The Metamorphosis

Gregor first woke up from his heavy swoon-like sleep in the evening twilight. He would certainly have woken up soon afterwards without any disturbance, for he felt himself sufficiently rested and wide awake, although it appeared to him as if a hurried step and a cautious closing of the door to the hall had aroused him. The shine of the electric streetlights lay pale here and there on the ceiling and on the higher parts of the furniture, but underneath around Gregor it was dark. He pushed himself slowly toward the door, still groping awkwardly with his feelers, which he now learned to value for the first time, to check what was happening there. His left side seemed one single long unpleasantly stretched scar, and he really had to hobble on his two rows of legs. In addition, one small leg had been seriously wounded in the course of the morning incident (it was almost a miracle that only one had been hurt) and dragged lifelessly behind.

   Foi apenas ao anoitecer que Gregório acordou do seu sono profundo, que mais parecera um desmaio. Ainda que nada o tivesse feito, de certo teria acordado pouco mais tarde por si só, visto que se sentia suficientemente descansado e bem dormido, mas parecia-lhe ter sido despertado por um andar cauteloso e pelo fechar da porta que dava para o vestíbulo. Os postes da rua projetavam aqui e além um reflexo pálido, no teto e na parte superior dos móveis, mas ali em baixo, no local onde se encontrava, estava escuro. Lentamente, experimentando de modo desajeitado as antenas, cuja utilidade começava pela primeira vez a apreciar, arrastou-se até à porta, para ver o que acontecera. Sentia todo o flanco esquerdo convertido numa única cicatriz, comprida e incomodamente repuxada, e tinha efetivamente de coxear sobre as duas filas de pernas. Uma delas ficara gravemente atingida pelos acontecimentos dessa manhã era quase um milagre ter sido afetada apenas uma e arrastava-se, inútil, atrás de si.

By the door he first noticed what had really lured him there: it was the smell of something to eat. For there stood a bowl filled with sweetened milk, in which swam tiny pieces of white bread. He almost laughed with joy, for he now had a much greater hunger than in the morning, and he immediately dipped his head almost up to and over his eyes down into the milk. But he soon drew it back again in disappointment, not just because it was difficult for him to eat on account of his delicate left side (he could eat only if his entire panting body worked in a coordinated way), but also because the milk, which otherwise was his favorite drink and which his sister had certainly placed there for that reason, did not appeal to him at all. He turned away from the bowl almost with aversion and crept back into the middle of the room.

   Só depois de chegar à porta percebeu o que o tinha atraído para ela: o cheiro da comida. Com efeito, tinham lá posto uma tigela de leite dentro do qual flutuavam pedacinhos de pão. Quase desatou a rir de contentamento, porque sentia ainda mais fome que de manhã, e imediatamente enfiou a cabeça no leite, quase mergulhando também os olhos. Depressa, a retirou, desanimado: além de ter dificuldade em comer, por causa do flanco esquerdo magoado, que o obrigava a ingerir a comida à força de sacudidelas, recorrendo a todo o corpo, não gostava do leite, conquanto tivesse sido a sua bebida preferida e fosse certamente essa a razão que levara a irmã a pôr-lho ali, Efetivamente, foi quase com repulsa que se afastou da tigela e se arrastou até meio do quarto.

In the living room, as Gregor saw through the crack in the door, the gas was lit, but where on other occasions at this time of day the father was accustomed to read the afternoon newspaper in a loud voice to his mother and sometimes also to his sister, at the moment not a sound was audible. Now, perhaps this reading aloud, about which his sister always spoken and written to him, had recently fallen out of their general routine. But it was so still all around, in spite of the fact that the apartment was certainly not empty. "What a quiet life the family leads", said Gregor to himself and, as he stared fixedly out in front of him into the darkness, he felt a great pride that he had been able to provide such a life in a beautiful apartment like this for his parents and his sister. But how would things go if now all tranquility, all prosperity, all contentment should come to a horrible end? In order not to lose himself in such thoughts, Gregor preferred to set himself moving and crawled up and down in his room.

