did not have the slightest doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first sign of a serious cold, which was an occupational hazard for travelling salesmen.
It was a simple matter to throw off the covers; he only had to blow himself up a little and they fell off by themselves. But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad. He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up; but instead of them he only had all those little legs continuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover 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 imagine what it looked like; it turned out to be too hard to move; it went so slowly; and finally, almost in a frenzy, when he carelessly shoved himself forwards with all the force he could gather, he chose the wrong direction, hit hard against the lower bedpost, and learned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well, at present, 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 breadth and its weight, the bulk 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 fresh air it occurred to him that if he let himself fall it would be a miracle if his head were not injured, so he became afraid to carry on pushing himself forward the same way. And he could not knock himself out now at any price; better to stay in bed than lose consciousness.
It took just as much effort to get back to where he had been earlier, but when he lay there sighing, and was once more watching his legs as they struggled against each other even harder than before, if that was possible, he could think of no way of bringing peace and order to this chaos. He told himself once more that it was not possible for him to stay in bed and that the most sensible thing to do would be to get free of it in whatever way he could at whatever sacrifice. At the same time, though, he did not forget to remind himself that calm consideration was much better than rushing to desperate conclusions. At times like this he would direct his eyes to the window and look out as clearly as he could, but unfortunately, even the other side of the narrow street was enveloped in morning fog and the view had little confidence or cheer to offer him. "Seven o'clock, already", he said to himself when the clock struck again, "seven o'clock, and there's still a fog like this. " And he lay there quietly a while longer, breathing lightly as if he perhaps expected the total stillness to bring things back to their real and natural state.
But then he said to himself: "Before it strikes quarter past seven I'll definitely have to have got properly out of bed. And by then somebody will have come round from work to ask what's happened to me as well, as they open up at work before seven o'clock. " And so he set himself to the task of swinging the entire length 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 avoid injuring it. His back seemed to be quite hard, and probably nothing would happen to it falling onto the carpet. His main concern was for the loud noise he was bound to make, and which even through all the doors would probably raise concern if not alarm. But it was something that had to be risked.
When Gregor was already sticking half way out of the bed - the new method was more of a game than an effort, all he had to do was rock 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 maid in mind - would have been more than enough; they would only have to push their arms under the dome of his back, peel him away from the bed, bend down with the load and then be patient and careful as he swang over onto the floor, where, hopefully, the little legs would find a use. Should he really call for help though, even apart from the fact that all the doors were locked? Despite all the difficulty he was in, he could not suppress 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 rocked too hard. The time was now ten past seven and he would have to make a final decision very soon. Then there was a ring at the door of the flat. "That'll be someone from work", he said to himself, and froze very still, although his little legs only became all the more lively as they danced around. For a moment everything remained quiet. "They're not opening the door", Gregor said to himself, caught in some nonsensical hope. But then of course, the maid's firm steps went to the door as ever and opened it. Gregor only needed to hear the visitor's first words of greeting and he knew who it was - the chief clerk himself. Why did Gregor have to be the only one condemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly suspicious at the slightest shortcoming? Were all employees, every one of them, louts, was there not one of them who was faithful and devoted who would go so mad with pangs of conscience that he couldn't get out of bed if he didn't spend at least a couple of hours in the morning on company business? Was it really not enough to let one of the trainees make enquiries - assuming enquiries were even necessary - did the chief clerk have to come himself, and did they have to show the whole, innocent family that this was so suspicious that only the chief clerk could be trusted to have the wisdom to investigate it? And more because these thoughts had made him upset than through any proper decision, he swang himself with all his force out of the bed. There was a loud thump, but it wasn't really a loud noise. His fall was softened a little by the carpet, and Gregor's back was also more elastic than he had thought, which made the sound muffled and not too noticeable. He had not held his head carefully enough, though, and hit it as he fell; annoyed and in pain, he turned it and rubbed it against the carpet.
"Something's fallen down in there", said the chief clerk in the room on the left. Gregor tried to imagine whether something of the sort that had happened to him today could ever happen to the chief clerk too; you had to concede that it was possible. But as if in gruff reply to this question, the chief clerk's firm footsteps in his highly polished boots could now be heard in the adjoining room. From the room on his right, Gregor's sister whispered to him to let him know: "Gregor, the chief clerk is here. "
"Yes, I know", said Gregor to himself; but without daring to raise his voice loud enough for his sister to hear him.
"Gregor", said his father now from the room to his left, "the chief clerk has come round and wants to know why you didn't leave on the early train. We don't know what to say to him. And anyway, he wants to speak to you personally. So please open up this door. I'm sure he'll be good enough to forgive the untidiness of your room. "
Then the chief clerk called "Good morning, Mr. Samsa".
