The Metamorphosis — Part II / مسخ — بخشِ دوم

It was not until it was getting dark that evening that Gregor awoke from his deep and coma-like sleep. He would have woken soon afterwards anyway even if he hadn't been disturbed, as he had had enough sleep and felt fully rested. But he had the impression that some hurried steps and the sound of the door leading into the front room being carefully shut had woken him. The light from the electric street lamps shone palely here and there onto the ceiling and tops of the furniture, but down below, where Gregor was, it was dark. He pushed himself over to the door, feeling his way clumsily with his antennae—of which he was now beginning to learn the value—in order to see what had been happening there. The whole of his left side seemed like one, painfully stretched scar, and he limped badly on his two rows of legs. One of the legs had been badly injured in the events of that morning—it was nearly a miracle that only one of them had been—and dragged along lifelessly.

تا آنگاه که آن شب هوا تاریک شد، گرگور از خوابِ ژرف و کوماگونه‌اش بیدار نشد. به‌هر‌حال اگر هم بیدار نمی‌شد، اندکی بعد به‌خودی‌خود بیدار می‌شد، چون به‌اندازه‌ی کافی خوابیده و کاملاً سرحال بود. اما این تصور را داشت که گام‌های شتاب‌زده‌ای و صدای آرام بسته‌شدنِ درِ راهرو او را بیدار کرده‌اند. نورِ لامپ‌های برقیِ خیابان جای‌جای بر سقف و سرِ اثاثیه کم‌فروغ می‌تابید، اما در پایین، جایی که گرگور بود، تاریک بود. خود را به سویِ در راند، با شاخک‌هایش که اکنون تازه ارزش‌شان را می‌آموخت، راهش را با ناشیگری حس می‌کرد، تا ببیند آنجا چه رخ داده. تمامِ سویِ چپش چون یک زخمِ کشیده‌ی دردناک می‌نمود، و او بر دو ردیف پاهایش بدجور می‌لنگید. یکی از پاهایش در رخدادهای آن بامداد به‌شدت آسیب دیده بود — تقریباً معجزه بود که تنها یکی آسیب دیده — و بی‌جان به دنبالش کشیده می‌شد.

It was only when he had reached the door that he realised what it actually was that had drawn him over to it; it was the smell of something to eat. By the door there was a dish filled with sweetened milk with little pieces of white bread floating in it. He was so pleased he almost laughed, as he was even hungrier than he had been that morning, and immediately dipped his head into the milk, nearly covering his eyes with it. But he soon drew his head back again in disappointment; not only did the pain in his tender left side make it difficult to eat the food—he was only able to eat if his whole body worked together as a snuffling whole—but the milk did not taste at all nice. Milk like this was normally his favourite drink, and his sister had certainly left it there for him because of that, but he turned, almost against his own will, away from the dish and crawled back into the centre of the room.

تنها زمانی که به در رسید دریافت چه چیزی او را به آنجا کشانده بود؛ بوی چیزی خوراکی. کنارِ در بشقابی پر از شیرِ شیرین‌شده بود که تکه‌های کوچکِ نانِ سفید در آن شناور بودند. چنان شادمان شد که نزدیک بود بخندد، چون حتی گرسنه‌تر از صبحِ آن روز بود، و بی‌درنگ سر را در شیر فروبرد، تا حدی که چشمانش را پوشاند. اما به‌زودی با ناامیدی سر را بازکشید؛ نه‌تنها دردِ پهلوی چپِ حساسش خوردنِ غذا را دشوار می‌کرد — تنها وقتی می‌توانست بخورد که تمامِ تنش هم‌چون یک کلِ خرناسه‌کش با هم کار کند — بلکه شیر اصلاً مزه‌ی خوبی نداشت. چنین شیری معمولاً نوشیدنیِ محبوبش بود، و خواهرش مسلماً به همین دلیل آن را آنجا گذاشته بود، اما تقریباً برخلافِ ارادهی خود از بشقاب روی گرداند و به مرکزِ اتاق بازخزید.

Through the crack in the door, Gregor could see that the gas had been lit in the living room. His father at this time would normally be sat with his evening paper, reading it out in a loud voice to Gregor's mother, and sometimes to his sister, but there was now not a sound to be heard. Gregor's sister would often write and tell him about this reading, but maybe his father had lost the habit in recent times. It was so quiet all around too, even though there must have been somebody in the flat. "What a quiet life it is the family lead", said Gregor to himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents. But what now, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible and frightening end? That was something that Gregor did not want to think about too much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room.

از شکافِ در، گرگور می‌دید که گاز در اتاقِ نشیمن روشن شده. پدرش در این هنگام معمولاً با رو...مه‌ی شامگاهی‌اش نشسته بود و آن را با صدای بلند برای مادرِ گرگور، و گاه برای خواهرش، می‌خواند، اما اکنون هیچ صدایی به گوش نمی‌رسید. خواهرِ گرگور اغلب از این خواندن برایش می‌نوشت و خبر می‌داد، اما شاید پدر اخیراً این عادت را از دست داده بود. در همه‌جا چنان آرامش بود، گرچه حتماً کسی در آپارتمان می‌بود. گرگور با خود گفت: «چه زندگیِ آرامی خانواده دارد»، و در تاریکی چشم دوخت و افتخارِ بزرگی حس کرد که توانسته چنین زندگی‌ای را در چنین خانه‌ی خوبی برای خواهر و پدر و مادرش فراهم کند. اما اکنون اگر همه‌ی این آرامش و ثروت و آسایش به پایانی هولناک و وحشت‌انگیز برسد چه؟ این چیزی بود که گرگور نمی‌خواست بسیار به آن بیندیشد، پس به حرکت در آمد و در اتاق به این سو و آن سو می‌خزید.

Once during that long evening, the door on one side of the room was opened very slightly and hurriedly closed again; later on the door on the other side did the same; it seemed that someone needed to enter the room but thought better of it. Gregor went and waited immediately by the door, resolved either to bring the timorous visitor into the room in some way or at least to find out who it was; but the door was opened no more that night and Gregor waited in vain. The previous morning while the doors were locked everyone had wanted to get in there to him, but now, now that he had opened up one of the doors and the other had clearly been unlocked some time during the day, no-one came, and the keys were in the other sides.

یک بار در طولِ آن شبِ دراز، درِ یک سویِ اتاق بسیار اندک گشوده شد و باز شتاب‌زده بسته شد؛ بعدتر درِ سویِ دیگر همان کار را کرد؛ به‌نظر می‌رسید کسی نیاز به ورود به اتاق دارد اما بعد نظرش عوض می‌شود. گرگور رفت و بی‌درنگ کنارِ در منتظر ماند، عزم کرده بود یا به‌نحوی آن مهمانِ ترسو را به اتاق وارد کند یا دست‌کم دریابد کیست؛ اما در آن شب در دیگر باز نشد و گرگور بیهوده انتظار کشید. صبحِ پیش، آنگاه که درها قفل بودند، همگی می‌خواستند نزدش بروند، اما حالا، حالا که یکی از درها را باز کرده بود و آن دیگری نیز در طولِ روز روشن بود که قفلش گشوده شده، هیچ‌کس نیامد، و کلیدها از سویِ دیگر در قفل بودند.

It was not until late at night that the gaslight in the living room was put out, and now it was easy to see that his parents and sister had stayed awake all that time, as they all could be distinctly heard as they went away together on tip-toe. It was clear that no-one would come into Gregor's room any more until morning; that gave him plenty of time to think undisturbed about how he would have to re-arrange his life. For some reason, the tall, empty room where he was forced to remain made him feel uneasy as he lay there flat on the floor, even though he had been living in it for five years. Hardly aware of what he was doing other than a slight feeling of shame, he hurried under the couch. It pressed down on his back a little, and he was no longer able to lift his head, but he nonetheless felt immediately at ease and his only regret was that his body was too broad to get it all underneath.

تنها در پاسی از شب گازِ اتاقِ نشیمن خاموش شد، و حالا به‌آسانی می‌شد دید که پدر و مادر و خواهرش تمامِ این مدت بیدار مانده بودند، چون صدای روشنِ همگی‌شان شنیده شد که با نوکِ پا با هم دور می‌شدند. روشن بود که تا صبح کسی به اتاقِ گرگور نخواهد آمد؛ این برایش زمانِ زیادی فراهم کرد تا بی‌مزاحم به این بیندیشد که چگونه باید زندگی‌اش را از نو ترتیب دهد. به دلیلی، آن اتاقِ بلند و خالی که اکنون مجبور به ماندن در آن بود، حال آن‌که پنج سال در آن زندگی کرده بود، در حالی که بر زمین تخت دراز کشیده بود او را بی‌قرار می‌کرد. به‌سختی آگاه به آنچه می‌کرد جز حسی خفیف از شرم، شتاب‌زده به زیرِ کاناپه خزید. اندکی بر پشتش فشار می‌آورد و دیگر نمی‌توانست سرش را بلند کند، اما با این حال بی‌درنگ احساسِ راحتی کرد و تنها تأسفش این بود که تنه‌اش پهن‌تر از آن است که همه‌اش زیرِ کاناپه برود.

He spent the whole night there. Some of the time he passed in a light sleep, although he frequently woke from it in alarm because of his hunger, and some of the time was spent in worries and vague hopes which, however, always led to the same conclusion: for the time being he must remain calm, he must show patience and the greatest consideration so that his family could bear the unpleasantness that he, in his present condition, was forced to impose on them.

تمامِ شب را آنجا گذراند. بخشی از زمان را در خوابی سبک گذراند، گرچه پیوسته از فرطِ گرسنگی با هراس از آن بیدار می‌شد، و بخشی از زمان در نگرانی‌ها و امیدهای مبهم گذشت که با این همه همواره به همان نتیجه می‌انجامید: در حالِ حاضر باید آرام بماند، باید بردباری و بیشترین ملاحظه را نشان دهد تا خانواده‌اش بتوانند ناخوشایندی‌ای را که او در وضعِ کنونی‌اش ناگزیر بر آنان تحمیل کرده، تاب آورند.