   Através da fenda da porta, verificou que tinham acendido o gás na sala de estar. Embora àquela hora o pai costumasse ler o jornal em voz alta para a mãe e eventualmente também para a irmã, nada se ouvia. Bom, talvez o pai tivesse recentemente perdido o hábito de ler em voz alta, hábito esse que a irmã tantas vezes mencionara em conversa e por carta. Mas por todo o lado reinava o mesmo silêncio, embora por certo estivesse alguém em casa. Que vida sossegada a minha família tem levado! , disse Gregório, de si para si. Imóvel, a fitar a escuridão, sentiu naquele momento um grande orgulho por ter sido capaz de proporcionar aos pais e à irmã uma tal vida numa casa tão boa. Mas que sucederia se toda a calma, conforto e satisfação acabassem em catástrofe? Tentando não se perder em pensamentos, Gregório refugiou-se no exercício físico e começou a rastejar para um lado e para o outro, ao longo do quarto.

Once during the long evening one side door and then the other door was opened just a tiny crack and quickly closed again. Someone presumably needed to come in but had then thought better of it. Gregor immediately took up a position by the living room door, determined to bring in the hesitant visitor somehow or other or at least to find out who it might be. But now the door was not opened any more, and Gregor waited in vain. Earlier, when the door had been barred, they had all wanted to come in to him; now, when he had opened one door and when the others had obviously been opened during the day, no one came any more, and the keys were stuck in the locks on the outside.

   A certa altura, durante o longo fim de tarde, viu as portas laterais abrir-se ligeiramente e ser novamente fechada; mais tarde, sucedeu o mesmo com a porta do outro lado. Alguém pretendera entrar e mudara de idéias. Gregório resolveu postar-se ao pé da porta que dava para a sala de estar, decidido a persuadir qualquer visitante indeciso a entrar ou, pelo menos, a descobrir quem poderia ser. Mas esperou em vão, pois ninguém tornou a abrir a porta. De manhã cedo, quando todas as portas estavam fechadas à chave, todos tinham querido entrar; agora, que ele tinha aberto uma porta e a outra fora aparentemente aberta durante o dia, ninguém entrava e até as chaves tinham sido transferidas para o lado de fora das portas.

The light in the living room was turned off only late at night, and now it was easy to establish that his parents and his sister had stayed awake all this time, for one could hear clearly as all three moved away on tiptoe. Now it was certain that no one would come into Gregor any more until the morning. Thus, he had a long time to think undisturbed about how he should reorganize his life from scratch. But the high, open room, in which he was compelled to lie flat on the floor, made him anxious, without his being able to figure out the reason, for he had lived in the room for five years. With a half unconscious turn and not without a slight shame he scurried under the couch, where, in spite of the fact that his back was a little cramped and he could no longer lift up his head, he felt very comfortable and was sorry only that his body was too wide to fit completely under it.

   Só muito tarde apagaram o gás na sala; Gregório tinha quase a certeza de que os pais e a irmã tinham ficado acordados até então, pois ouvia-os afastarem-se, caminhando nos bicos dos pés. Não era nada provável que alguém viesse visitá-lo até à manhã seguinte, de modo que tinha tempo de sobra para meditar sobre a maneira de reorganizar a sua vida. O enorme quarto vazio dentro do qual era obrigado a permanecer deitado no chão enchia-o de uma apreensão cuja causa não conseguia descobrir, pois havia cinco anos que o habitava. Meio inconscientemente, não sem uma leve sensação de vergonha, meteu-se debaixo do sofá, onde imediatamente se sentiu bem, embora ficasse com o dorso um tanto comprimido e não lhe fosse possível levantar a cabeça, lamentando apenas que o corpo fosse largo de mais para caber totalmente debaixo do sofá.

There he remained the entire night, which he spent partly in a state of semi-sleep, out of which his hunger constantly woke him with a start, but partly in a state of worry and murky hopes, which all led to the conclusion that for the time being he would have to keep calm and with patience and the greatest consideration for his family tolerate the troubles which in his present condition he was now forced to cause them.