"He isn't well", said his mother to the chief clerk, while his father continued to speak through the door. "He isn't well, please believe me. Why else would Gregor have missed a train! The lad only ever thinks about the business. It nearly makes me cross the way he never goes out in the evenings; he's been in town for a week now but stayed home every evening. He sits with us in the kitchen and just reads the paper or studies train timetables. His idea of relaxation is working with his fretsaw. He's made a little frame, for instance, it only took him two or three evenings, you'll be amazed how nice it is; it's hanging up in his room; you'll see it as soon as Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I'm glad you're here; we wouldn't have been able to get Gregor to open the door by ourselves; he's so stubborn; and I'm sure he isn't well, he said this morning that he is, but he isn't. "
"I'll be there in a moment", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully, but without moving so that he would not miss any word of the conversation. "Well I can't think of any other way of explaining it, Mrs. Samsa", said the chief clerk, "I hope it's nothing serious. But on the other hand, I must say that if we people in commerce ever become slightly unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you like, we simply have to overcome it because of business considerations. " "Can the chief clerk come in to see you now then?", asked his father impatiently, knocking at the door again. "No", said Gregor. In the room on his right there followed a painful silence; 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 clerk in, because he was in danger of losing his job and if that happened his boss would once more pursue their parents with the same demands as before? There was no need to worry about things like that yet. Gregor was still there and had not the slightest intention of abandoning his family. For the time being he just lay there on the carpet, and no-one who knew the condition he was in would seriously have expected him to let the chief clerk in. It was only a minor discourtesy, and a suitable excuse could easily be found for it later on, it was not something for which Gregor could be sacked on the spot. And it seemed to Gregor much more sensible to leave him now in peace instead of disturbing him with talking at him and crying. But the others didn't know what was happening, they were worried, that would excuse their behaviour. The chief clerk now raised his voice, "Mr. Samsa", he called to him, "what is wrong? You barricade yourself in your room, give us no more than yes or no for an answer, you are causing serious and unnecessary concern to your parents and you fail - and I mention this just by the way - you fail to carry out your business duties in a way that is quite unheard of. I'm speaking here on behalf of your parents and of your employer, and really must request a clear and immediate explanation. I am astonished, quite astonished. I thought I knew you as a calm and sensible person, and now you suddenly seem to be showing off with peculiar whims. This morning, your employer did suggest a possible reason for your failure to appear, it's true - it had to do with the money that was recently entrusted to you - but I came near to giving him my word of honour that that could not be the right explanation. But now that I see your incomprehensible stubbornness I no longer feel any wish whatsoever to intercede on your behalf. And nor is your position all that secure. 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 unsatisfactory of late; I grant you that it's not the time of year to do especially good business, we recognise that; but there simply is no time of year to do no business at all, Mr. Samsa, we cannot allow there to be. "
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr méi yòu jiē zhe wǎng qǐ zuò shì zǒu qù， què kào zài nà bàn shàn guān jǐn de mén de hòu miàn， suǒ yǐ tā zhǐ yòu bàn gè shēn zǐ lù zài wài miàn， hái cè zhe tàn zài wài miàn de tóu qù kàn bié rén。 zhè shí hòu tiān gèng liàng liǎo， kě yǐ qīng qīng chǔ chǔ dì kàn dào jiē duì miàn yīzhuàng cháng dé méi yòu jìn tóu de shēn huī sè de jiàn zhù－－ zhè shì yī suǒ yī yuàn－－ shàng miàn rě yǎn dì kāi zhe yī pái pái dāi bǎn de chuāng zǐ； yǔ hái zài xià， bù guò yǐ chéng wéi yī dī dī kàn dé qīng de dà kē lì liǎo。 dà dà xiǎo xiǎo de zǎo cān pén dié bǎi liǎo yī zhuō zǐ， duì yú gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fù qīn， zǎo cān shì yī tiān lǐ zuì zhòng yào de yī dùn fàn， tā yī biān kàn gè shì gè yàng de bào zhǐ， yī biān chī， yào chī shàng hǎo jǐ gè zhōng tóu， zài gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zhèng duì miàn de qiáng shàng guà zhe yī fú tā fú bīng yì shí de zhào piàn， dāng shí tā shì shàowèi， tā de shǒu 'àn zài jiàn shàng， liǎn shàng guà zhe wú yōu wú lǜ de xiào róng， fēn míng yào rén jiā zūn jìng tā de jūn rén fēng dù hé。 qián tīng de mén kāi zhe， dà mén yě kāi zhe， kě yǐ yī zhí kàn dào zhù zhái qián de yuàn zǐ hé zuì xià miàn de jǐ jí lóu tī。
“ hǎo bā，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shuō， tā wán quán míng bái zì jǐ shì wéi yī duō shàobǎo chí zhe zhèn jìng de rén，“ wǒ lì kè chuān shàng yī fú， děng bāo hǎo yàng pǐn jiù dòng shēn， nín shì fǒu hái róng xǔ wǒ qù ní？ nín qiáo， xiān shēng， wǒ bìng bù shì míng wán bù huà de rén， wǒ hěn yuàn yì gōng zuò； chūchāi shì hěn xīn kǔ de， dàn wǒ bù chūchāi jiù huó bù xià qù。 nín shàng nǎ 'ér qù， xiān shēng？ qù bàn gōng shì？ shì má？ wǒ zhè xiē qíng xíng nín néng rú shí dì fǎn yìng shàng qù má？ rén zǒng yòu zàn shí bù néng shèng rèn gōng zuò de shí hòu， bù guò zhè shí zhèng xū yào xiǎng qǐ tā guò qù de chéng jì。 ér qiě hái yào xiǎng dào yǐ hòu tā yòu huī fù liǎo gōng zuò néng lì de shí hòu， tā yī dìng huì gānde gèng qín kěn gèng yòng xīn。 wǒ yī xīn xiǎng zhōng chéng dì wéi lǎo bǎn zuò shì， zhè nín yě hěn qīng chǔ。 hé kuàng， wǒ hái yào gòngyǎng wǒ de fù mǔ hé mèi mèi。 wǒ xiàn zài jǐng kuàng shí fēn kùn nán， bù guò wǒ huì chóngxīn zhèng tuō chū lái de。 qǐng nín qiān wàn bù yào huǒ shàng jiā yóu。 zài gōng sī lǐ qǐng yī dìng bāng wǒ shuō jǐ jù hǎo huà。 lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán zài gōng sī lǐ bù tǎo rén xǐ huān， zhè wǒ zhī dào。 dà jiā yǐ wéi tā men zuàn de shì dà qián， guò de shì xiāo yáo zì zài de rì zǐ。 zhè zhǒng chéng jiàn yě fàn bù zhe qù jiū zhèng。 kě shì nín ní， xiān shēng， bǐ gōng sī lǐ suǒ yòu de rén kàn dé dū quán miàn， shì de， ràng wǒ sī xià lǐ gào sù nín， nín bǐ lǎo bǎn běn rén hái quán miàn， tā shì dōng jiā， dāng rán kě yǐ píng zì jǐ de hàowù suí biàn bù xǐ huān nǎ gè zhí yuán。 nín zhī dào dé zuì qīng chǔ， lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán jīhū cháng nián bù zài bàn gōng shì， tā men zì rán hěn róng yì chéng wéi xián huà、 guài zuì hé fēi duǎn liú cháng de mù biāo。 kě tā zì jǐ què jīhū wán quán bù zhī dào， suǒ yǐ fáng bù shèng fáng。 zhí dài tā jīng pí lì jié dì zhuǎn wán yī gè juàn zǐ huí dào jiā lǐ， zhè cái qīn shēn tǐ yàn dào lián yuán yīn dōuwú fǎ zhǎo xún de 'è guǒ luò dào liǎo zì jǐ shēn shàng。 xiān shēng， xiān shēng， nín bù néng bù shuō wǒ yī jù hǎo huà jiù zǒu 'ā， qǐng biǎo míng nín jué dé wǒ zhì shǎo hái yòu jǐ fēn shì duì de yā！”
kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr cái shuō tóu jǐ gè zì， mì shū zhù rèn jiù yǐ jīng liàngqiàng dàotuì， zhǐ shì zhāng zhe zuǐ chún， cè guò chàn dǒu de jiān bǎng zhí gòu gòu dì dèng zhe tā。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shuō huà shí， tā piàn kè yě méi yòu zhàn dìng， què tōu tōu dì xiàng mén kǒu xué qù， yǎn jīng shǐ zhōng dīng jǐn liǎo gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， zhǐ shì měi cì zhǐ yí dòng yī cùn， fǎng fó cún zài mǒu xiàng bù zhǔn lí kāi fáng jiān de jìn lìng yī bān。 hǎo bù róng yì tuì rù liǎo qián tīng， tā zuì hòu yī bù kuà chū qǐ zuò shì shí dòng zuò hǎo měng， zhēn xiàng shì tā de jiǎo gēn gāng gěi huǒ shāo zhe liǎo。 tā yī dào qián tīng jiù shēn chū yòu shǒu xiàng lóu tī páo qù， hǎo sì nà biān yòu shénme shén mì de jiù xīng zài děng dài tā。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr míng bái， rú guǒ yào bǎo zhù tā zài gōng sī lǐ de zhí wèi， bù xiǎng zá diào fàn wǎn， nà jiù jué bù néng ràng mì shū zhù rèn bào zhe zhè yàng de xīn qíng huí qù。 tā de fù mǔ duì zhè yī diǎn bù tài liǎo rán； duō nián yǐ lái， tā men yǐ jīng shēn xìn gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zài zhè jiā gōng sī lǐ yào dài shàng yī bèi zǐ de， zài shuō， tā men de xīn lǐ yǐ jīng wán quán fàng zài dāng qián de bù xìng shì jiàn shàng， gēn běn wú fǎ kǎo lǜ jiāng lái de shì。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr què kǎo lǜ dào liǎo。 yī dìng dé liú zhù mì shū xìn rèn， ān wèi tā， quàn gào tā， zuì hòu hái yào shuō fú tā； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hé tā yī jiā rén de qián tú quán xì zài zhè shàng miàn ní！ zhǐ yào mèi mèi zài chǎng jiù hǎo liǎo！ tā hěn cōng míng； dāng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái 'ān jìng dì yǎng zài chuáng shàng de shí hòu tā jiù yǐ jīng kū liǎo。 zǒng shì nà me piān tǎn nǚ xìng de mì shū zhù rèn yī dìng huì guāi guāi dì tīng tā de huà； tā huì guān shàng dà mén， zài qián tīng lǐ bǎ tā shuō dé bù zài jù pà。 kě shì tā piān piān bù zài。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zhǐ dé zì jǐ lái yìng fù dāng qián de jú miàn。 tā méi yòu xiǎng dào zì jǐ de shēn tǐ jiū jìng yòu shénme huó dòng néng lì， yě méi yòu xiǎng yī xiǎng tā de huà rén jiā réng jiù hěn kě néng tīng bù dǒng， ér qiě jiǎn zhí gēn běn tīng bù dǒng， jiù fàng kāi liǎo nà shàn mén， jǐ guò mén kǒu， mài bù xiàng mì shū zhù rèn zǒu qù， ér hòu zhě zhèng kě xiào dì yòng liǎng zhǐ shǒu bào zhù lóu tī de lán gān； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gāng yào mō suǒ kě yǐ zhī chēng de dōng xī， hū rán qīng qīng hǎn liǎo yī shēng， shēn zǐ pā liǎo xià lái， tā nà xǔ duō zhǐ tuǐ zhe liǎo dì。 hái méi děng quán bù luò dì， tā de shēn zǐ yǐ jīng huò dé liǎo 'ān wěn de gǎn jué， cóng zǎo chén yǐ lái， zhè hái shì dì yī cì； tā jiǎo dǐ xià xiàn zài shì jié jiēshí shí de dì bǎn liǎo； tā gāo xīng dì zhù yì dào， tā de tuǐ wán quán tīng zhòng zhǐ huī； tā men shèn zhì nǔ lì dì bǎ tā cháo tā xīn lǐ suǒ xiǎng de rèn hé fāng xiàng dài qù； tā jiǎn zhí yào xiāng xìn， tā suǒ yòu de tòng kǔ zǒng jiě tuō de shí hòu zhōng yú kuài lái liǎo。 kě shì jiù zài zhè yī chà nà jiān， dāng tā yáo yáo bǎi bǎi yī xīn xiǎng dòng dàn de shí hòu， dāng tā lí kāi mǔ qīn bù yuǎn， tǎng zài tā duì miàn dì bǎn shàng de shí hòu， běn lái sì hū yǐ jīng wán quán tān huàn de mǔ qīn， zhè shí què huò dì tiào liǎo qǐ lái， shēn zhí liǎng bì， zhāng kāi liǎo suǒ yòu de shǒu zhǐ， hǎn dào：“ jiù mìng 'ā， lǎo tiān yé， jiù mìng 'ā！” yī miàn yòu dī xià tóu lái， fǎng fó xiǎng bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr kàn dé gèng qīng chǔ xiē， tóng shí yòu piān piān shēn bù yóu yǐ dì yī zhí wǎng hòu tuì， gēn běn méi gù dào tā hòu miàn yòu zhāng bǎi mǎn liǎo shí wù de zhuō zǐ； tā zhuàng shàng zhuō zǐ， yòu hú lǐ hú tú shū dì zuò liǎo shàng qù， sì hū quán rán méi yòu zhù yì tā bàng biān nà bǎ dà kā fēi hú yǐ jīng dǎ fān， kā fēi yě gǔ gǔ dì liú dào liǎo dì tǎn shàng。
“ mā mā， mā mā。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dī shēng dì shuō dào， tái qǐ tóu lái kàn zhe tā。 zhè shí hòu yǐ jīng wán quán bǎ mì shū zhù rèn piē zài nǎo hòu； tā de zuǐ què rěn bù zhù zā bā qǐ lái， yīn wéi tā kàn dào liǎo tǎng chū lái de kā fēi。 zhè shǐ tā mǔ qīn zài yī cì jiān jiào qǐ lái。 tā cóng zhuō zǐ bàng biān táo kāi， dǎo zài jí máng lái fú tā de fù qīn de huái bào lǐ。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xiàn zài gù bù dé tā de fù mǔ； mì shū zhù rèn yǐ jīng zài zǒu xià lóu tī liǎo， tā de xià bā tàn zài lán gān shàng niǔ guò tóu lái zuì hòu huí gù liǎo yī yǎn。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jí zǒu jǐ bù， xiǎng jìn kě néng zhuī shàng tā； kě shì mì shū zhù rèn yī dìng shì kàn chū liǎo tā de yì tú， yīn wéi tā wǎng xià bèng liǎo jǐ jí， suí jí xiāo shī liǎo； kě shì hái zài bù duàn dì jiào rǎng“ ō！” huí shēng chuán biàn liǎo zhěng gè lóu tī。 bù xìng dé hěn， mì shū zhù rèn de táo zǒu fǎng fó shǐ yī zhí bǐ jiào zhèn dìng de fù qīn yě huāng luàn wàn fēn， yīn wéi tā fēi dàn zì jǐ bù qù zhuī gǎn nà rén， huò zhě zhì shǎo bié qù zǔ lán gé lǐ gāo 'ěr qù zhuī zhú， fǎn 'ér yòu shǒu cāo qǐ mì shū zhù rèn lián tóng mào zǐ hé dà yī yī qǐ liú zài yī zhāng yǐ zǐ shàng de shǒu zhàng， zuǒ shǒu cóng zhuō zǐ shàng zhuā qǐ yī zhāng dà bào zhǐ， yī miàn dùn jiǎo， yī miàn huī dòng shǒu zhàng hé bào zhǐ， yào bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gǎn huí dào fáng jiān lǐ qù。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de qǐng qiú quán rán wú xiào， shì shí shàng bié rén gēn běn bù lǐ jiě； bù guǎn tā zěn yàng qiān gōng dì dī xià tóu qù， tā fù qīn fǎn 'ér bǎ jiǎo dùn dé gèng xiǎng。 lìng yī biān， tā mǔ qīn bù gù tiān qì hán lěng， dǎ kāi liǎo yī shàn chuāng zǐ， shuāng shǒu yǎn zhù liǎn， jìn liàng bǎ shēn zǐ wǎng wài tàn。 yī zhèn jìngfēng cóng jiē shàng guā dào lóu tī， chuāng lián xiān liǎo qǐ lái， zhuō shàng de bào zhǐ chuī dé pāi dá pāi dá luàn xiǎng， yòu jǐ zhāng chuī luò zài dì bǎn shàng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fù qīn wú qíng dì bǎ tā wǎng hòu gǎn， yī miàn shī shī jiào zhe， jiǎn zhí xiàng gè yě rén。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái bù shú xī zěn me wǎng hòu tuì， suǒ yǐ zǒude hěn màn。 rú guǒ yòu jī huì diào guò tóu， tā néng hěn kuài huí jìn fáng jiān de， dàn shì tā pà zhuǎn shēn de chí huǎn huì shǐ tā fù qīn gèng jiā shēng qì， tā fù qīn shǒu zhōng de shǒu zhàng suí shí huì zhào zhǔn tā de bèi shàng huò tóu shàng gěi yǐ hěn hěn de yī jī de， dào hòu lái， tā jìng bù zhī zěn me bàn cái hǎo， yīn wéi tā jué wàng dì zhù yì dào， dàotuì zhe zǒu lián fāng xiàng dū zhǎng wò bù liǎo； yīn cǐ， tā yī miàn shǐ zhōng bù 'ān dì cè guò tóu chǒu zhe fù qīn， yī miàn kāi shǐ diào zhuǎn shēn zǐ， tā xiǎng jìn liàng kuài xiē， shì shí shàng què fēi cháng yū huǎn。 yě xǔ fù qīn fā xiàn liǎo tā de liáng hǎo yì tú， yīn cǐ bìng bù gān shè tā， zhǐ shì zài tā nuó dòng shí yuǎn yuǎn dì yòng shǒu zhàng jiān bō bō tā。 zhǐ yào fù qīn bù zài fā chū nà zhǒng wú fǎ rěn shòu de shī shī shēng jiù hǎo liǎo。 zhè jiǎn zhí yào shǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr fā kuáng。 tā yǐ jīng wán quán zhuǎn guò qù liǎo， zhǐ shì yīn wéi gěi shī shēng nòng dé xīn fán yì luàn， shèn zhì zhuǎn dé guò liǎo tóu。 zuì hòu tā zǒng suàn duì zhǔn liǎo mén kǒu， kě shì tā de shēn tǐ yòu piān qiǎo kuān dé guò bù qù。 