Gregor soon had the opportunity to test the strength of his decisions, as early the next morning, almost before the night had ended, his sister, nearly fully dressed, opened the door from the front room and looked anxiously in. She did not see him straight away, but when she did notice him under the couch—he had to be somewhere, for God's sake, he couldn't have flown away—she was so shocked that she lost control of herself and slammed the door shut again from outside. But she seemed to regret her behaviour, as she opened the door again straight away and came in on tip-toe as if entering the room of someone seriously ill or even of a stranger. Gregor had pushed his head forward, right to the edge of the couch, and watched her. Would she notice that he had left the milk as it was, realise that it was not from any lack of hunger and bring him in some other food that was more suitable? If she didn't do it herself he would rather go hungry than draw her attention to it, although he did feel a terrible urge to rush forward from under the couch, throw himself at his sister's feet and beg her for something good to eat. However, his sister noticed the full dish immediately and looked at it and the few drops of milk splashed around it with some surprise. She immediately picked it up—using a rag, not her bare hands—and carried it out. Gregor was extremely curious as to what she would bring in its place, imagining the wildest possibilities, but he never could have guessed what his sister, in her goodness, actually did bring. In order to test his taste, she brought him a whole selection of things, all spread out on an old newspaper. There were old, half-rotten vegetables; bones from the evening meal, covered in white sauce that had gone hard; a few raisins and almonds; some cheese that Gregor had declared inedible two days before; a dry roll and some bread spread with butter and salt. As well as all that she had poured some water into the dish, which had probably been permanently set aside for Gregor's use, and placed it beside them. Then, out of consideration for Gregor's feelings, as she knew that he would not eat in front of her, she hurried out again and even turned the key in the lock so that Gregor would know he could make things as comfortable for himself as he liked. Gregor's little legs whirred, at last he could eat. What's more, his injuries must already have completely healed as he found no difficulty in moving. This amazed him, as more than a month earlier he had cut his finger slightly with a knife, he thought of how his finger had still hurt the day before yesterday. "Am I less sensitive than I used to be, then?", he thought, and was already sucking greedily at the cheese which had immediately, almost compellingly, attracted him much more than the other foods on the newspaper. Quickly one after another, his eyes watering with pleasure, he consumed the cheese, the vegetables and the sauce; the fresh foods, on the other hand, he didn't like at all, and even dragged the things he did want to eat a little way away from them because he couldn't stand the smell. Long after he had finished eating and lay lethargic in the same place, his sister slowly turned the key in the lock as a sign to him that he should withdraw. He was immediately startled, although he had been half asleep, and he hurried back under the couch. But he needed great self-control to stay there even for the short time that his sister was in the room, as eating so much food had rounded out his body a little and he could hardly breathe in that narrow space. Half suffocating, he watched with bulging eyes as his sister unselfconsciously took a broom and swept up the left-overs, mixing them in with the food he had not even touched at all as if it could not be used any more. She quickly dropped it all into a bin, closed it with its wooden lid, and carried everything out. She had hardly turned her back before Gregor came out again from under the couch and stretched himself.

گرگور به‌زودی فرصتِ آزمونِ نیرومندیِ تصمیمات خود را یافت، چون صبحِ زود روزِ بعد، تقریباً پیش از آن‌که شب پایان یابد، خواهرش تقریباً به‌تمام لباس‌پوشیده، در را از سویِ راهرو باز کرد و با نگرانی به درون نگاه کرد. اول او را ندید، اما وقتی متوجهِ او در زیرِ کاناپه شد — به خاطرِ خدا، باید جایی باشد، که نمی‌توانسته پرواز کند — چنان شوکه شد که خود را از دست داد و در را از بیرون باز کوبید. اما گویا از رفتارش پشیمان شد، چون بی‌درنگ در را دوباره گشود و با نوکِ پا داخل شد، گویی به اتاقِ بیماری سخت یا حتی غریبه‌ای وارد می‌شود. گرگور سرش را تا لبه‌ی کاناپه پیش رانده بود و تماشایش می‌کرد. آیا متوجه می‌شد که شیر را به همان حال گذاشته، می‌فهمید که این از کمبودِ گرسنگی نیست و خوراکی دیگری برایش می‌آورد که مناسب‌تر باشد؟ اگر این کار را خود انجام نمی‌داد، گرگور ترجیح می‌داد گرسنه بماند تا توجه‌اش را به آن جلب کند، گرچه میلِ هولناکی حس می‌کرد که از زیرِ کاناپه به جلو بدود، خود را پیشِ پای خواهرش بیندازد و از او خوراکی خوب گدایی کند. اما خواهرش بی‌درنگ بشقابِ پر را دید و با اندکی شگفتی به آن و چند قطره شیر که گرداگردش پاشیده بود نگاه کرد. آن را بی‌درنگ برداشت — با کهنه‌ای، نه با دستِ برهنه — و بیرون برد. گرگور به‌شدت کنجکاو بود که چه چیزی به‌جایش خواهد آورد، و وحشی‌ترین احتمال‌ها را تصور می‌کرد، اما هرگز نمی‌توانست حدس بزند خواهرش، در نیکی‌اش، واقعاً چه آورد. برای آزمودنِ ذائقه‌اش، گزینه‌ی کاملی از چیزها برایش آورد، همه را بر رو...مه‌ای کهنه پهن کرده بود. سبزیجاتِ کهنه و نیمه‌گندیده بود؛ استخوان‌های شامِ شب، پوشیده در سُسِ سفیدی که سفت شده بود؛ چند مویز و بادام؛ پنیری که گرگور دو روز پیش گفته بود نمی‌خورد؛ نانِ خشک و کمی نان با کره و نمک. گذشته از این، در همان بشقاب — که احتمالاً برای همیشه به استفاده‌ی گرگور اختصاص یافته بود — مقداری آب ریخته و کنارِ بقیه گذاشته بود. سپس، با ملاحظه‌ی حسِ گرگور — چون می‌دانست در حضورِ او نمی‌خورد — شتاب‌زده بیرون رفت و حتی کلید را در قفل چرخاند تا گرگور بداند می‌تواند خود را هر گونه که می‌خواهد راحت کند. پاهای ریزِ گرگور وزوز می‌کرد، سرانجام می‌توانست بخورد. وانگهی، زخم‌هایش حتماً از پیش به‌کلی شفا یافته بود، چون در حرکت دشواری نداشت. این او را شگفت‌زده کرد، چون بیش از یک ماه پیش انگشتش را با چاقو اندکی بریده بود و به یاد می‌آورد که انگشتش هنوز پریروز درد می‌کرد. در دل گفت: «پس آیا کمتر از پیش حساسم؟» و از پیش با حرص پنیر را می‌مکید، که بی‌درنگ، تقریباً به‌نحوی مجبورکننده، بسیار بیشتر از سایر خوراکی‌های روی رو...مه او را جذب کرده بود. به‌سرعت یکی پس از دیگری، در حالی که چشمانش از لذت آب می‌افتاد، پنیر و سبزیجات و سُس را بلعید؛ غذاهای تازه را اما اصلاً دوست نداشت، و حتی چیزهایی را که می‌خواست بخورد اندکی از آن‌ها دور کرد چون نمی‌توانست بویشان را تحمل کند. مدت‌ها پس از پایانِ خوردن و در حالی که در همان‌جا کسل دراز کشیده بود، خواهرش آرام کلید را در قفل چرخاند به‌عنوانِ نشانه‌ای برای او که باید کنار رود. بی‌درنگ از جا پرید، گرچه نیمه‌خواب بود، و شتابان به زیرِ کاناپه برگشت. اما خود‌داریِ زیادی لازم داشت تا حتی برای زمانِ کوتاهی که خواهرش در اتاق بود آنجا بماند، چون خوردنِ این همه غذا اندکی تنش را گرد کرده بود و در آن فضای تنگ به‌سختی می‌توانست نفس بکشد. در حالی که نیمه‌خفه شده بود، با چشمانی بیرون‌زده تماشا کرد که چگونه خواهرش بی‌خبر از خود جاروبی برداشت و باقیمانده‌ها را جارو کرد، و آن‌ها را با خوراکی‌هایی که حتی به آن‌ها دست نزده بود مخلوط کرد، گویی دیگر قابلِ استفاده نیستند. به‌سرعت همه را در سطل ریخت، آن را با درِ چوبی‌اش بست و همه را بیرون برد. هنوز پشت نگردانده بود که گرگور دوباره از زیرِ کاناپه بیرون آمد و خود را کش داد.

This was how Gregor received his food each day now, once in the morning while his parents and the maid were still asleep, and the second time after everyone had eaten their meal at midday as his parents would sleep for a little while then as well, and Gregor's sister would send the maid away on some errand. Gregor's father and mother certainly did not want him to starve either, but perhaps it would have been more than they could stand to have any more experience of his feeding than being told about it, and perhaps his sister wanted to spare them what distress she could as they were indeed suffering enough.

بدین‌سان گرگور هر روز خوراک می‌گرفت، یک بار صبح هنگامی که پدر و مادر و خدمتکار هنوز خواب بودند، و بارِ دوم پس از آن‌که همه نیم‌روز ناهارشان را خورده بودند، چون پدر و مادر آن هنگام نیز کمی می‌خوابیدند و خواهرِ گرگور خدمتکار را پیِ کاری می‌فرستاد. پدر و مادرِ گرگور قطعاً نمی‌خواستند گرسنه بماند، اما شاید برایشان بیش از تابِ تحمل می‌بود اگر تجربه‌ای از غذا خوردنش بیش از شنیدنِ خبرش می‌داشتند، و شاید خواهرش می‌خواست هر اندوهی را که می‌توانست از آنان دور سازد، چون به‌راستی به‌اندازه‌ی کافی رنج می‌کشیدند.

It was impossible for Gregor to find out what they had told the doctor and the locksmith that first morning to get them out of the flat. As nobody could understand him, nobody, not even his sister, thought that he could understand them, so he had to be content to hear his sister's sighs and appeals to the saints as she moved about his room. It was only later, when she had become a little more used to everything—there was, of course, no question of her ever becoming fully used to the situation—that Gregor would sometimes catch a friendly comment, or at least a comment that could be construed as friendly. "He's enjoyed his dinner today", she might say when he had diligently cleared away all the food left for him, or if he left most of it, which slowly became more and more frequent, she would often say, sadly, "now everything's just been left there again".

برای گرگور ممکن نبود دریابد آن صبحِ نخست به دکتر و قفل‌ساز چه گفته‌اند تا آن‌ها را از آپارتمان بیرون بفرستند. چون کسی نمی‌توانست او را بفهمد، کسی، حتی خواهرش، نمی‌اندیشید که او می‌تواند آن‌ها را بفهمد، پس می‌بایست بسنده کند به شنیدنِ آه و التماس‌های خواهرش به قدیسان در حالی که در اتاقش این سو و آن سو می‌رفت. تنها بعدها بود که او اندکی به همه چیز خو گرفت — البته جای پرسش نیست که هرگز کاملاً به وضعیت خو نمی‌گرفت — که گرگور گاه نظری دوستانه، یا دستِ کم نظری که می‌شد دوستانه تعبیر کرد، می‌شنید. شاید بگوید: «امروز شامش را با لذت خورد»، آن‌گاه که با کوشایی همه‌ی خوراکی‌اش را تمام کرده بود، یا اگر بیشترش را به جا گذاشته بود، که آرام آرام بیش از پیش رخ می‌داد، اغلب با غم می‌گفت: «حالا باز همه‌چیز همان‌جا مانده.»