   Ali passou toda a noite, grande parte da qual mergulhado num leve torpor, do qual a fome constantemente o despertava com um sobressalto, preocupando-se ocasionalmente com a sua sorte e alimentando vagas esperanças, que levavam todas à mesma conclusão: devia deixar-se estar e, usando de paciência e do mais profundo respeito, auxiliar a família a suportar os incômodos que estava destinado a causar-lhes nas condições presentes.

Already early in the morning (it was still almost night) Gregor had an opportunity to test the power of the decisions he had just made, for his sister, almost fully dressed, opened the door from the hall into his room and looked eagerly inside. She did not find him immediately, but when she noticed him under the couch (God, he had to be somewhere or other; for he could hardly fly away) she got such a shock that, without being able to control herself, she slammed the door shut once again from the outside. However, as if she was sorry for her behaviour, she immediately opened the door again and walked in on her tiptoes, as if she was in the presence of a serious invalid or a total stranger. Gregor had pushed his head forward just to the edge of the couch and was observing her. Would she really notice that he had left the milk standing, not indeed from any lack of hunger, and would she bring in something else to eat more suitable for him? If she did not do it on her own, he would sooner starve to death than call her attention to the fact, although he had a really powerful urge to move beyond the couch, throw himself at his sister's feet, and beg her for something or other good to eat. But his sister noticed right away with astonishment that the bowl was still full, with only a little milk spilled around it. She picked it up immediately (although not with her bare hands but with a rag), and took it out of the room. Gregor was extremely curious what she would bring as a substitute, and he pictured to himself different ideas about that. But he never could have guessed what his sister out of the goodness of her heart in fact did. She brought him, to test his taste, an entire selection, all spread out on an old newspaper. There were old half-rotten vegetables, bones from the evening meal, covered with a white sauce which had almost solidified, some raisins and almonds, cheese, which Gregor had declared inedible two days earlier, a slice of dry bread, a slice of salted bread smeared with butter. In addition to all this, she put down a bowl (probably designated once and for all as Gregor's) into which she had poured some water. And out of her delicacy of feeling, since she knew that Gregor would not eat in front of her, she went away very quickly and even turned the key in the lock, so that Gregor could now observe that he could make himself as comfortable as he wished. Gregor's small limbs buzzed as the time for eating had come. His wounds must, in any case, have already healed completely. He felt no handicap on that score. He was astonished at that and thought about it, how more than a month ago he had cut his finger slightly with a knife and how this wound had hurt enough even the day before yesterday.

   De manhã bem cedo, Gregório teve ocasião de pôr à prova o valor das suas recentes resoluções, dado que a irmã, quase totalmente vestida, abriu a porta que dava para o vestíbulo e espreitou para dentro do quarto. Não o viu imediatamente, mas, ao apercebê-lo debaixo do sofá — que diabo, tinha de estar em qualquer sítio, não havia de ter-se sumido, pois não? —, ficou de tal modo assustada que fugiu precipitadamente, batendo com a porta. Mas, teria que arrependida desse comportamento, tornou a abrir a porta e entrou nos bicos dos pés, como se estivesse de visita a um inválido ou a um estranho. Gregório estendeu a cabeça para fora do sofá e ficou a observá-la. Notaria a irmã que ele deixara o leite intacto, não por falta de fome, e traria qualquer outra comida que lhe agradasse mais ao paladar? Se ela o não fizesse de moto próprio, Gregório preferiria morrer de fome a chamar-lhe a atenção para o acontecimento, muito embora sentisse um irreprimível desejo de saltar do seu refúgio debaixo do sofá e rojar-se-lhe aos pés, pedindo de comer. A irmã notou imediatamente, com surpresa, que a tigela estava ainda cheia, à excepção de uma pequena porção de leite derramado em tomo dela; ergueu logo a tigela, não diretamente com as mãos, é certo, mas sim com um pano, e levou-a. Gregório sentia uma enorme curiosidade de saber o que traria ela em sua substituição, multiplicando conjecturas. Não poderia de modo algum adivinhar o que a irmã, em toda a sua bondade, fez a seguir. Para descobrir do que gostaria ele, trouxe-lhe toda uma quantidade de alimentos, sobre um pedaço velho de jornal. Eram hortaliças velhas e meio podres, ossos do jantar da noite anterior, cobertos de um molho branco solidificado; uvas e amêndoas, era um pedaço de queijo que Gregório dois dias antes teria considerado intragável, era uma côdea de pão duro, um pão com manteiga sem sal e outro com manteiga salgada. Além disso, tornou a pôr no chão a mesma tigela, dentro da qual deixou água, e que pelos vistos ficaria reservada para seu exclusivo uso. Depois, cheia de tacto, percebendo que Gregório não comeria na sua presença, afastou-se rapidamente e deu mesmo volta chave, dando-lhe a entender que podia ficar completamente à vontade. Todas as pernas de Gregório se precipitaram em direção à comida. As feridas deviam estar completamente curadas, além de tudo, porque não sentia qualquer incapacidade, o que o espantou e o fez lembrar-se de que havia mais de um mês tinha feito um golpe num dedo com uma faca e ainda dois dias antes lhe doía a ferida.