dàn shì zài mù qián jīng shén zhuàng tài xià de fù qīn， dāng rán bù huì xiǎng dào qù dǎ kāi lìng wài bàn shàn mén hǎo ràng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dé yǐ tōng guò。 tā fù qīn nǎo zǐ lǐ zhǐ yòu yī jiàn shì， jìn kuài bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gǎn huí fáng jiān。 ràng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zhí lì qǐ lái， cè shēn jìn rù fáng jiān， jiù yào zuò xǔ duō má fán de zhǔn bèi， fù qīn shì jué bù huì dāyìng de。 tā xiàn zài fā chū de shēng yīn gèng jiā xiǎng liàng， tā pīn mìng cuī cù gé lǐ gāo 'ěr wǎng qián zǒu， hǎo xiàng tā qián miàn méi yòu shénme zhàng 'ài shìde； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào tā hòu miàn xiǎng zhe de shēng yīn bù zài xiàng shì fù qīn yī gè rén de liǎo； xiàn zài gèng bù shì nào zhe wán de liǎo， suǒ yǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù gù yī qiē hěn mìng xiàng mén kǒu jǐ qù。 tā shēn zǐ de yī biān gǒng liǎo qǐ lái， qīng xié dì kǎ zài mén kǒu， yāo bù jǐ shāng liǎo， zài jié bái de mén shàng liú xià liǎo kě zēng de bān diǎn， bù yī huì 'ér tā jiù gěi jiā zhù liǎo， bù guǎn zěn me zhēngzhá， hái shì sī háo dòng dàn bù dé， tā yī biān de tuǐ zài kōng zhōng chàn dǒu dì wǔ dòng， lìng yī biān de tuǐ què zài dì shàng gěi yā dé shí fēn téng tòng－－ zhè shí， tā fù qīn cóng hòu miàn shǐ jìn dì tuī liǎo tā yī bǎ， shí jì shàng zhè dǎo shì zhī yuán， shǐ tā yī zhí diē jìn liǎo fáng jiān zhōng yāng， gǔ gǔ dì liú zhe xuè。 zài tā hòu miàn， mén pēng de yī shēng yòng shǒu zhàng guān shàng liǎo， wū zǐ lǐ zhōng yú huī fù liǎo jì jìng。
"Did you understand a word of all that?" the chief clerk asked his parents, "surely he's not trying to make fools of us". "Oh, God!" called his mother, who was already in tears, "he could be seriously ill and we're making him suffer. Grete! Grete!" she then cried. "Mother?" his sister called from the other side. They communicated across Gregor's room. "You'll have to go for the doctor straight away. Gregor is ill. Quick, get the doctor. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just now?" "That was the voice of an animal", said the chief clerk, with a calmness that was in contrast with his mother's screams. "Anna! Anna!" his father called into the kitchen through the entrance hall, clapping his hands, "get a locksmith here, now!" And the two girls, their skirts swishing, immediately ran out through the hall, wrenching 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 banging shut again; they must have left it open; people often do in homes where something awful has happened.
Gregor, in contrast, had become much calmer. So they couldn't understand 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 realised, though, that there was something wrong with him, and were ready to help. The first response to his situation had been confident and wise, and that made him feel better. He felt that he had been drawn back in among people, and from the doctor and the locksmith he expected great and surprising achievements - although he did not really distinguish one from the other. Whatever was said next would be crucial, 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 might well sound different from the way that a human coughs and he was no longer sure he could judge this for himself. Meanwhile, it had become very quiet in the next room. Perhaps his parents were sat at the table whispering with the chief clerk, or perhaps they were all pressed against the door and listening.
Gregor slowly pushed his way over to the door with the chair. Once there he let go of it and threw himself onto the door, holding himself upright against it using the adhesive on the tips of his legs. He rested there a little while to recover from the effort involved and then set himself to the task of turning the key in the lock with his mouth. He seemed, unfortunately, to have no proper teeth - how was he, then, to grasp the key? - but the lack of teeth was, of course, made up for with a very strong jaw; using the jaw, he really was able to start the key turning, ignoring the fact that he must have been causing some kind of damage as a brown fluid came from his mouth, flowed over the key and dripped onto the floor.
"Listen", said the chief clerk 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 hold of the lock!" And with the idea that they were all excitedly following his efforts, he bit on the key with all his strength, paying no attention to the pain he was causing himself. As the key turned round he turned around the lock with it, only holding himself upright with his mouth, and hung onto the key or pushed it down again with the whole weight of his body as needed. The clear sound of the lock as it snapped back was Gregor's sign that he could break his concentration, and as he regained his breath he said to himself: "So, I didn't need the locksmith after all". Then he lay his head on the handle 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 double doors, and he had to do it very carefully if he did not want to fall flat on his back before entering the room. He was still occupied with this difficult movement, unable to pay attention to anything else, when he heard the chief clerk exclaim a loud "Oh!", which sounded like the soughing of the wind. Now he also saw him - he was the nearest to the door - his hand pressed against his open mouth and slowly retreating as if driven by a steady and invisible force. Gregor's mother, her hair still dishevelled from bed despite the chief clerk's being there, looked at his father. Then she unfolded her arms, took two steps forward towards Gregor and sank down onto the floor into her skirts that spread themselves out around her as her head disappeared down onto her breast. His father looked hostile, and clenched his fists as if wanting to knock Gregor back into his room. Then he looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands and wept so that his powerful chest shook.
So Gregor did not go into the room, but leant against the inside of the other door which was still held bolted in place. In this way only half of his body could be seen, along with his head above it which he leant over to one side as he peered out at the others. Meanwhile the day had become much lighter; part of the endless, grey-black building on the other side of the street - which was a hospital - could be seen quite clearly with the austere and regular line of windows piercing its facade; the rain was still falling, now throwing down large, individual droplets which hit the ground one at a time. The washing up from breakfast lay on the table; there was so much of it because, for Gregor's father, breakfast 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 photograph of Gregor when he was a lieutenant in the army, his sword in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forth respect for his uniform and bearing. The door to the entrance hall was open and as the front door of the flat was also open he could see onto the landing and the stairs where they began their way down below.