Although Gregor wasn't able to hear any news directly he did listen to much of what was said in the next rooms, and whenever he heard anyone speaking he would scurry straight to the appropriate door and press his whole body against it. There was seldom any conversation, especially at first, that was not about him in some way, even if only in secret. For two whole days, all the talk at every mealtime was about what they should do now; but even between meals they spoke about the same subject as there were always at least two members of the family at home—nobody wanted to be at home by themselves and it was out of the question to leave the flat entirely empty. And on the very first day the maid had fallen to her knees and begged Gregor's mother to let her go without delay. It was not very clear how much she knew of what had happened but she left within a quarter of an hour, tearfully thanking Gregor's mother for her dismissal as if she had done her an enormous service. She even swore emphatically not to tell anyone the slightest about what had happened, even though no-one had asked that of her.

گرچه گرگور مستقیم نمی‌توانست خبری بشنود، بسیاری از آنچه را که در اتاق‌های مجاور گفته می‌شد گوش می‌داد، و هرگاه کسی را در حالِ سخن گفتن می‌شنید، یک‌راست به سویِ درِ مناسب می‌دوید و تمامِ تنش را بر آن می‌فشرد. کمتر گفت‌و‌گویی پیش می‌آمد، به‌ویژه در آغاز، که به‌نحوی درباره‌ی او نباشد، حتی اگر فقط در نهان. دو روزِ تمام، در همه‌ی وعده‌های غذا حرف‌ها فقط درباره‌ی این بود که حالا چه باید بکنند؛ اما حتی میانِ وعده‌ها هم درباره‌ی همان موضوع سخن می‌گفتند، چون همیشه دستِ کم دو عضو از خانواده در خانه بودند — کسی نمی‌خواست تنها در خانه بماند و از سؤال خارج بود که آپارتمان به‌کلی خالی بماند. و در همان روزِ اول خدمتکار به زانو افتاد و از مادرِ گرگور التماس کرد بی‌درنگ بگذارد برود. چندان روشن نبود که او چقدر از رخدادها می‌داند، اما در عرضِ یک‌ربعِ ساعت رفت و در حالی که اشک می‌ریخت از مادرِ گرگور برای اخراجش تشکر می‌کرد، گویی او لطفی عظیم در حقش کرده. حتی با تأکید قسم خورد ذره‌ای از آنچه رخ داده به کسی نگوید، حال آن‌که هیچ‌کس چنین چیزی از او نخواسته بود.

Now Gregor's sister also had to help his mother with the cooking; although that was not so much bother as no-one ate very much. Gregor often heard how one of them would unsuccessfully urge another to eat, and receive no more answer than "no thanks, I've had enough" or something similar. No-one drank very much either. His sister would sometimes ask his father whether he would like a beer, hoping for the chance to go and fetch it herself. When his father then said nothing she would add, so that he would not feel selfish, that she could send the housekeeper for it, but then his father would close the matter with a big, loud "No", and no more would be said.

اکنون خواهرِ گرگور می‌بایست در آشپزی نیز به مادر کمک کند؛ گرچه دردسرِ چندانی نبود، چون کسی بسیار نمی‌خورد. گرگور اغلب می‌شنید چگونه یکی‌شان ناموفق دیگری را به خوردن وامی‌داشت، و پاسخی بیش از «نه ممنون، بس است» یا چیزی شبیه به آن نمی‌گرفت. کسی نوشیدنیِ زیادی هم نمی‌نوشید. خواهرش گاه از پدر می‌پرسید آیا آبجویی می‌خواهد، به امیدِ آن‌که شانسی پیدا کند و خود برود بیاورد. آنگاه که پدر چیزی نمی‌گفت، می‌افزود — تا پدر خود را خودخواه نپندارد — که می‌تواند خدمتکارِ خانه را برای آن بفرستد، اما پدر آنگاه با «نه‌»ای بلند و قاطع موضوع را می‌بست و دیگر چیزی گفته نمی‌شد.

Even before the first day had come to an end, his father had explained to Gregor's mother and sister what their finances and prospects were. Now and then he stood up from the table and took some receipt or document from the little cash box he had saved from his business when it had collapsed five years earlier. Gregor heard how he opened the complicated lock and then closed it again after he had taken the item he wanted. What he heard his father say was some of the first good news that Gregor heard since he had first been incarcerated in his room. He had thought that nothing at all remained from his father's business, at least he had never told him anything different, and Gregor had never asked him about it anyway. Their business misfortune had reduced the family to a state of total despair, and Gregor's only concern at that time had been to arrange things so that they could all forget about it as quickly as possible. So then he started working especially hard, with a fiery vigour that raised him from a junior salesman to a travelling representative almost overnight, bringing with it the chance to earn money in quite different ways. Gregor converted his success at work straight into cash that he could lay on the table at home for the benefit of his astonished and delighted family. They had been good times and they had never come again, at least not with the same splendour, even though Gregor had later earned so much that he was in a position to bear the costs of the whole family, and did bear them. They had even got used to it, both Gregor and the family, they took the money with gratitude and he was glad to provide it, although there was no longer much warm affection given in return. Gregor only remained close to his sister now. Unlike him, she was very fond of music and a gifted and expressive violinist, it was his secret plan to send her to the conservatory next year even though it would cause great expense that would have to be made up for in some other way. During Gregor's short periods in town, conversation with his sister would often turn to the conservatory but it was only ever mentioned as a lovely dream that could never be realised. Their parents did not like to hear this innocent talk, but Gregor thought about it quite hard and decided he would let them know what he planned with a grand announcement of it on Christmas day.

حتی پیش از پایانِ روزِ اول، پدر برای مادر و خواهرِ گرگور توضیح داده بود امورِ مالی و چشم‌اندازِشان چه است. گاه‌گاه از پشتِ میز برمی‌خاست و رسیدی یا سندی از صندوقچه‌ی کوچکی که از تجارتِ پنج سال پیش، آنگاه که فروپاشید، به جا مانده بود بیرون می‌آورد. گرگور می‌شنید چگونه قفلِ پیچیده‌ی آن را می‌گشود و پس از برداشتنِ چیزی که می‌خواست دوباره می‌بست. آنچه از پدر می‌شنید از نخستین خبرهای خوبی بود که گرگور از زمانِ زندانی شدنش در اتاق شنیده بود. می‌پنداشت اصلاً چیزی از تجارتِ پدر باقی نمانده، دستِ کم پدر هرگز چیز دیگری به او نگفته بود، و گرگور به‌هرحال هرگز درباره‌اش نپرسیده بود. بدبختیِ کاریشان خانواده را به ناامیدیِ تمام کشانده بود، و نگرانیِ تنهای گرگور در آن زمان این بود که چیزها را چنان بچیند که همه هر چه زودتر آن را فراموش کنند. پس آغاز کرد بسیار سخت کار کند، با نیرویی آتشین که او را تقریباً یک‌شبه از یک فروشنده‌ی جوان به نماینده‌ای دوره‌گرد ارتقا داد، و این فرصتِ کسبِ پول از راه‌های دیگر را با خود به همراه آورد. گرگور موفقیتش در کار را مستقیماً به پولی نقد بدل می‌کرد که می‌توانست برای رفاهِ خانواده‌ی شگفت‌زده و شادمانش بر میز بگذارد. روزگارِ خوبی بودند و هرگز دوباره نیامدند، دستِ کم نه با همان شکوه، گرچه گرگور بعدها چنان درآمد به دست آورد که در موقعیتی بود که هزینه‌ی تمامِ خانواده را بپردازد، و پرداخت. حتی به آن خو گرفته بودند، هم گرگور و هم خانواده، پول را با سپاس می‌گرفتند و او خوشحال بود که آن را فراهم می‌آورد، گرچه دیگر در عوض محبتِ گرمی داده نمی‌شد. اکنون گرگور تنها به خواهرش نزدیک باقی مانده بود. برخلافِ او، خواهر بسیار به موسیقی علاقه داشت و نوازنده‌ای بااستعداد و گویا در ویولن بود، نقشه‌ی پنهانی‌اش این بود که سالِ آینده او را به آکادمیِ موسیقی بفرستد، گرچه این هزینه‌ی بزرگی می‌برد که باید به نحوی دیگر جبران می‌شد. در دوره‌های کوتاهی که گرگور در شهر بود، گفت‌و‌گو با خواهر اغلب به آکادمی می‌رسید، اما همواره تنها به‌عنوانِ رؤیایی زیبا که هرگز محقق نمی‌شود ذکر می‌شد. پدر و مادر دوست نداشتند این حرف‌های معصومانه را بشنوند، اما گرگور به آن سخت می‌اندیشید و تصمیم گرفته بود با اعلانی بزرگ در روزِ کریسمس بگذارد بدانند چه نقشه‌ای کشیده.

That was the sort of totally pointless thing that went through his mind in his present state, pressed upright against the door and listening. There were times when he simply became too tired to continue listening, when his head would fall wearily against the door and he would pull it up again with a start, as even the slightest noise he caused would be heard next door and they would all go silent. "What's that he's doing now", his father would say after a while, clearly having gone over to the door, and only then would the interrupted conversation slowly be taken up again.

این نوع چیزهای کاملاً بی‌فایده بود که در وضعِ کنونی‌اش از ذهنش می‌گذشت، در حالی که راست به در فشرده و گوش می‌داد. گاه چنان خسته می‌شد که نمی‌توانست گوش دادن را ادامه دهد، آنگاه سرش با خستگی به در می‌افتاد و او با تکانی آن را بالا می‌کشید، چون حتی کوچک‌ترین صدایی که از او می‌برخاست در اتاقِ کناری شنیده می‌شد و همه ساکت می‌شدند. پدرش پس از چندی می‌گفت — معلوم بود به سویِ در رفته — «حالا دارد چه می‌کند؟»، و تنها آن‌گاه گفت‌و‌گوی قطع‌شده آرام آرام از سر گرفته می‌شد.