"Am I now going to be less sensitive," he thought, already sucking greedily on the cheese, which had strongly attracted him right away, more than all the other foods. Quickly and with his eyes watering with satisfaction, he ate one after the other the cheese, the vegetables, and the sauce; the fresh food, by contrast, didn't taste good to him. He couldn't bear the smell and even carried the things he wanted to eat a little distance away. By the time his sister slowly turned the key as a sign that he should withdraw, he was long finished and now lay lazily in the same spot. The noise immediately startled him, in spite of the fact that he was already almost asleep, and he scurried back again under the couch. But it cost him great self-control to remain under the couch, even for the short time his sister was in the room, because his body had filled out somewhat on account of the rich meal and in the narrow space there he could scarcely breathe. In the midst of minor attacks of asphyxiation, he looked at her with somewhat protruding eyes, as his unsuspecting sister swept up with a broom, not just the remnants, but even the foods which Gregor had not touched at all, as if these were also now useless, and as she dumped everything quickly into a bucket, which she closed with a wooden lid, and then carried all of it out of the room. She had hardly turned around before Gregor had already dragged himself out from the couch, stretched out, and let his body expand.

   — Estarei agora menos sensível?, pensou, ao mesmo tempo que sugava vorazmente o queijo, que, de toda a comida, era a que mais forte e imediatamente o atraía. Pedaço a pedaço, com lágrimas de satisfação nos olhos, devorou rapidamente o queijo, as hortaliças e o molho; por outro lado, a comida fresca não tinha atrativos para si; não podia sequer suportar-lhe o cheiro, que o obrigava até a arrastar para uma certa distância os pedaços que era capaz de comer. Tinha acabado de comer havia bastante tempo e estava apenas preguiçosamente quieto no mesmo local, quando a irmã rodou lentamente a chave como que a fazer-lhe sinal para se retirar. Isto fê-lo levantar de súbito, embora estivesse quase adormecido, e precipitar-se novamente para debaixo do sofá. Foi-lhe necessária uma considerável dose de autodomínio para permanecer ali debaixo, dado que a pesada refeição lhe tinha feito inchar um tanto o corpo e estava tão comprido que mal podia respirar, Atacado de pequenos surtos de sufocação, sentia os olhos saírem um bocado para fora da cabeça ao observar a irmã, que de nada suspeitava, varrendo não apenas os restos do que comera, mas também as coisas em que não tocara, como se não fossem de utilidade fosse para quem fosse, e metendo-as, apressadamente, com a pá, num balde, que cobriu com uma tampa de madeira e retirou do quarto. Mal a irmã virou costas, Gregório saiu de baixo do sofá, dilatando e esticando o corpo.

In this way Gregor got his food every day, once in the morning, when his parents and the servant girl were still asleep, and a second time after the common noon meal, for his parents were, as before, asleep then for a little while, and the servant girl was sent off by his sister on some errand or other. Certainly they would not have wanted Gregor to starve to death, but perhaps they could not have endured finding out what he ate other than by hearsay. Perhaps his sister wanted to spare them what was possibly only a small grief, for they were really suffering quite enough already.