"Now, then", said Gregor, well aware that he was the only one to have kept calm, "I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off. Will you please just let me leave? You can see", he said to the chief clerk, "that I'm not stubborn and like I like to do my job; being a commercial traveller is arduous but without travelling I couldn't earn my living. So where are you going, in to the office? Yes? Will you report everything accurately, then? It's quite possible for someone to be temporarily unable to work, but that's just the right time to remember what's been achieved in the past and consider that later on, once the difficulty has been removed, he will certainly work with all the more diligence and concentration. You're well aware that I'm seriously in debt to our employer as well as having to look after my parents and my sister, so that I'm trapped in a difficult situation, 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 know that nobody likes the travellers. They think we earn an enormous wage as well as having a soft time of it. That's just prejudice but they have no particular reason to think better it. But you, sir, you have a better overview than the rest of the staff, in fact, if I can say this in confidence, a better overview than the boss himself - it's very easy for a businessman like him to make mistakes about his employees and judge them more harshly than he should. And you're also well aware that we travellers spend almost the whole year away from the office, so that we can very easily fall victim to gossip and chance and groundless complaints, and it's almost impossible to defend yourself from that sort of thing, we don't usually even hear about them, or if at all it's when we arrive back home exhausted from a trip, and that's when we feel the harmful effects of what's been going on without even knowing what caused them. Please, don't go away, at least first say something to show that you grant that I'm at least partly right!"
But the chief clerk had turned away as soon as Gregor had started to speak, and, with protruding lips, only stared back at him over his trembling shoulders as he left. He did not keep still for a moment while Gregor was speaking, but moved steadily towards the door without taking his eyes off him. He moved very gradually, as if there had been some secret prohibition on leaving the room. It was only when he had reached the entrance hall that he made a sudden movement, drew his foot from the living room, and rushed forward in a panic. In the hall, he stretched his right hand far out towards the stairway as if out there, there were some supernatural force waiting to save him.
Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let the chief clerk go away in this mood if his position in the firm was not to be put into extreme danger. That was something his parents did not understand very well; over the years, they had become convinced that this job would provide for Gregor for his entire life, and besides, they had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did think about the future. The chief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over; the future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only his sister were here! She was clever; she was already in tears while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back. And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she could persuade him; she would close the front door in the entrance hall and talk him out of his shocked state. But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the job himself.
And without considering that he still was not familiar with how well he could move about in his present state, or that his speech still might not - or probably would not - be understood, he let go of the door; pushed himself through the opening; tried to reach the chief clerk on the landing who, ridiculously, was holding on to the banister with both hands; but Gregor fell immediately over and, with a little scream as he sought something to hold onto, landed on his numerous little legs. Hardly had that happened than, for the first time that day, he began to feel alright with his body; the little legs had the solid ground under them; to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them; they were even making the effort to carry him where he wanted to go; and he was soon believing that all his sorrows would soon be finally at an end. He held back the urge to move but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the floor. His mother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite engrossed in herself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her fingers spread shouting: "Help, for pity's sake, Help!" The way she held her head suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the unthinking way she was hurrying backwards showed that she did not; she had forgotten that the table was behind her with all the breakfast things on it; when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing; without even seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been knocked over and a gush of coffee was pouring down onto the carpet.
"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at her. He had completely forgotten the chief clerk for the moment, but could not help himself snapping in the air with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee. That set his mother screaming anew, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as he rushed towards her. Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents now; the chief clerk had already reached the stairs; with his chin on the banister, he looked back for the last time. Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sure of reaching him; the chief clerk must have expected something, as he leapt down several steps at once and disappeared; his shouts resounding all around the staircase. The flight of the chief clerk seemed, unfortunately, to put Gregor's father into a panic as well. Until then he had been relatively self controlled, but now, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or at least not impeding Gregor as he ran after him, Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand (the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat and overcoat), picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and used them to drive 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 understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder.
Across the room, despite the chilly weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window, leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face. A strong draught of air flew in from the street towards the stairway, the curtains flew up, the newspapers on the table fluttered 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 wild man. Gregor had never had any practice in moving backwards 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 afraid that if he took the time to do that his father would become impatient, and there was the threat of a lethal blow to his back or head from the stick in his father's hand any moment. Eventually, though, Gregor realised that he had no choice as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite incapable of going backwards in a straight line; so he began, as quickly as possible and with frequent anxious glances 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 hinder him, in fact now and then he used the tip of his stick to give directions from a distance as to which way to turn.