When explaining things, his father repeated himself several times, partly because it was a long time since he had been occupied with these matters himself and partly because Gregor's mother did not understand everything the first time. From these repeated explanations Gregor learned, to his pleasure, that despite all their misfortunes there was still some money available from the old days. It was not a lot, but it had not been touched in the meantime and some interest had accumulated. Besides that, they had not been using up all the money that Gregor had been bringing home every month, keeping only a little for himself, so that that, too, had been accumulating. Behind the door, Gregor nodded with enthusiasm in his pleasure at this unexpected thrift and caution. He could actually have used this surplus money to reduce his father's debt to his boss, and the day when he could have freed himself from that job would have come much closer, but now it was certainly better the way his father had done things.

هنگامِ توضیحِ چیزها، پدر چندبار خود را تکرار می‌کرد، تا اندازه‌ای چون مدت‌ها بود خود با این امور سر‌و‌کار نداشت و تا اندازه‌ای چون مادرِ گرگور همه چیز را در نخستین‌بار نمی‌فهمید. از این توضیحاتِ مکرر، گرگور به شادمانی‌اش آموخت که با وجودِ همه‌ی بدبختی‌هایشان، هنوز پولی از روزهای قدیم در دسترس است. زیاد نبود، اما در این مدت دست نخورده مانده بود و سودی بر آن گرد آمده بود. علاوه بر این، آن‌ها همه‌ی پولی را که گرگور هر ماه به خانه می‌آورد خرج نمی‌کردند و گرگور خود تنها اندکی برای خود نگه می‌داشت، چنان‌که آن نیز در حالِ گرد آمدن بود. پشتِ در، گرگور با اشتیاق به شادمانیِ این صرفه‌جویی و احتیاطِ نامنتظره سر تکان داد. واقعاً می‌توانست با این پولِ مازاد بدهیِ پدرش به رئیس را کاهش دهد، و روزی که می‌توانست خود را از آن شغل آزاد کند بسیار نزدیک‌تر می‌بود، اما اکنون قطعاً به همان شکلی که پدر کار را پیش برده بهتر بود.

This money, however, was certainly not enough to enable the family to live off the interest; it was enough to maintain them for, perhaps, one or two years, no more. That's to say, it was money that should not really be touched but set aside for emergencies; money to live on had to be earned. His father was healthy but old, and lacking in self confidence. During the five years that he had not been working—the first holiday in a life that had been full of strain and no success—he had put on a lot of weight and become very slow and clumsy. Would Gregor's elderly mother now have to go and earn money? She suffered from asthma and it was a strain for her just to move about the home, every other day would be spent struggling for breath on the sofa by the open window. Would his sister have to go and earn money? She was still a child of seventeen, her life up till then had been very enviable, consisting of wearing nice clothes, sleeping late, helping out in the business, joining in with a few modest pleasures and most of all playing the violin. Whenever they began to talk of the need to earn money, Gregor would always first let go of the door and then throw himself onto the cool, leather sofa next to it, as he became quite hot with shame and regret.

این پول اما قطعاً کافی نبود که خانواده بتواند از سودش زندگی کند؛ تقریباً برای یکی دو سال آنان را نگه می‌داشت، نه بیشتر. یعنی پولی بود که واقعاً نباید به آن دست می‌خوردند بلکه برای موارد اضطراری کنار گذاشته می‌شد؛ پول برای زندگی باید کسب می‌شد. پدرش سالم اما پیر بود، و کم‌اعتماد به نفس. در طولِ پنج سالی که کار نکرده بود — نخستین تعطیلاتِ زندگی‌ای که پر از تنش و بی‌موفقیت بوده — وزنِ زیادی اضافه کرده بود و بسیار کندتر و دست‌و‌پاچلفتی‌تر شده بود. آیا مادرِ سالخورده‌ی گرگور اکنون باید می‌رفت و پول در می‌آورد؟ او از آسم رنج می‌برد و حتی حرکت در خانه برایش زورمندی بود، هر روزِ دیگر را بر کاناپه‌ی کنارِ پنجره‌ی باز در تقلا برای نفس‌کشیدن می‌گذراند. آیا خواهرش باید می‌رفت پول در آورد؟ او هنوز کودکی هفده‌ساله بود، زندگی‌اش تا آن هنگام بسیار رشک‌انگیز بود، عبارت بود از پوشیدنِ لباس‌های زیبا، دیر خوابیدن، کمک در کسب‌و‌کار، شرکت در چند تفریحِ ساده و بیش از همه ویولن‌نوازی. هرگاه از نیازِ کسبِ پول به سخن می‌پرداختند، گرگور همیشه ابتدا در را رها می‌کرد و سپس خود را بر کاناپه‌ی چرمیِ خنکِ کناری می‌انداخت، چون از شرم و پشیمانی کاملاً گرم می‌شد.

He would often lie there the whole night through, not sleeping a wink but scratching at the leather for hours on end. Or he might go to all the effort of pushing a chair to the window, climbing up onto the sill and, propped up in the chair, leaning on the window to stare out of it. He had used to feel a great sense of freedom from doing this, but doing it now was obviously something more remembered than experienced, as what he actually saw in this way was becoming less distinct every day, even things that were quite near; he had used to curse the ever-present view of the hospital across the street, but now he could not see it at all, and if he had not known that he lived in Charlottenstrasse, which was a quiet street despite being in the middle of the city, he could have thought that he was looking out the window at a barren waste where the grey sky and the grey earth mingled inseparably. His observant sister only needed to notice the chair twice before she would always push it back to its exact position by the window after she had tidied up the room, and even left the inner pane of the window open from then on.

اغلب تمامِ شب آنجا دراز می‌کشید، چشم بر هم نمی‌گذاشت اما ساعت‌ها بر چرم چنگ می‌زد. یا گاه به همه‌ی زحمتِ هل دادنِ صندلی‌ای به سویِ پنجره، بالا رفتن بر طاقچه و، در حالی که در صندلی تکیه داده، خیره ماندن از پنجره به بیرون می‌رفت. پیشتر از این کار حسی از آزادیِ بزرگ می‌یافت، اما حال این کار آشکارا چیزی بود بیشتر به یاد آورده تا تجربه شده، چون آنچه واقعاً به این طریق می‌دید هر روز محوتر می‌شد، حتی چیزهایی که کاملاً نزدیک بودند؛ پیشتر چشم‌اندازِ همیشه حاضرِ بیمارستانِ آن سویِ خیابان را نفرین می‌کرد، اما حالا اصلاً آن را نمی‌دید، و اگر نمی‌دانست در خیابانِ شارلوتن‌اشتراسه زندگی می‌کند که در میانه‌ی شهر خیابانی آرام است، می‌توانست بپندارد از پنجره به بیابانی بی‌حاصل می‌نگرد که در آن آسمانِ خاکستری و زمینِ خاکستری به‌نحوی جدایی‌ناپذیر در هم آمیخته‌اند. خواهرِ مراقبش تنها دو بار صندلی را که می‌دید کافی بود تا از آن پس، هر بار که اتاق را مرتب می‌کرد، آن را به دقت به جای پیشینش کنارِ پنجره باز می‌گرداند، و حتی از آن پس شیشه‌ی داخلیِ پنجره را باز می‌گذاشت.

If Gregor had only been able to speak to his sister and thank her for all that she had to do for him it would have been easier for him to bear it; but as it was it caused him pain. His sister, naturally, tried as far as possible to pretend there was nothing burdensome about it, and the longer it went on, of course, the better she was able to do so, but as time went by Gregor was also able to see through it all so much better. It had even become very unpleasant for him, now, whenever she entered the room. No sooner had she come in than she would quickly close the door as a precaution so that no-one would have to suffer the view into Gregor's room, then she would go straight to the window and pull it hurriedly open almost as if she were suffocating. Even if it was cold, she would stay at the window breathing deeply for a little while. She would alarm Gregor twice a day with this running about and noise making; he would stay under the couch shivering the whole while, knowing full well that she would certainly have liked to spare him this ordeal, but it was impossible for her to be in the same room with him with the windows closed.

اگر گرگور تنها می‌توانست با خواهرش حرف بزند و از او برای همه‌ی آنچه برایش انجام می‌داد تشکر کند، تحملش برایش آسان‌تر می‌بود؛ اما در وضعِ موجود این برایش رنج‌آور بود. خواهر، طبیعتاً، تا حدِ امکان می‌کوشید چنان وانمود کند که هیچ بارِ گرانی در میان نیست، و البته هر چه زمان می‌گذشت بهتر می‌توانست این کار را انجام دهد، اما هر چه زمان می‌گذشت گرگور نیز می‌توانست همه‌ی این‌ها را بسیار بهتر دریابد. حال هرگاه خواهر وارد اتاق می‌شد برای او بسیار ناخوشایند می‌بود. هنوز وارد نشده بود که در را به‌سرعت برای احتیاط می‌بست تا کسی مجبور به دیدنِ اتاقِ گرگور نباشد، سپس مستقیم به سویِ پنجره می‌رفت و آن را شتاب‌زده باز می‌کرد، تقریباً انگار در حالِ خفه شدن باشد. حتی اگر هوا سرد بود، اندکی نزدِ پنجره می‌ماند و عمیق نفس می‌کشید. این دوندگی و سر‌و‌صدا روزی دو بار گرگور را به وحشت می‌انداخت؛ او تمامِ مدت زیرِ کاناپه می‌لرزید، به‌خوبی می‌دانست که او قطعاً دلش می‌خواست این آزمون را از گرگور بزداید، اما برایش ممکن نبود با پنجره‌های بسته در یک اتاق با او باشد.

One day, about a month after Gregor's transformation when his sister no longer had any particular reason to be shocked at his appearance, she came into the room a little earlier than usual and found him still staring out the window, motionless, and just where he would be most horrible. In itself, his sister's not coming into the room would have been no surprise for Gregor as it would have been difficult for her to immediately open the window while he was still there, but not only did she not come in, she went straight back and closed the door behind her, a stranger would have thought he had threatened her and tried to bite her. Gregor went straight to hide himself under the couch, of course, but he had to wait until midday before his sister came back and she seemed much more uneasy than usual. It made him realise that she still found his appearance unbearable and would continue to do so, she probably even had to overcome the urge to flee when she saw the little bit of him that protruded from under the couch. One day, in order to spare her even this sight, he spent four hours carrying the bedsheet over to the couch on his back and arranged it so that he was completely covered and his sister would not be able to see him even if she bent down. If she did not think this sheet was necessary then all she had to do was take it off again, as it was clear enough that it was no pleasure for Gregor to cut himself off so completely. She left the sheet where it was. Gregor even thought he glimpsed a look of gratitude one time when he carefully looked out from under the sheet to see how his sister liked the new arrangement.