   Assim era Gregório alimentado, uma vez de manhã cedo, enquanto os pais e a criada estavam ainda a dormir, e outra vez depois de terem todos almoçado, pois os país faziam uma curta sesta e a irmã podia mandar a criada fazer um ou outro recado. Não que eles desejassem que ele morresse de fome, claro está, mas talvez porque não pudessem suportar saber mais sobre as suas refeições do que aquilo que sabiam pela boca da irmã, e talvez ainda porque a irmã os quisesse poupar a todas as preocupações, por mais pequenas que fossem, visto o que eles tinham de suportar ser mais do que suficiente.

What sorts of excuses people had used on that first morning to get the doctor and the locksmith out of the house Gregor was completely unable to ascertain. Since he was not comprehensible, no one, not even his sister, thought that he might be able to understand others, and thus, when his sister was in her room, he had to be content with listening now and then to her sighs and invocations to the saints. Only later, when she had grown somewhat accustomed to everything (naturally there could never be any talk of her growing completely accustomed to it) Gregor sometimes caught a comment which was intended to be friendly or could be interpreted as such. "Well, today it tasted good to him," she said, if Gregor had really cleaned up what he had to eat; whereas, in the reverse situation, which gradually repeated itself more and more frequently, she used to say sadly, "Now everything has stopped again."

   Uma coisa que Gregório nunca pôde descobrir foi que pretexto tinha sido utilizado para se libertarem do médico e do serralheiro na primeira manhã, já que, como ninguém compreendia o que ele dizia, nunca lhes passara pela cabeça, nem sequer à irmã, que ele pudesse percebê-los; assim, sempre que a irmã ia ao seu quarto, Gregório contentava-se em ouvi-la soltar um ou outro suspiro ou exprimir uma ou outra invocação aos seus santos. Mais tarde, quando se acostumou um pouco mais à situação — é claro que nunca poderia acostumar-se inteiramente —, fazia por vezes uma observação que revelava uma certa simpatia, ou que como tal podia ser interpretada. — Bom, hoje ele gostou do jantar — disse enquanto Gregório tinha consumido boa parte da comida; quando ele não comia, o que ia acontecendo com freqüência cada vez maior, dizia, quase com tristeza: — Hoje tornou a deixar tudo.

But while Gregor could get no new information directly, he did hear a good deal from the room next door, and as soon as he heard voices, he scurried right away to the relevant door and pressed his entire body against it. In the early days especially, there was no conversation which was not concerned with him in some way or other, even if only in secret. For two days at all meal times discussions on that subject could be heard on how people should now behave; but they also talked about the same subject in the times between meals, for there were always at least two family members at home, since no one really wanted to remain in the house alone and people could not under any circumstances leave the apartment completely empty. In addition, on the very first day the servant girl (it was not completely clear what and how much she knew about what had happened) on her knees had begged his mother to let her go immediately, and when she said good bye about fifteen minutes later, she thanked them for the dismissal with tears in her eyes, as if she was receiving the greatest favour which people had shown her there, and, without anyone demanding it from her, she swore a fearful oath not to betray anyone, not even the slightest bit.

   Embora não pudesse manter-se diretamente a par do que ia acontecendo, Gregório apanhava, muitas conversas nas salas contíguas e, assim que elas se tornavam audíveis, corria para a porta em questão, colando-se todo a ela. Durante os primeiros dias, especialmente, não havia conversa alguma que se lhe não referisse de certo modo, ainda que indiretamente. Durante dois dias houve deliberações familiares sobre o que devia fazer-se; mas o assunto era igualmente discutido fora das refeições visto que estavam sempre, pelo menos, dois membros da família em casa: ninguém queria ficar lá sozinho e deixá-la sem ninguém estava inteiramente fora da questão. Logo nos primeiros dias, a criada, cujo verdadeiro conhecimento da situação não era para Gregório perfeitamente claro, caíra de joelhos diante da mãe, suplicando-lhe que a deixasse ir embora. Quando saiu, um quarto de hora mais tarde, agradeceu de lágrimas nos olhos o favor de ter sido dispensada, como se fosse a maior graça que pudesse ser-lhe concedida e, sem que ninguém lho sugerisse, prestou um solene juramento de que nunca contaria a ninguém o que se passara.