If only his father would stop that unbearable hissing! It was making Gregor quite confused. When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening to that hissing, he made a mistake 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 broad to get through it without further difficulty. In his present mood, it obviously did not occur to his father to open the other of the double 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. Nor would he ever have allowed Gregor the time to get himself upright as preparation for getting through the doorway. What he did, making more noise than ever, was to drive 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 pleasant experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway without regard for what might happen. One side of his body lifted itself, he lay at an angle in the doorway, one flank scraped on the white door and was painfully injured, leaving vile brown flecks on it, soon he was stuck fast and would not have been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hung quivering in the air while those on the other side were pressed painfully against the ground. Then his father gave him a hefty shove from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily bleeding, deep into his room. The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all was quiet.
“ hǎo bā，” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shuō， tā wán quán míng bái zì jǐ shì wéi yī duō shàobǎo chí zhe zhèn jìng de rén，“ wǒ lì kè chuān shàng yī fú， děng bāo hǎo yàng pǐn jiù dòng shēn， nín shì fǒu hái róng xǔ wǒ qù ní？ nín qiáo， xiān shēng， wǒ bìng bù shì míng wán bù huà de rén， wǒ hěn yuàn yì gōng zuò； chūchāi shì hěn xīn kǔ de， dàn wǒ bù chūchāi jiù huó bù xià qù。 nín shàng nǎ 'ér qù， xiān shēng？ qù bàn gōng shì？ shì má？ wǒ zhè xiē qíng xíng nín néng rú shí dì fǎn yìng shàng qù má？ rén zǒng yòu zàn shí bù néng shèng rèn gōng zuò de shí hòu， bù guò zhè shí zhèng xū yào xiǎng qǐ tā guò qù de chéng jì。 ér qiě hái yào xiǎng dào yǐ hòu tā yòu huī fù liǎo gōng zuò néng lì de shí hòu， tā yī dìng huì gānde gèng qín kěn gèng yòng xīn。 wǒ yī xīn xiǎng zhōng chéng dì wéi lǎo bǎn zuò shì， zhè nín yě hěn qīng chǔ。 hé kuàng， wǒ hái yào gòngyǎng wǒ de fù mǔ hé mèi mèi。 wǒ xiàn zài jǐng kuàng shí fēn kùn nán， bù guò wǒ huì chóngxīn zhèng tuō chū lái de。 qǐng nín qiān wàn bù yào huǒ shàng jiā yóu。 zài gōng sī lǐ qǐng yī dìng bāng wǒ shuō jǐ jù hǎo huà。 lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán zài gōng sī lǐ bù tǎo rén xǐ huān， zhè wǒ zhī dào。 dà jiā yǐ wéi tā men zuàn de shì dà qián， guò de shì xiāo yáo zì zài de rì zǐ。 zhè zhǒng chéng jiàn yě fàn bù zhe qù jiū zhèng。 kě shì nín ní， xiān shēng， bǐ gōng sī lǐ suǒ yòu de rén kàn dé dū quán miàn， shì de， ràng wǒ sī xià lǐ gào sù nín， nín bǐ lǎo bǎn běn rén hái quán miàn， tā shì dōng jiā， dāng rán kě yǐ píng zì jǐ de hàowù suí biàn bù xǐ huān nǎ gè zhí yuán。 nín zhī dào dé zuì qīng chǔ， lǚ xíng tuī xiāo yuán jīhū cháng nián bù zài bàn gōng shì， tā men zì rán hěn róng yì chéng wéi xián huà、 guài zuì hé fēi duǎn liú cháng de mù biāo。 kě tā zì jǐ què jīhū wán quán bù zhī dào， suǒ yǐ fáng bù shèng fáng。 zhí dài tā jīng pí lì jié dì zhuǎn wán yī gè juàn zǐ huí dào jiā lǐ， zhè cái qīn shēn tǐ yàn dào lián yuán yīn dōuwú fǎ zhǎo xún de 'è guǒ luò dào liǎo zì jǐ shēn shàng。 xiān shēng， xiān shēng， nín bù néng bù shuō wǒ yī jù hǎo huà jiù zǒu 'ā， qǐng biǎo míng nín jué dé wǒ zhì shǎo hái yòu jǐ fēn shì duì de yā！”
kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr cái shuō tóu jǐ gè zì， mì shū zhù rèn jiù yǐ jīng liàngqiàng dàotuì， zhǐ shì zhāng zhe zuǐ chún， cè guò chàn dǒu de jiān bǎng zhí gòu gòu dì dèng zhe tā。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr shuō huà shí， tā piàn kè yě méi yòu zhàn dìng， què tōu tōu dì xiàng mén kǒu xué qù， yǎn jīng shǐ zhōng dīng jǐn liǎo gé lǐ gāo 'ěr， zhǐ shì měi cì zhǐ yí dòng yī cùn， fǎng fó cún zài mǒu xiàng bù zhǔn lí kāi fáng jiān de jìn lìng yī bān。 hǎo bù róng yì tuì rù liǎo qián tīng， tā zuì hòu yī bù kuà chū qǐ zuò shì shí dòng zuò hǎo měng， zhēn xiàng shì tā de jiǎo gēn gāng gěi huǒ shāo zhe liǎo。 tā yī dào qián tīng jiù shēn chū yòu shǒu xiàng lóu tī páo qù， hǎo sì nà biān yòu shénme shén mì de jiù xīng zài děng dài tā。
gé lǐ gāo 'ěr míng bái， rú guǒ yào bǎo zhù tā zài gōng sī lǐ de zhí wèi， bù xiǎng zá diào fàn wǎn， nà jiù jué bù néng ràng mì shū zhù rèn bào zhe zhè yàng de xīn qíng huí qù。 tā de fù mǔ duì zhè yī diǎn bù tài liǎo rán； duō nián yǐ lái， tā men yǐ jīng shēn xìn gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zài zhè jiā gōng sī lǐ yào dài shàng yī bèi zǐ de， zài shuō， tā men de xīn lǐ yǐ jīng wán quán fàng zài dāng qián de bù xìng shì jiàn shàng， gēn běn wú fǎ kǎo lǜ jiāng lái de shì。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr què kǎo lǜ dào liǎo。 yī dìng dé liú zhù mì shū xìn rèn， ān wèi tā， quàn gào tā， zuì hòu hái yào shuō fú tā； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hé tā yī jiā rén de qián tú quán xì zài zhè shàng miàn ní！ zhǐ yào mèi mèi zài chǎng jiù hǎo liǎo！ tā hěn cōng míng； dāng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái 'ān jìng dì yǎng zài chuáng shàng de shí hòu tā jiù yǐ jīng kū liǎo。 zǒng shì nà me piān tǎn nǚ xìng de mì shū zhù rèn yī dìng huì guāi guāi dì tīng tā de huà； tā huì guān shàng dà mén， zài qián tīng lǐ bǎ tā shuō dé bù zài jù pà。 kě shì tā piān piān bù zài。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zhǐ dé zì jǐ lái yìng fù dāng qián de jú miàn。 tā méi yòu xiǎng dào zì jǐ de shēn tǐ jiū jìng yòu shénme huó dòng néng lì， yě méi yòu xiǎng yī xiǎng tā de huà rén jiā réng jiù hěn kě néng tīng bù dǒng， ér qiě jiǎn zhí gēn běn tīng bù dǒng， jiù fàng kāi liǎo nà shàn mén， jǐ guò mén kǒu， mài bù xiàng mì shū zhù rèn zǒu qù， ér hòu zhě zhèng kě xiào dì yòng liǎng zhǐ shǒu bào zhù lóu tī de lán gān； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gāng yào mō suǒ kě yǐ zhī chēng de dōng xī， hū rán qīng qīng hǎn liǎo yī shēng， shēn zǐ pā liǎo xià lái， tā nà xǔ duō zhǐ tuǐ zhe liǎo dì。 hái méi děng quán bù luò dì， tā de shēn zǐ yǐ jīng huò dé liǎo 'ān wěn de gǎn jué， cóng zǎo chén yǐ lái， zhè hái shì dì yī cì； tā jiǎo dǐ xià xiàn zài shì jié jiēshí shí de dì bǎn liǎo； tā gāo xīng dì zhù yì dào， tā de tuǐ wán quán tīng zhòng zhǐ huī； tā men shèn zhì nǔ lì dì bǎ tā cháo tā xīn lǐ suǒ xiǎng de rèn hé fāng xiàng dài qù； tā jiǎn zhí yào xiāng xìn， tā suǒ yòu de tòng kǔ zǒng jiě tuō de shí hòu zhōng yú kuài lái liǎo。 kě shì jiù zài zhè yī chà nà jiān， dāng tā yáo yáo bǎi bǎi yī xīn xiǎng dòng dàn de shí hòu， dāng tā lí kāi mǔ qīn bù yuǎn， tǎng zài tā duì miàn dì bǎn shàng de shí hòu， běn lái sì hū yǐ jīng wán quán tān huàn de mǔ qīn， zhè shí què huò dì tiào liǎo qǐ lái， shēn zhí liǎng bì， zhāng kāi liǎo suǒ yòu de shǒu zhǐ， hǎn dào：“ jiù mìng 'ā， lǎo tiān yé， jiù mìng 'ā！” yī miàn yòu dī xià tóu lái， fǎng fó xiǎng bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr kàn dé gèng qīng chǔ xiē， tóng shí yòu piān piān shēn bù yóu yǐ dì yī zhí wǎng hòu tuì， gēn běn méi gù dào tā hòu miàn yòu zhāng bǎi mǎn liǎo shí wù de zhuō zǐ； tā zhuàng shàng zhuō zǐ， yòu hú lǐ hú tú shū dì zuò liǎo shàng qù， sì hū quán rán méi yòu zhù yì tā bàng biān nà bǎ dà kā fēi hú yǐ jīng dǎ fān， kā fēi yě gǔ gǔ dì liú dào liǎo dì tǎn shàng。