روزی، حدودِ یک ماه پس از دگرگونیِ گرگور آن‌گاه که دیگر خواهرش دلیلِ خاصی نداشت از ظاهرش شوکه شود، اندکی زودتر از معمول به اتاق آمد و او را همچنان خیره به بیرون از پنجره، بی‌حرکت، و درست در جایی که هولناک‌ترین می‌نمود، یافت. اگر خواهرش نمی‌آمد، این برای گرگور شگفتی نمی‌بود چون باز کردنِ بی‌درنگِ پنجره در حالی که او هنوز آنجا بود برایش دشوار می‌بود، اما نه‌تنها داخل نشد، بلکه مستقیماً برگشت و در را پشتِ سرش بست، غریبه‌ای می‌اندیشید او تهدیدش کرده و خواسته گازش بگیرد. البته گرگور بی‌درنگ رفت تا خود را زیرِ کاناپه پنهان کند، اما مجبور بود تا نیم‌روز منتظر بازگشتِ خواهرش بماند و او بسیار بی‌قرارتر از معمول می‌نمود. این به او دریافت که خواهر هنوز ظاهرش را تحمل‌ناپذیر می‌یابد و چنین خواهد ماند، احتمالاً حتی مجبور بود میلِ به فرار را به‌محضِ دیدنِ آن تکه‌ی کوچکِ گرگور که از زیرِ کاناپه بیرون زده بود سرکوب کند. روزی، برای آن‌که حتی این منظره را از او دور دارد، چهار ساعت زمان صرف کرد تا ملافه را بر پشت به سویِ کاناپه ببرد و آن را چنان مرتب کند که کاملاً پوشیده شود و خواهرش حتی اگر خم می‌شد نتواند ببیندش. اگر این ملافه را لازم نمی‌دید، تنها کاری که باید می‌کرد این بود که دوباره برش دارد، چون آشکار بود که برای گرگور لذتی نیست که خود را این‌چنین به‌کلی قطع کند. ملافه را همان‌جا گذاشت. گرگور یک بار حتی گمان کرد نگاهی از سپاس را در چشمانش دید، آن‌گاه که با احتیاط از زیرِ ملافه نگاه کرد تا ببیند خواهرش از آرایشِ تازه چه می‌پسندد.

For the first fourteen days, Gregor's parents could not bring themselves to come into the room to see him. He would often hear them say how they appreciated all the new work his sister was doing even though, before, they had seen her as a girl who was somewhat useless and frequently been annoyed with her. But now the two of them, father and mother, would often both wait outside the door of Gregor's room while his sister tidied up in there, and as soon as she went out again she would have to tell them exactly how everything looked, what Gregor had eaten, how he had behaved this time and whether, perhaps, any slight improvement could be seen. His mother also wanted to go in and visit Gregor relatively soon but his father and sister at first persuaded her against it. Gregor listened very closely to all this, and approved fully. Later, though, she had to be held back by force, which made her call out: "Let me go and see Gregor, he is my unfortunate son! Can't you understand I have to see him?", and Gregor would think to himself that maybe it would be better if his mother came in, not every day of course, but one day a week, perhaps; she could understand everything much better than his sister who, for all her courage, was still just a child after all, and really might not have had an adult's appreciation of the burdensome job she had taken on.

در چهارده روزِ نخست، پدر و مادرِ گرگور نمی‌توانستند خود را وادار کنند به اتاق بیایند و او را ببینند. اغلب آن‌ها را می‌شنید که می‌گفتند چقدر از همه‌ی کارهای تازه‌ی خواهرش سپاس‌گزارند، گرچه پیشتر او را دختری تا حدی بی‌کاربرد می‌دیدند و اغلب از او رنجور می‌شدند. اما حالا این دو، پدر و مادر، اغلب بیرونِ درِ اتاقِ گرگور منتظر می‌ماندند تا خواهرش آنجا را مرتب کند، و به‌محضِ این که او بیرون می‌آمد می‌بایست دقیقاً به آن‌ها بگوید همه‌چیز چگونه به نظر می‌رسد، گرگور چه خورده، این بار چگونه رفتار کرده و آیا شاید بهبودِ خفیفی دیده می‌شود. مادر نیز نسبتاً زود می‌خواست به دیدنِ گرگور برود اما پدر و خواهر در آغاز او را از این کار منصرف کردند. گرگور همه‌ی این‌ها را با دقت می‌شنید و کاملاً تأیید می‌کرد. اما بعدها مجبور می‌شدند او را به زور نگه دارند، که باعث می‌شد فریاد بزند: «بگذارید بروم گرگور را ببینم، او پسرِ بداقبالِ من است! نمی‌فهمید که باید او را ببینم؟»، و گرگور با خود می‌اندیشید که شاید بهتر باشد مادر بیاید، البته نه هر روز، اما شاید روزی در هفته؛ او می‌توانست همه چیز را بسی بهتر از خواهر بفهمد، که با همه‌ی شجاعتش هنوز کودکی بود و واقعاً ممکن بود قدرشناسیِ بزرگ‌سالانه از کارِ سنگینی که برعهده گرفته نداشته باشد.

Gregor's wish to see his mother was soon realised. Out of consideration for his parents, Gregor wanted to avoid being seen at the window during the day, the few square meters of the floor did not give him much room to crawl about, it was hard to just lie quietly through the night, his food soon stopped giving him any pleasure at all, and so, to entertain himself, he got into the habit of crawling up and down the walls and ceiling. He was especially fond of hanging from the ceiling; it was quite different from lying on the floor; he could breathe more freely; his body had a light swing to it; and up there, relaxed and almost happy, it might happen that he would surprise even himself by letting go of the ceiling and landing on the floor with a crash. But now, of course, he had far better control of his body than before and, even with a fall as great as that, caused himself no damage. Very soon his sister noticed Gregor's new way of entertaining himself—he had, after all, left traces of the adhesive from his feet as he crawled about—and got it into her head to make it as easy as possible for him by removing the furniture that got in his way, especially the chest of drawers and the desk. Now, this was not something that she would be able to do by herself; she did not dare to ask for help from her father; the sixteen year old maid had carried on bravely since the cook had left but she certainly would not have helped in this, she had even asked to be allowed to keep the kitchen locked at all times and never to have to open the door unless it was especially important; so his sister had no choice but to choose some time when Gregor's father was not there and fetch his mother to help her. As she approached the room, Gregor could hear his mother express her joy, but once at the door she went silent. First, of course, his sister came in and looked round to see that everything in the room was alright; and only then did she let her mother enter. Gregor had hurriedly pulled the sheet down lower over the couch and put more folds into it so that everything really looked as if it had just been thrown down by chance. Gregor also refrained, this time, from spying out from under the sheet; he gave up the chance to see his mother until later and was simply glad that she had come. "You can come in, he can't be seen", said his sister, obviously leading her in by the hand. The old chest of drawers was too heavy for a pair of feeble women to be heaving about, but Gregor listened as they pushed it from its place, his sister always taking on the heaviest part of the work for herself and ignoring her mother's warnings that she would strain herself. This lasted a very long time. After labouring at it for fifteen minutes or more his mother said it would be better to leave the chest where it was, for one thing it was too heavy for them to get the job finished before Gregor's father got home and leaving it in the middle of the room it would be in his way even more, and for another thing it wasn't even sure that taking the furniture away would really be any help to him. She thought just the opposite; the sight of the bare walls saddened her right to her heart; and why wouldn't Gregor feel the same way about it, he'd been used to this furniture in his room for a long time and it would make him feel abandoned to be in an empty room like that. Then, quietly, almost whispering as if wanting Gregor (whose whereabouts she did not know) to hear not even the tone of her voice, as she was convinced that he did not understand her words, she added "and by taking the furniture away, won't it seem like we're showing that we've given up all hope of improvement and we're abandoning him to cope for himself? I think it'd be best to leave the room exactly the way it was before so that when Gregor comes back to us again he'll find everything unchanged and he'll be able to forget the time in between all the easier".