Now his sister had to team up with his mother to do the cooking, although that didn't create much trouble because people were eating almost nothing. Again and again Gregor listened as one of them vainly invited another one to eat and received no answer other than "Thank you. I have enough" or something like that. And perhaps they had stopped having anything to drink, too. His sister often asked his father whether he wanted to have a beer and gladly offered to fetch it herself, and when his father was silent, she said, in order to remove any reservations he might have, that she could send the caretaker's wife to get it. But then his father finally said a resounding "No," and nothing more would be spoken about it.

   Agora a irmã era também obrigada a cozinhar para ajudar a mãe. É certo que não era trabalho de monta, pois pouco se comia naquela casa. Gregório ouvia constantemente um dos membros da família a insistir com outro para que comesse e a receber invariavelmente a resposta: Não, muito obrigado, estou satisfeito, ou coisa semelhante. Talvez não bebessem, sequer. Muitas vezes a irmã perguntava ao pai se não queria cerveja e oferecia-se amavelmente para lha ir comprar; se ele não respondia, dava a entender que podia pedir à porteira que fosse buscá-la, para que ele não se sentisse em dívida, mas nessa altura o pai retorquia com um rotundo: Não! e ficava o assunto arrumado.

Already during the first day his father laid out all the financial circumstances and prospects to his mother and to his sister as well. From time to time he stood up from the table and pulled out of the small lockbox salvaged from his business, which had collapsed five years previously, some document or other or some notebook. The sound was audible as he opened up the complicated lock and, after removing what he was looking for, locked it up again. These explanations by his father were, in part, the first enjoyable thing that Gregor had the chance to listen to since his imprisonment. He had thought that nothing at all was left over for his father from that business; at least his father had told him nothing to the contradict that view, and Gregor in any case hadn't asked him about it. At the time Gregor's only concern had been to devote everything he had in order to allow his family to forget as quickly as possible the business misfortune which had brought them all into a state of complete hopelessness. And so at that point he'd started to work with a special intensity and from an assistant had become, almost overnight, a traveling salesman, who naturally had entirely different possibilities for earning money and whose successes at work at once were converted into the form of cash commissions, which could be set out on the table at home in front of his astonished and delighted family. Those had been beautiful days, and they had never come back afterwards, at least not with the same splendour, in spite of the fact that Gregor later earned so much money that he was in a position to bear the expenses of the entire family, expenses which he, in fact, did bear. They had become quite accustomed to it, both the family and Gregor as well. They took the money with thanks, and he happily surrendered it, but the special warmth was no longer present. Only the sister had remained still close to Gregor, and it was his secret plan to send her (in contrast to Gregor she loved music very much and knew how to play the violin charmingly) next year to the conservatory, regardless of the great expense which that must necessitate and which would be made up in other ways. Now and then during Gregor's short stays in the city the conservatory was mentioned in conversations with his sister, but always only as a beautiful dream, whose realization was unimaginable, and their parents never listened to these innocent expectations with pleasure. But Gregor thought about them with scrupulous consideration and intended to explain the matter ceremoniously on Christmas Eve.