“ mā mā， mā mā。” gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dī shēng dì shuō dào， tái qǐ tóu lái kàn zhe tā。 zhè shí hòu yǐ jīng wán quán bǎ mì shū zhù rèn piē zài nǎo hòu； tā de zuǐ què rěn bù zhù zā bā qǐ lái， yīn wéi tā kàn dào liǎo tǎng chū lái de kā fēi。 zhè shǐ tā mǔ qīn zài yī cì jiān jiào qǐ lái。 tā cóng zhuō zǐ bàng biān táo kāi， dǎo zài jí máng lái fú tā de fù qīn de huái bào lǐ。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr xiàn zài gù bù dé tā de fù mǔ； mì shū zhù rèn yǐ jīng zài zǒu xià lóu tī liǎo， tā de xià bā tàn zài lán gān shàng niǔ guò tóu lái zuì hòu huí gù liǎo yī yǎn。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr jí zǒu jǐ bù， xiǎng jìn kě néng zhuī shàng tā； kě shì mì shū zhù rèn yī dìng shì kàn chū liǎo tā de yì tú， yīn wéi tā wǎng xià bèng liǎo jǐ jí， suí jí xiāo shī liǎo； kě shì hái zài bù duàn dì jiào rǎng“ ō！” huí shēng chuán biàn liǎo zhěng gè lóu tī。 bù xìng dé hěn， mì shū zhù rèn de táo zǒu fǎng fó shǐ yī zhí bǐ jiào zhèn dìng de fù qīn yě huāng luàn wàn fēn， yīn wéi tā fēi dàn zì jǐ bù qù zhuī gǎn nà rén， huò zhě zhì shǎo bié qù zǔ lán gé lǐ gāo 'ěr qù zhuī zhú， fǎn 'ér yòu shǒu cāo qǐ mì shū zhù rèn lián tóng mào zǐ hé dà yī yī qǐ liú zài yī zhāng yǐ zǐ shàng de shǒu zhàng， zuǒ shǒu cóng zhuō zǐ shàng zhuā qǐ yī zhāng dà bào zhǐ， yī miàn dùn jiǎo， yī miàn huī dòng shǒu zhàng hé bào zhǐ， yào bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gǎn huí dào fáng jiān lǐ qù。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de qǐng qiú quán rán wú xiào， shì shí shàng bié rén gēn běn bù lǐ jiě； bù guǎn tā zěn yàng qiān gōng dì dī xià tóu qù， tā fù qīn fǎn 'ér bǎ jiǎo dùn dé gèng xiǎng。 lìng yī biān， tā mǔ qīn bù gù tiān qì hán lěng， dǎ kāi liǎo yī shàn chuāng zǐ， shuāng shǒu yǎn zhù liǎn， jìn liàng bǎ shēn zǐ wǎng wài tàn。 yī zhèn jìngfēng cóng jiē shàng guā dào lóu tī， chuāng lián xiān liǎo qǐ lái， zhuō shàng de bào zhǐ chuī dé pāi dá pāi dá luàn xiǎng， yòu jǐ zhāng chuī luò zài dì bǎn shàng。 gé lǐ gāo 'ěr de fù qīn wú qíng dì bǎ tā wǎng hòu gǎn， yī miàn shī shī jiào zhe， jiǎn zhí xiàng gè yě rén。 kě shì gé lǐ gāo 'ěr hái bù shú xī zěn me wǎng hòu tuì， suǒ yǐ zǒude hěn màn。 rú guǒ yòu jī huì diào guò tóu， tā néng hěn kuài huí jìn fáng jiān de， dàn shì tā pà zhuǎn shēn de chí huǎn huì shǐ tā fù qīn gèng jiā shēng qì， tā fù qīn shǒu zhōng de shǒu zhàng suí shí huì zhào zhǔn tā de bèi shàng huò tóu shàng gěi yǐ hěn hěn de yī jī de， dào hòu lái， tā jìng bù zhī zěn me bàn cái hǎo， yīn wéi tā jué wàng dì zhù yì dào， dàotuì zhe zǒu lián fāng xiàng dū zhǎng wò bù liǎo； yīn cǐ， tā yī miàn shǐ zhōng bù 'ān dì cè guò tóu chǒu zhe fù qīn， yī miàn kāi shǐ diào zhuǎn shēn zǐ， tā xiǎng jìn liàng kuài xiē， shì shí shàng què fēi cháng yū huǎn。 yě xǔ fù qīn fā xiàn liǎo tā de liáng hǎo yì tú， yīn cǐ bìng bù gān shè tā， zhǐ shì zài tā nuó dòng shí yuǎn yuǎn dì yòng shǒu zhàng jiān bō bō tā。 zhǐ yào fù qīn bù zài fā chū nà zhǒng wú fǎ rěn shòu de shī shī shēng jiù hǎo liǎo。 zhè jiǎn zhí yào shǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr fā kuáng。 tā yǐ jīng wán quán zhuǎn guò qù liǎo， zhǐ shì yīn wéi gěi shī shēng nòng dé xīn fán yì luàn， shèn zhì zhuǎn dé guò liǎo tóu。 zuì hòu tā zǒng suàn duì zhǔn liǎo mén kǒu， kě shì tā de shēn tǐ yòu piān qiǎo kuān dé guò bù qù。 dàn shì zài mù qián jīng shén zhuàng tài xià de fù qīn， dāng rán bù huì xiǎng dào qù dǎ kāi lìng wài bàn shàn mén hǎo ràng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr dé yǐ tōng guò。 tā fù qīn nǎo zǐ lǐ zhǐ yòu yī jiàn shì， jìn kuài bǎ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr gǎn huí fáng jiān。 ràng gé lǐ gāo 'ěr zhí lì qǐ lái， cè shēn jìn rù fáng jiān， jiù yào zuò xǔ duō má fán de zhǔn bèi， fù qīn shì jué bù huì dāyìng de。 tā xiàn zài fā chū de shēng yīn gèng jiā xiǎng liàng， tā pīn mìng cuī cù gé lǐ gāo 'ěr wǎng qián zǒu， hǎo xiàng tā qián miàn méi yòu shénme zhàng 'ài shìde； gé lǐ gāo 'ěr tīng dào tā hòu miàn xiǎng zhe de shēng yīn bù zài xiàng shì fù qīn yī gè rén de liǎo； xiàn zài gèng bù shì nào zhe wán de liǎo， suǒ yǐ gé lǐ gāo 'ěr bù gù yī qiē hěn mìng xiàng mén kǒu jǐ qù。 tā shēn zǐ de yī biān gǒng liǎo qǐ lái， qīng xié dì kǎ zài mén kǒu， yāo bù jǐ shāng liǎo， zài jié bái de mén shàng liú xià liǎo kě zēng de bān diǎn， bù yī huì 'ér tā jiù gěi jiā zhù liǎo， bù guǎn zěn me zhēngzhá， hái shì sī háo dòng dàn bù dé， tā yī biān de tuǐ zài kōng zhōng chàn dǒu dì wǔ dòng， lìng yī biān de tuǐ què zài dì shàng gěi yā dé shí fēn téng tòng－－ zhè shí， tā fù qīn cóng hòu miàn shǐ jìn dì tuī liǎo tā yī bǎ， shí jì shàng zhè dǎo shì zhī yuán， shǐ tā yī zhí diē jìn liǎo fáng jiān zhōng yāng， gǔ gǔ dì liú zhe xuè。 zài tā hòu miàn， mén pēng de yī shēng yòng shǒu zhàng guān shàng liǎo， wū zǐ lǐ zhōng yú huī fù liǎo jì jìng。
"Did you understand a word of all that?" the chief clerk asked his parents, "surely he's not trying to make fools of us". "Oh, God!" called his mother, who was already in tears, "he could be seriously ill and we're making him suffer. Grete! Grete!" she then cried. "Mother?" his sister called from the other side. They communicated across Gregor's room. "You'll have to go for the doctor straight away. Gregor is ill. Quick, get the doctor. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just now?" "That was the voice of an animal", said the chief clerk, with a calmness that was in contrast with his mother's screams. "Anna! Anna!" his father called into the kitchen through the entrance hall, clapping his hands, "get a locksmith here, now!" And the two girls, their skirts swishing, immediately ran out through the hall, wrenching 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 banging shut again; they must have left it open; people often do in homes where something awful has happened.
Gregor, in contrast, had become much calmer. So they couldn't understand 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 realised, though, that there was something wrong with him, and were ready to help. The first response to his situation had been confident and wise, and that made him feel better. He felt that he had been drawn back in among people, and from the doctor and the locksmith he expected great and surprising achievements - although he did not really distinguish one from the other. Whatever was said next would be crucial, 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 might well sound different from the way that a human coughs and he was no longer sure he could judge this for himself. Meanwhile, it had become very quiet in the next room. Perhaps his parents were sat at the table whispering with the chief clerk, or perhaps they were all pressed against the door and listening.