آرزوی گرگور برای دیدنِ مادر به‌زودی محقق شد. به ملاحظه‌ی پدر و مادر، گرگور می‌خواست در طولِ روز در پنجره دیده نشود، چند مترِ مربعِ کف فضای زیادی برای خزیدن به او نمی‌داد، تنها دراز کشیدنِ آرام تمامِ شب دشوار بود، خوراکش به‌زودی به‌کلی برایش لذتی نمی‌داد، و بنابراین برای سرگرم کردنِ خود به این عادت افتاد که از دیوارها و سقف بالا و پایین برود. به‌ویژه به آویزان شدن از سقف علاقه داشت؛ این کاملاً متفاوت از دراز کشیدن بر کف بود؛ راحت‌تر می‌توانست نفس بکشد؛ تنه‌اش تابِ سبکی داشت؛ و آن بالا، آرام و تقریباً شاد، گاه پیش می‌آمد که حتی خود را شگفت‌زده کند، با رها کردنِ سقف و فرود آمدنی پر سر‌و‌صدا بر کف. اما حالا البته بسیار بهتر از پیش بر تنه‌اش تسلط داشت و حتی با چنین سقوطِ بزرگی هم به خود آسیبی نمی‌رساند. خواهرش به‌زودی متوجهِ شیوه‌ی تازه‌ی سرگرمیِ گرگور شد — به‌هرحال، رد چسبِ پاهایش را در حالِ خزیدن بر جای می‌گذاشت — و به سرش زد تا حدِ ممکن کار را برای او ساده کند با برداشتنِ اثاثیه‌ای که سرِ راهش بود، به‌ویژه کمدِ کشودار و میزِ تحریر. این کاری نبود که از پسش به‌تنهایی برآید؛ جرئت نمی‌کرد از پدر کمک بخواهد؛ خدمتکارِ شانزده‌ساله از زمانی که آشپز رفته بود شجاعانه ادامه می‌داد اما قطعاً در این کار کمک نمی‌کرد، حتی اجازه خواسته بود آشپزخانه را همیشه قفل نگه دارد و هرگز در را باز نکند مگر آن‌که اهمیتِ ویژه‌ای داشته باشد؛ پس خواهرش چاره‌ای نداشت جز این که زمانی را برگزیند که پدر آنجا نباشد و مادر را برای کمک بیاورد. در حالی که نزدیک می‌شد، گرگور می‌شنید چگونه مادر شادی‌اش را ابراز می‌کند، اما همین که به در رسید، ساکت شد. اول البته خواهر داخل آمد و نگاهی به اطراف انداخت تا اطمینان یابد در اتاق همه چیز روبه‌راه است؛ و تنها آن وقت بود که گذاشت مادرش وارد شود. گرگور شتاب‌زده ملافه را بر کاناپه پایین‌تر کشیده و چین‌های بیشتری در آن انداخته بود تا همه چیز واقعاً به این شکل به نظر برسد که تصادفی پایین انداخته شده. این بار گرگور همچنین خودداری کرد که از زیرِ ملافه نگاه کند؛ فرصتِ دیدنِ مادر را تا بعد رها کرد و تنها از این که آمده بود خوشحال بود. خواهرش گفت: «می‌توانی بیایی، دیده نمی‌شود»، آشکارا با گرفتنِ دست او را به داخل می‌برد. کمدِ کشودار برای دو زنِ کم‌نیرو سنگین‌تر از آن بود که بتوانند جابه‌جایش کنند، اما گرگور می‌شنید چگونه آن را از جایش هل می‌دادند، خواهرش همیشه بخشِ سنگین‌ترِ کار را خود به عهده می‌گرفت و هشدارهای مادر را که بر خود فشار خواهد آورد نادیده می‌گرفت. این بسیار طول کشید. پس از پانزده دقیقه یا بیشتر تلاش، مادر گفت بهتر است کمد را همان‌جا بگذارند، یکی این که برای آن‌ها بسی سنگین‌تر از آن است که پیش از بازگشتِ پدر کار را تمام کنند و گذاشتنش در میانه‌ی اتاق سرِ راهش را بیشتر سد می‌کند، و دیگر این که حتی معلوم نیست برداشتنِ اثاثیه واقعاً به او کمکی کند. او درست برعکس می‌اندیشید؛ منظره‌ی دیوارهای برهنه او را تا اعماقِ دل غمگین می‌کرد؛ و چرا گرگور درباره‌ی آن چنین حس نکند، او مدت‌ها به این اثاثیه در اتاقش خو گرفته بود و خود را در چنین اتاقی خالی رهاشده حس می‌کرد. سپس آرام، تقریباً پچ‌پچ‌کنان، گویی نمی‌خواهد گرگور (که جایش را نمی‌دانست) حتی لحنِ صدایش را بشنود، چون متقاعد بود او کلماتش را نمی‌فهمد، افزود: «و با بیرون بردنِ اثاثیه، آیا چنین به نظر نمی‌رسد که نشان می‌دهیم تمامِ امیدمان به بهبود را از دست داده‌ایم و او را به حالِ خودش رها می‌کنیم تا خودش از پسش بربیاید؟ به نظرِ من بهتر است اتاق را درست به همان حالتی که پیش بود بگذاریم تا وقتی گرگور دوباره نزدِ ما بازگشت همه چیز را بی‌تغییر بیابد و راحت‌تر بتواند زمانِ میانه را فراموش کند.»

Hearing these words from his mother made Gregor realise that the lack of any direct human communication, along with the monotonous life led by the family during these two months, must have made him confused—he could think of no other way of explaining to himself why he had seriously wanted his room emptied out. Had he really wanted to transform his room into a cave, a warm room fitted out with the nice furniture he had inherited? That would have let him crawl around unimpeded in any direction, but it would also have let him quickly forget his past when he had still been human. He had come very close to forgetting, and it had only been the voice of his mother, unheard for so long, that had shaken him out of it. Nothing should be removed; everything had to stay; he could not do without the good influence the furniture had on his condition; and if the furniture made it difficult for him to crawl about mindlessly that was not a loss but a great advantage.

شنیدنِ این کلمات از مادر باعث شد گرگور دریابد که نبودِ هرگونه ارتباطِ مستقیمِ انسانی، در کنارِ زندگیِ یکنواختی که خانواده در این دو ماه داشتند، حتماً او را گیج کرده — راهِ دیگری برای توضیحِ این که چرا جدّی خواسته اتاقش خالی شود به ذهنش نمی‌رسید. آیا واقعاً خواسته بود اتاقش را به غاری بدل کند، اتاقی گرم با اثاثیه‌ی زیبایی که به ارث برده بود؟ این به او اجازه می‌داد در هر جهت بی‌مانع بخزد، اما همچنین به او اجازه می‌داد به‌سرعت گذشته‌ی خود را، آنگاه که هنوز انسان بود، فراموش کند. بسیار نزدیک بود به فراموش کردن، و تنها صدای مادر، که برای مدتِ درازی نشنیده بود، او را از آن بیرون کشیده بود. هیچ چیز نباید برداشته شود؛ همه چیز باید بماند؛ نمی‌توانست بدونِ تأثیرِ خوبی که اثاثیه بر وضعش داشت زندگی کند؛ و اگر اثاثیه بی‌اندیشانه خزیدن را برایش دشوار می‌کرد، این زیان نبود بلکه مزیتِ بزرگی بود.

His sister, unfortunately, did not agree; she had become used to the idea, not without reason, that she was Gregor's spokesman to his parents about the things that concerned him. This meant that his mother's advice now was sufficient reason for her to insist on removing not only the chest of drawers and the desk, as she had thought at first, but all the furniture apart from the all-important couch. It was more than childish perversity, of course, or the unexpected confidence she had recently acquired, that made her insist; she had indeed noticed that Gregor needed a lot of room to crawl about in, whereas the furniture, as far as anyone could see, was of no use to him at all. Girls of that age, though, do become enthusiastic about things and feel they must get their way whenever they can. Perhaps this was what tempted Grete to make Gregor's situation seem even more shocking than it was so that she could do even more for him. Grete would probably be the only one who would dare enter a room dominated by Gregor crawling about the bare walls by himself.

متأسفانه خواهرش هم‌رأی نبود؛ او — نه بی‌دلیل — به این فکر خو گرفته بود که در همه‌ی چیزهای مربوط به گرگور سخنگوی او نزد پدر و مادر است. این یعنی توصیه‌ی مادر اکنون دلیلِ کافی بود تا او اصرار کند نه‌تنها کمدِ کشودار و میزِ تحریر، چنان‌که در آغاز اندیشیده بود، بلکه همه‌ی اثاثیه به‌جز کاناپه‌ی بسیار مهم را بیرون ببرند. البته این بیش از کج‌رفتاریِ کودکانه بود، یا اعتمادبه‌نفسِ نامنتظره‌ای که اخیراً پیدا کرده بود، که باعثِ اصرارش می‌شد؛ او در واقع متوجه شده بود که گرگور به فضای زیادی برای خزیدن نیاز دارد، حال آن‌که اثاثیه، تا آنجا که هر کس می‌دید، هیچ کاربردی برایش نداشت. اما دخترانِ در آن سن، درباره‌ی چیزها مشتاق می‌شوند و حس می‌کنند هرگاه بتوانند باید نظرشان را پیش ببرند. شاید همین چیزی بود که گرته را وسوسه می‌کرد وضعِ گرگور را حتی شدیدتر از آنچه بود نشان دهد تا بتواند برایش بیشتر کار کند. گرته احتمالاً تنها کسی می‌بود که جرئت می‌کرد به اتاقی پا بگذارد که گرگور به‌تنهایی بر دیوارهای برهنه می‌خزید.

So she refused to let her mother dissuade her. Gregor's mother already looked uneasy in his room, she soon stopped speaking and helped Gregor's sister to get the chest of drawers out with what strength she had. The chest of drawers was something that Gregor could do without if he had to, but the writing desk had to stay. Hardly had the two women pushed the chest of drawers, groaning, out of the room than Gregor poked his head out from under the couch to see what he could do about it. He meant to be as careful and considerate as he could, but, unfortunately, it was his mother who came back first while Grete in the next room had her arms round the chest, pushing and pulling at it from side to side by herself without, of course, moving it an inch. His mother was not used to the sight of Gregor, he might have made her ill, so Gregor hurried backwards to the far end of the couch. In his startlement, though, he was not able to prevent the sheet at its front from moving a little. It was enough to attract his mother's attention. She stood very still, remained there a moment, and then went back out to Grete.

پس نگذاشت مادر منصرفش کند. مادرِ گرگور از پیش در اتاقش بی‌قرار به نظر می‌رسید، به‌زودی از سخن گفتن دست برداشت و با نیرویی که داشت به خواهرِ گرگور کمک کرد کمدِ کشودار را بیرون ببرد. کمدِ کشودار چیزی بود که گرگور می‌توانست بدونش بسر کند اگر مجبور می‌شد، اما میزِ تحریر باید می‌ماند. هنوز دو زن، ناله‌کنان، کمد را از اتاق بیرون نبرده بودند که گرگور سرش را از زیرِ کاناپه بیرون آورد تا ببیند درباره‌اش چه می‌تواند بکند. می‌خواست تا حدِ ممکن محتاط و ملاحظه‌گر باشد، اما متأسفانه این مادرش بود که نخست بازگشت، در حالی که گرته در اتاقِ کناری بازوانش را گردِ کمد حلقه کرده بود و آن را به‌تنهایی از این سو به آن سو هل می‌داد و می‌کشید بی‌آنکه البته یک سانت تکانش بدهد. مادر به دیدنِ گرگور خو نکرده بود، ممکن بود گرگور بیمارش کند، پس گرگور شتاب‌زده به انتهای دورِ کاناپه عقب رفت. اما در آن وحشت‌زدگی نتوانست از این که ملافه در پیش‌رویش اندکی تکان بخورد جلوگیری کند. همین برای جلبِ توجهِ مادر کافی بود. کاملاً بی‌حرکت ایستاد، لحظه‌ای آنجا ماند، و سپس به سویِ گرته بیرون رفت.

Gregor kept trying to assure himself that nothing unusual was happening, it was just a few pieces of furniture being moved after all, but he soon had to admit that the women going to and fro, their little calls to each other, the scraping of the furniture on the floor, all these things made him feel as if he were being assailed from all sides. With his head and legs pulled in against him and his body pressed to the floor, he was forced to admit to himself that he could not stand all of this much longer. They were emptying his room out; taking away everything that was dear to him; they had already taken out the chest containing his fretsaw and other tools; now they threatened to remove the writing desk with its place clearly worn into the floor, the desk where he had done his homework as a business trainee, at high school, even while he had been at infant school—he really could not wait any longer to see whether the two women's intentions were good. He had nearly forgotten they were there anyway, as they were now too tired to say anything while they worked and he could only hear their feet as they stepped heavily on the floor.

گرگور می‌کوشید به خود اطمینان دهد که هیچ چیزِ غیرعادی پیش نمی‌آید، به‌هر‌حال فقط چند تکه اثاثیه جابه‌جا می‌شد، اما به‌زودی مجبور شد بپذیرد که رفت‌و‌آمدِ ...ن، فریادهای کوتاهشان به هم، خراشِ اثاثیه بر کف، همه‌ی این‌ها به او احساس می‌دادند که از همه سو مورد حمله است. در حالی که سر و پاهایش را به خود فشرده و تنش را بر کف چسبانده بود، ناگزیر بود به خود اعتراف کند که نمی‌تواند مدت‌ها بیش از این تاب بیاورد. اتاقش را خالی می‌کردند؛ هر چه برایش گرامی بود می‌بردند؛ از پیش صندوقِ حاویِ اره‌ی موئی و دیگر ابزارهایش را بیرون برده بودند؛ اکنون تهدید می‌کردند میزِ تحریر را — با جای کاملاً ساییده‌اش بر کف — ببرند، میزی که در آن تکلیف‌هایش را به‌عنوانِ کارآموزِ بازرگانی، در دبیرستان، حتی در دبستان انجام داده بود — واقعاً نمی‌توانست بیش از این منتظر بماند تا ببیند آیا نیتِ دو زن خوب است یا نه. تقریباً حضورِ آن‌ها را به‌هر‌حال فراموش کرده بود، چون اکنون چنان خسته بودند که در حینِ کار چیزی نمی‌گفتند و او تنها صدای پاهایشان را می‌شنید که سنگین بر کف گام برمی‌داشتند.

So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out, changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall—which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it—of the lady dressed in copious fur. He hurried up onto the picture and pressed himself against its glass, it held him firmly and felt good on his hot belly. This picture at least, now totally covered by Gregor, would certainly be taken away by no-one. He turned his head to face the door into the living room so that he could watch the women when they came back.

پس در حالی که ...ن در اتاقِ دیگر به میز تکیه داده و نفس تازه می‌کردند، او بیرون جست، چهار بار جهت عوض کرد بی‌آن‌که بداند نخست چه را باید نجات دهد، تا این که توجه‌اش ناگهان به تصویر روی دیوار جلب شد — که از پیش از هر چیزِ دیگر برهنه شده بود — تصویرِ بانویی پوشیده در خزِ فراوان. شتاب‌زده به تصویر بالا رفت و خود را به شیشه‌اش فشرد، آن او را محکم نگه می‌داشت و بر شکمِ داغش حسِ خوبی می‌داد. این تصویر دستِ کم، که اکنون به‌کلی توسطِ گرگور پوشیده شده بود، قطعاً به دستِ کسی برده نمی‌شد. سرش را به سوی درِ اتاقِ نشیمن گرداند تا بتواند هنگامِ بازگشتِ ...ن تماشایشان کند.

They had not allowed themselves a long rest and came back quite soon; Grete had put her arm around her mother and was nearly carrying her. "What shall we take now, then?", said Grete and looked around. Her eyes met those of Gregor on the wall. Perhaps only because her mother was there, she remained calm, bent her face to her so that she would not look round and said, albeit hurriedly and with a tremor in her voice: "Come on, let's go back in the living room for a while?" Gregor could see what Grete had in mind, she wanted to take her mother somewhere safe and then chase him down from the wall. Well, she could certainly try it! He sat unyielding on his picture. He would rather jump at Grete's face.

به خود اجازه‌ی استراحتِ طولانی نداده بودند و خیلی زود بازگشتند؛ گرته بازویش را دورِ مادر انداخته و تقریباً او را حمل می‌کرد. گرته گفت: «حالا چه برداریم؟» و به اطراف نگاه کرد. چشمانش با چشمانِ گرگور بر دیوار تلاقی کرد. شاید فقط چون مادر آنجا بود، آرام ماند، چهره‌اش را به مادر خم کرد تا او به اطراف نگاه نکند و گفت — هرچند شتاب‌زده و با لرزش در صدا — «بیا، یک مدت برگردیم به اتاقِ نشیمن؟» گرگور می‌توانست ببیند گرته چه در سر دارد، می‌خواست مادر را جایی امن ببرد و سپس او را از دیوار پایین کشد. خب، حتماً می‌توانست آن را امتحان کند! او سرسختانه روی تصویرش نشست. ترجیح می‌داد به چهره‌ی گرته بپرد.

But Grete's words had made her mother quite worried, she stepped to one side, saw the enormous brown patch against the flowers of the wallpaper, and before she even realised it was Gregor that she saw screamed: "Oh God, oh God!" Arms outstretched, she fell onto the couch as if she had given up everything and stayed there immobile. "Gregor!" shouted his sister, glowering at him and shaking her fist. That was the first word she had spoken to him directly since his transformation. She ran into the other room to fetch some kind of smelling salts to bring her mother out of her faint; Gregor wanted to help too—he could save his picture later, although he stuck fast to the glass and had to pull himself off by force; then he, too, ran into the next room as if he could advise his sister like in the old days; but he had to just stand behind her doing nothing; she was looking into various bottles, he startled her when she turned round; a bottle fell to the ground and broke; a splinter cut Gregor's face, some kind of caustic medicine splashed all over him; now, without delaying any longer, Grete took hold of all the bottles she could and ran with them in to her mother; she slammed the door shut with her foot. So now Gregor was shut out from his mother, who, because of him, might be near to death; he could not open the door if he did not want to chase his sister away, and she had to stay with his mother; there was nothing for him to do but wait; and, oppressed with anxiety and self-reproach, he began to crawl about, he crawled over everything, walls, furniture, ceiling, and finally in his confusion as the whole room began to spin around him he fell down into the middle of the dinner table.

اما کلماتِ گرته مادر را کاملاً نگران کرده بود، او یک قدم به یک سو رفت، آن لکه‌ی قهوه‌ایِ عظیم را در برابر گل‌های کاغذِ دیواری دید، و پیش از آن‌که حتی دریابد آنچه می‌بیند گرگور است، فریاد زد: «آه خدا، آه خدا!» با بازوانِ گشوده بر کاناپه افتاد، گویی همه چیز را وانهاده، و بی‌حرکت آنجا ماند. خواهرش، در حالی که با اخم به او زل می‌زد و مشت می‌فشرد، فریاد زد: «گرگور!» این نخستین کلمه‌ای بود که از زمانِ دگرگونی‌اش مستقیماً به او می‌گفت. به اتاقِ دیگر دوید تا نوعی نمکِ بویا بیاورد و مادر را از بیهوشی بیرون آورد؛ گرگور نیز می‌خواست کمک کند — تصویرش را بعداً می‌توانست نجات دهد، گرچه به‌سختی به شیشه چسبیده بود و باید خود را به زور می‌کند؛ سپس او نیز به اتاقِ مجاور دوید، گویی می‌توانست چون روزگارِ قدیم به خواهر مشورت دهد؛ اما باید پشتِ سرش می‌ایستاد بی‌کار؛ او در بطری‌های گوناگون می‌نگریست، گرگور وقتی برگشت او را ترساند؛ بطری‌ای بر زمین افتاد و شکست؛ ترکه‌ای صورتِ گرگور را برید، نوعی داروی سوزاننده بر سراپایش پاشید؛ حالا، بی‌درنگ، گرته همه‌ی بطری‌هایی را که می‌توانست برداشت و با آن‌ها به سویِ مادر دوید؛ در را با پایش کوبیده بست. پس حالا گرگور از مادرش جدا افتاده بود، که به‌خاطرِ او ممکن بود نزدیکِ مرگ باشد؛ نمی‌توانست در را باز کند اگر نمی‌خواست خواهرش را براند، و او باید پیشِ مادر می‌ماند؛ کاری نداشت جز انتظار؛ و در زیرِ فشارِ اضطراب و خودسرزنشی به خزیدن آغاز کرد، بر همه چیز خزید، دیوارها، اثاثیه، سقف، و سرانجام در سردرگمی‌اش، در حالی که تمامِ اتاق در پیرامونش به چرخش در می‌آمد، در میانه‌ی میزِ ناهارخوری فرود آمد.

He lay there for a while, numb and immobile, all around him it was quiet, maybe that was a good sign. Then there was someone at the door. The maid, of course, had locked herself in her kitchen so that Grete would have to go and answer it. His father had arrived home. "What's happened?" were his first words; Grete's appearance must have made everything clear to him. She answered him with subdued voice, and openly pressed her face into his chest: "Mother's fainted, but she's better now. Gregor got out." "Just as I expected", said his father, "just as I always said, but you women wouldn't listen, would you." It was clear to Gregor that Grete had not said enough and that his father took it to mean that something bad had happened, that he was responsible for some act of violence. That meant Gregor would now have to try to calm his father, as he did not have the time to explain things to him even if that had been possible. So he fled to the door of his room and pressed himself against it so that his father, when he came in from the hall, could see straight away that Gregor had the best intentions and would go back into his room without delay, that it would not be necessary to drive him back but that they had only to open the door and he would disappear.

مدتی آنجا دراز کشید، کرخت و بی‌حرکت، اطرافش آرام بود، شاید این نشانه‌ی خوبی بود. سپس کسی بر در آمد. خدمتکار، البته، خود را در آشپزخانه‌اش حبس کرده بود تا گرته مجبور باشد برود و پاسخ دهد. پدر به خانه رسیده بود. نخستین کلماتش این بود: «چه شده؟»؛ ظاهرِ گرته حتماً همه چیز را برایش روشن کرده بود. او با صدایی فروخفته پاسخش داد و آشکارا صورتش را به سینه‌ی او فشرد: «مادر غش کرد، اما حالا بهتر است. گرگور بیرون آمد.» پدر گفت: «درست همانطور که انتظار داشتم، درست همانطور که همیشه می‌گفتم، اما شما زن‌ها گوش نمی‌کردید، می‌کردید؟» برای گرگور روشن بود که گرته به‌اندازه‌ی کافی نگفته و پدر این را به این معنا گرفته که چیزِ بدی رخ داده، که او مسئولِ نوعی خشونت است. این یعنی گرگور باید اکنون می‌کوشید پدر را آرام کند، چون فرصت نداشت همه چیز را برایش توضیح دهد، حتی اگر این کار ممکن می‌بود. پس به سویِ درِ اتاقش گریخت و خود را به آن فشرد تا پدر، وقتی از راهرو وارد می‌شود، بی‌درنگ ببیند که گرگور بهترین نیت‌ها را دارد و بی‌درنگ به اتاقش بازخواهد گشت، که لازم نخواهد بود او را بازبرانند، تنها کافی است در را باز کنند و او ناپدید خواهد شد.