Gregor slowly pushed his way over to the door with the chair. Once there he let go of it and threw himself onto the door, holding himself upright against it using the adhesive on the tips of his legs. He rested there a little while to recover from the effort involved and then set himself to the task of turning the key in the lock with his mouth. He seemed, unfortunately, to have no proper teeth - how was he, then, to grasp the key? - but the lack of teeth was, of course, made up for with a very strong jaw; using the jaw, he really was able to start the key turning, ignoring the fact that he must have been causing some kind of damage as a brown fluid came from his mouth, flowed over the key and dripped onto the floor.
"Listen", said the chief clerk 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 hold of the lock!" And with the idea that they were all excitedly following his efforts, he bit on the key with all his strength, paying no attention to the pain he was causing himself. As the key turned round he turned around the lock with it, only holding himself upright with his mouth, and hung onto the key or pushed it down again with the whole weight of his body as needed. The clear sound of the lock as it snapped back was Gregor's sign that he could break his concentration, and as he regained his breath he said to himself: "So, I didn't need the locksmith after all". Then he lay his head on the handle 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 double doors, and he had to do it very carefully if he did not want to fall flat on his back before entering the room. He was still occupied with this difficult movement, unable to pay attention to anything else, when he heard the chief clerk exclaim a loud "Oh!", which sounded like the soughing of the wind. Now he also saw him - he was the nearest to the door - his hand pressed against his open mouth and slowly retreating as if driven by a steady and invisible force. Gregor's mother, her hair still dishevelled from bed despite the chief clerk's being there, looked at his father. Then she unfolded her arms, took two steps forward towards Gregor and sank down onto the floor into her skirts that spread themselves out around her as her head disappeared down onto her breast. His father looked hostile, and clenched his fists as if wanting to knock Gregor back into his room. Then he looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands and wept so that his powerful chest shook.
So Gregor did not go into the room, but leant against the inside of the other door which was still held bolted in place. In this way only half of his body could be seen, along with his head above it which he leant over to one side as he peered out at the others. Meanwhile the day had become much lighter; part of the endless, grey-black building on the other side of the street - which was a hospital - could be seen quite clearly with the austere and regular line of windows piercing its facade; the rain was still falling, now throwing down large, individual droplets which hit the ground one at a time. The washing up from breakfast lay on the table; there was so much of it because, for Gregor's father, breakfast 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 photograph of Gregor when he was a lieutenant in the army, his sword in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forth respect for his uniform and bearing. The door to the entrance hall was open and as the front door of the flat was also open he could see onto the landing and the stairs where they began their way down below.
"Now, then", said Gregor, well aware that he was the only one to have kept calm, "I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off. Will you please just let me leave? You can see", he said to the chief clerk, "that I'm not stubborn and like I like to do my job; being a commercial traveller is arduous but without travelling I couldn't earn my living. So where are you going, in to the office? Yes? Will you report everything accurately, then? It's quite possible for someone to be temporarily unable to work, but that's just the right time to remember what's been achieved in the past and consider that later on, once the difficulty has been removed, he will certainly work with all the more diligence and concentration. You're well aware that I'm seriously in debt to our employer as well as having to look after my parents and my sister, so that I'm trapped in a difficult situation, 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 know that nobody likes the travellers. They think we earn an enormous wage as well as having a soft time of it. That's just prejudice but they have no particular reason to think better it. But you, sir, you have a better overview than the rest of the staff, in fact, if I can say this in confidence, a better overview than the boss himself - it's very easy for a businessman like him to make mistakes about his employees and judge them more harshly than he should. And you're also well aware that we travellers spend almost the whole year away from the office, so that we can very easily fall victim to gossip and chance and groundless complaints, and it's almost impossible to defend yourself from that sort of thing, we don't usually even hear about them, or if at all it's when we arrive back home exhausted from a trip, and that's when we feel the harmful effects of what's been going on without even knowing what caused them. Please, don't go away, at least first say something to show that you grant that I'm at least partly right!"
But the chief clerk had turned away as soon as Gregor had started to speak, and, with protruding lips, only stared back at him over his trembling shoulders as he left. He did not keep still for a moment while Gregor was speaking, but moved steadily towards the door without taking his eyes off him. He moved very gradually, as if there had been some secret prohibition on leaving the room. It was only when he had reached the entrance hall that he made a sudden movement, drew his foot from the living room, and rushed forward in a panic. In the hall, he stretched his right hand far out towards the stairway as if out there, there were some supernatural force waiting to save him.
Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let the chief clerk go away in this mood if his position in the firm was not to be put into extreme danger. That was something his parents did not understand very well; over the years, they had become convinced that this job would provide for Gregor for his entire life, and besides, they had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did think about the future. The chief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over; the future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only his sister were here! She was clever; she was already in tears while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back. And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she could persuade him; she would close the front door in the entrance hall and talk him out of his shocked state. But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the job himself.
And without considering that he still was not familiar with how well he could move about in his present state, or that his speech still might not - or probably would not - be understood, he let go of the door; pushed himself through the opening; tried to reach the chief clerk on the landing who, ridiculously, was holding on to the banister with both hands; but Gregor fell immediately over and, with a little scream as he sought something to hold onto, landed on his numerous little legs. Hardly had that happened than, for the first time that day, he began to feel alright with his body; the little legs had the solid ground under them; to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them; they were even making the effort to carry him where he wanted to go; and he was soon believing that all his sorrows would soon be finally at an end. He held back the urge to move but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the floor. His mother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite engrossed in herself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her fingers spread shouting: "Help, for pity's sake, Help!" The way she held her head suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the unthinking way she was hurrying backwards showed that she did not; she had forgotten that the table was behind her with all the breakfast things on it; when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing; without even seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been knocked over and a gush of coffee was pouring down onto the carpet.
"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at her. He had completely forgotten the chief clerk for the moment, but could not help himself snapping in the air with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee. That set his mother screaming anew, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as he rushed towards her. Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents now; the chief clerk had already reached the stairs; with his chin on the banister, he looked back for the last time. Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sure of reaching him; the chief clerk must have expected something, as he leapt down several steps at once and disappeared; his shouts resounding all around the staircase. The flight of the chief clerk seemed, unfortunately, to put Gregor's father into a panic as well. Until then he had been relatively self controlled, but now, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or at least not impeding Gregor as he ran after him, Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand (the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat and overcoat), picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and used them to drive 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 understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder.
Across the room, despite the chilly weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window, leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face. A strong draught of air flew in from the street towards the stairway, the curtains flew up, the newspapers on the table fluttered 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 wild man. Gregor had never had any practice in moving backwards 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 afraid that if he took the time to do that his father would become impatient, and there was the threat of a lethal blow to his back or head from the stick in his father's hand any moment. Eventually, though, Gregor realised that he had no choice as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite incapable of going backwards in a straight line; so he began, as quickly as possible and with frequent anxious glances 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 hinder him, in fact now and then he used the tip of his stick to give directions from a distance as to which way to turn.
If only his father would stop that unbearable hissing! It was making Gregor quite confused. When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening to that hissing, he made a mistake 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 broad to get through it without further difficulty. In his present mood, it obviously did not occur to his father to open the other of the double 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. Nor would he ever have allowed Gregor the time to get himself upright as preparation for getting through the doorway. What he did, making more noise than ever, was to drive 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 pleasant experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway without regard for what might happen. One side of his body lifted itself, he lay at an angle in the doorway, one flank scraped on the white door and was painfully injured, leaving vile brown flecks on it, soon he was stuck fast and would not have been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hung quivering in the air while those on the other side were pressed painfully against the ground. Then his father gave him a hefty shove from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily bleeding, deep into his room. The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all was quiet.