His father, though, was not in the mood to notice subtleties like that; "Ah!", he shouted as he came in, sounding as if he were both angry and glad at the same time. Gregor drew his head back from the door and lifted it towards his father. He really had not imagined his father the way he stood there now; of late, with his new habit of crawling about, he had neglected to pay attention to what was going on the rest of the flat the way he had done before. He really ought to have expected things to have changed, but still, still, was that really his father? The same tired man as used to be laying there entombed in his bed when Gregor came back from his business trips, who would receive him sitting in the armchair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings; who was hardly even able to stand up but, as a sign of his pleasure, would just raise his arms and who, on the couple of times a year when they went for a walk together on a Sunday or public holiday wrapped up tightly in his overcoat between Gregor and his mother, would always labour his way forward a little more slowly than them, who were already walking slowly for his sake; who would place his stick down carefully and, if he wanted to say something would invariably stop and gather his companions around him. He was standing up straight enough now; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute; above the high, stiff collar of the coat his strong double-chin emerged; under the bushy eyebrows, his piercing, dark eyes looked out fresh and alert; his normally unkempt white hair was combed down painfully close to his scalp. He took his cap, with its gold monogram from, probably, some bank, and threw it in an arc right across the room onto the sofa, put his hands in his trouser pockets, pushing back the bottom of his long uniform coat, and, with look of determination, walked towards Gregor. He probably did not even know himself what he had in mind, but nonetheless lifted his feet unusually high. Gregor was amazed at the enormous size of the soles of his boots, but wasted no time with that—he knew full well, right from the first day of his new life, that his father thought it necessary to always be extremely strict with him. And so he ran up to his father, stopped when his father stopped, scurried forwards again when he moved, even slightly. In this way they went round the room several times without anything decisive happening, without even giving the impression of a chase as everything went so slowly. Gregor remained all this time on the floor, largely because he feared his father might see it as especially provoking if he fled onto the wall or ceiling. Whatever he did, Gregor had to admit that he certainly would not be able to keep up this running about for long, as for each step his father took he had to carry out countless movements. He became noticeably short of breath, even in his earlier life his lungs had not been very reliable. Now, as he lurched about in his efforts to muster all the strength he could for running he could hardly keep his eyes open; his thoughts became too slow for him to think of any other way of saving himself than running; he almost forgot that the walls were there for him to use although, here, they were concealed behind carefully carved furniture full of notches and protrusions—then, right beside him, lightly tossed, something flew down and rolled in front of him. It was an apple; then another one immediately flew at him; Gregor froze in shock; there was no longer any point in running as his father had decided to bombard him. He had filled his pockets with fruit from the bowl on the sideboard and now, without even taking the time for careful aim, threw one apple after another. These little, red apples rolled about on the floor, knocking into each other as if they had electric motors. An apple thrown without much force glanced against Gregor's back and slid off without doing any harm. Another one however, immediately following it, hit squarely and lodged in his back; Gregor wanted to drag himself away, as if he could remove the surprising, the incredible pain by changing his position; but he felt as if nailed to the spot and spread himself out, all his senses in confusion. The last thing he saw was the door of his room being pulled open, his sister was screaming, his mother ran out in front of her in her blouse (as his sister had taken off some of her clothes after she had fainted to make it easier for her to breathe), she ran to his father, her skirts unfastened and sliding one after another to the ground, stumbling over the skirts she pushed herself to his father, her arms around him, uniting herself with him totally—now Gregor lost his ability to see anything—her hands behind his father's head begging him to spare Gregor's life.

پدر اما در حالی نبود که چنین ظرافت‌هایی را دریابد؛ همان‌طور که وارد می‌شد فریاد زد: «آه!»، که صدایش گویی هم‌زمان خشمگین و شادمان بود. گرگور سرش را از در عقب کشید و به سوی پدر بلند کرد. واقعاً پدرش را آن‌گونه که اکنون ایستاده بود تصور نکرده بود؛ به تازگی، با عادتِ تازه‌اش به خزیدن، از توجه به آنچه در بقیه‌ی آپارتمان می‌گذشت، آن‌گونه که پیشتر داشت، غافل مانده بود. واقعاً باید انتظار می‌داشت چیزها تغییر کرده باشند، اما با این همه، با این همه، آیا این واقعاً پدرش بود؟ همان مردِ خسته که در تخت چون مقبره دراز کشیده بود وقتی گرگور از سفرهای تجاری بازمی‌گشت، که در صندلیِ راحتی در روپوشِ شبانه‌اش او را پذیرا می‌شد وقتی شب‌ها بازمی‌گشت؛ که به‌سختی می‌توانست بایستد اما به نشانه‌ی شادی‌اش فقط بازوانش را بالا می‌برد و در آن چند بار در سال که با هم یکشنبه یا تعطیلی به پیاده‌روی می‌رفتند، در حالی که در پالتویش میانِ گرگور و مادر سفت پیچیده بود، همیشه با تلاشِ بیشتر اندکی کندتر از آنان پیش می‌رفت، که به‌خاطرِ او از پیش آرام راه می‌رفتند؛ که عصایش را با احتیاط می‌گذاشت و اگر می‌خواست چیزی بگوید همواره می‌ایستاد و همراهان را گردِ خود جمع می‌کرد. اکنون به‌اندازه‌ی کافی راست ایستاده بود؛ در یونیفرمی آبیِ شیک با دکمه‌های طلایی، از همان نوعی که کارکنانِ مؤسسه‌ی بانکی می‌پوشیدند؛ بالای یقه‌ی بلند و سفتِ پالتو، غبغبِ نیرومندش پیدا بود؛ زیرِ ابروانِ پرپشت، چشمانِ نافذِ تیره‌اش تازه و هوشیار بیرون می‌نگریست؛ موهای سفیدش که معمولاً ژولیده بود، اکنون به‌نحوی دردناک نزدیکِ پوستِ سرش شانه شده بود. کلاهش را با لوگوی طلایی‌اش — احتمالاً از کدام بانکی — برداشت و در قوسی به آن طرفِ اتاق روی کاناپه پرت کرد، دست‌هایش را در جیبِ شلوارش گذاشت، انتهای پالتویِ بلندش را به عقب می‌راند، و با نگاهی مصمم به سوی گرگور پیش رفت. احتمالاً خودش هم نمی‌دانست چه در سر دارد، اما با این همه پاهایش را به‌نحوی غیرمعمول بالا می‌برد. گرگور از اندازه‌ی هنگفتِ کفِ چکمه‌هایش حیرت کرد، اما وقتی برایش تلف نکرد — به‌خوبی می‌دانست، درست از روزِ نخستِ زندگیِ تازه‌اش، که پدرش لازم می‌داند همیشه با او بسیار سخت‌گیر باشد. و چنین به سوی پدر دوید، وقتی پدر ایستاد ایستاد، وقتی حرکت کرد، حتی اندکی، باز به جلو دوید. به این شکل چندبار اتاق را گرد زدند بی‌آن‌که چیزِ تعیین‌کننده‌ای رخ دهد، حتی بی‌آن‌که حسِ تعقیب بدهد، چون همه چیز چنان آرام پیش می‌رفت. گرگور تمامِ این مدت بر کف ماند، عمدتاً چون می‌ترسید پدر اگر به دیوار یا سقف بگریزد آن را خصوصاً تحریک‌کننده بپندارد. هر کار می‌کرد، گرگور می‌دانست قطعاً نمی‌تواند مدت‌ها این دوندگی را ادامه دهد، چون به ازای هر گام که پدر برمی‌داشت، او باید بی‌شمار حرکت می‌کرد. به‌نحوی محسوس کم‌نفس شد، حتی در زندگیِ پیشین‌اش ریه‌هایش چندان قابلِ اعتماد نبودند. حال، در حالی که در تلاش برای گردآوردنِ هر چه نیرو برای دویدن تلوتلو می‌خورد، به‌سختی می‌توانست چشمانش را باز نگه دارد؛ افکارش چنان کند شدند که نمی‌توانست به راه دیگری برای نجات جز دویدن فکر کند؛ تقریباً فراموش کرد که دیوارها برای استفاده‌اش آنجاست، گرچه اینجا آن‌ها پشتِ اثاثیه‌ی به‌دقت تراشیده‌ای، پر از فرورفتگی و برآمدگی، پنهان بودند — سپس، درست در کنارش، چیزی به سبکی پرتاب شد، پایین آمد و در برابرش غلتید. سیبی بود؛ آن‌گاه بی‌درنگ سیبی دیگر به سویش پرید؛ گرگور از شوک خشک شد؛ دیگر دلیلی به دویدن نبود چون پدرش تصمیم گرفته بود بمبارانش کند. جیب‌هایش را با میوه‌ی کاسه‌ی روی بوفه پر کرده بود و حال، بی‌آنکه حتی فرصت کند با دقت نشانه‌گیری کند، سیب‌ها را یکی پس از دیگری پرتاب می‌کرد. این سیب‌های کوچکِ سرخ بر کف می‌غلتیدند و به یکدیگر می‌خوردند، گویی موتورِ برقی داشتند. سیبی که با نیروی چندانی پرتاب نشده بود، بر پشتِ گرگور سُر خورد و بی‌آسیب فرو افتاد. اما سیبِ دیگر، که بی‌درنگ از پیِ آن آمد، به‌درستی به هدف خورد و در پشتش جا گرفت؛ گرگور می‌خواست خود را با کشاندن کنار بکشد، گویی می‌تواند با تغییرِ موقعیت آن دردِ غافل‌گیرکننده و باورنکردنی را برطرف کند؛ اما حس کرد به آن نقطه میخکوب شده و خود را گسترده ساخت، همه‌ی حواسش در سردرگمی. آخرین چیزی که دید این بود که درِ اتاقش با شدت گشوده می‌شد، خواهرش جیغ می‌زد، مادرش با بلوزش جلوتر از او بیرون می‌دوید (چون خواهرش پس از غش کردنش، برای آن‌که برایش راحت‌تر نفس بکشد، بخشی از لباس‌هایش را در آورده بود)، به سوی پدر دوید، دامن‌های بازشده‌اش یکی پس از دیگری به زمین می‌لغزید، در حالی که بر دامن‌ها می‌لغزید خود را به پدر فشار داد، با بازوانش گرداگردِ او، خود را با او به‌تمامی یکی می‌کرد — اکنون گرگور توانایی دیدن را از دست داد — دست‌هایش پشتِ سرِ پدر، التماس می‌کرد جانِ گرگور را بخشاید.