   Logo no primeiro dia, o pai explicara a situação financeira e as perspectivas da família a mãe e a irmã. De quando em quando, erguia-se da cadeira para ir buscar qualquer recibo ou apontamento a um pequeno cofre que tinha conseguido salvar do colapso financeiro em que mergulhara cinco anos atrás. Ouviam-no abrir a complicada fechadura e a remexer em papéis, depois a fechá-la novamente. Tais informações do pai foram as primeiras notícias agradáveis que Gregório teve desde o início do cativeiro. Sempre julgara que o pai tinha perdido tudo, ou, pelo menos, o pai nunca dissera nada em contrário e é evidente que Gregório nunca lho perguntara diretamente. Na altura em que a ruína tinha desabado sobre o pai, o único desejo de Gregório era fazer todos os possíveis para que a família se esquecesse com a maior rapidez de tal catástrofe, que mergulhara todos no mais completo desespero. Assim, começara a trabalhar com invulgar ardor e, quase de um dia para outro, passou de simples empregado de escritório a caixeiro-viajante, com oportunidades conseguiu entre melhores de ganhar bem, êxito esse que depressa se converteu em metal sonante que depositava na mesa, ante a surpresa e a alegria da família. Tinha sido uma época feliz, que nunca viria a ser igualada, embora mais tarde Gregório ganhasse o suficiente para sustentar inteiramente a casa. Tinham-se, pura e simplesmente, habituado ao acontecimento, tanto a família corno ele próprio: ele dava o dinheiro de boa vontade e eles aceitavam-no com gratidão, mas não havia qualquer efusão de sentimentos. Só com a irmã mantivera uma certa intimidade, alimentando a secreta esperança de poder mandá-la para o Conservatório no ano seguinte, apesar das grandes despesas que isso acarretaria, às quais de qualquer maneira haveria de fazer face, já que ela, ao contrário de Gregório, gostava imenso de música e tocava violino de tal modo que comovia quantos a ouviam. Durante os breves dias que passava em casa, falava muitas vezes do Conservatório nas conversas com a irmã, mas sempre apenas como um belo sonho irrealizável; quanto aos pais, procuravam até evitar essas inocentes referências à questão. Gregório tomara a firme decisão de levar a idéia avante e tencionava anunciar solenemente o acontecimento no dia de Natal.

In his present situation, such futile ideas went through his head, while he pushed himself right up against the door and listened. Sometimes in his general exhaustion he couldn't listen any more and let his head bang listlessly against the door, but he immediately pulled himself together, for even the small sound which he made by this motion was heard near by and silenced everyone. " There he goes on again," said his father after a while, clearly turning towards the door, and only then would the interrupted conversation gradually be resumed again.

   Essas eram as idéias — completamente fúteis, na sua atual situação — que lhe povoavam a mente enquanto se mantinha ereto, encostado à porta, à escuta. Por vezes, o cansaço obrigava-o a interrompê-la, limitando-se então a encostar a cabeça à porta, mas imediatamente obrigado a endireitar-se de novo, pois até o leve ruído que fazia ao mexer a cabeça era audível na sala ao lado e fazia parar todas as conversas. Que estará ele a fazer agora, perguntou o pai decorridos alguns instantes, virando-se decerto para a porta; só então ressuscitava gradualmente a conversa antes interrompida.

Gregor found out clearly enough (for his father tended to repeat himself often in his explanations, partly because he had not personally concerned himself with these matters for a long time now, and partly also because his mother did not understand everything right away the first time) that, in spite all bad luck, a fortune, although a very small one, was available from the old times, which the interest (which had not been touched) had in the intervening time gradually allowed to increase a little. Furthermore, in addition to this, the money which Gregor had brought home every month (he had kept only a few florins for himself) had not been completely spent and had grown into a small capital amount. Gregor, behind his door, nodded eagerly, rejoicing over this unanticipated foresight and frugality. True, with this excess money, he could have paid off more of his father's debt to his employer and the day on which he could be rid of this position would have been a lot closer, but now things were doubtless better the way his father had arranged them.

   Dado que o pai se tomava repetitivo nas explicações — por um lado, devido ao acontecimento de há muito não se encarregar de tais assuntos; por outro, graças à circunstância de a mãe nem sempre perceber tudo à primeira —, Gregório ficou por fim a saber que um certo número de investimentos, poucos, é certo, tinham escapado à ruína e tinham até aumentado ligeiramente, pois, entretanto, ninguém tocara nos dividendos. Além disso, nem todo o dinheiro dos ordenados mensais de Gregório — de que guardava para si apenas uma pequena parte — tinha sido gasto, o que originara economias que constituíam um pequeno capital. Do outro lado da porta, Gregório acenava ansiosamente com a cabeça, satisfeito perante aquela demonstração de inesperado espírito de poupança e previsão. A verdade é que, com aquele dinheiro suplementar, podia ter pago uma porção maior da dívida do pai ao patrão, apressando assim o dia em que poderia deixar o emprego, mas sem dúvida o pai fizera muito melhor assim.

At the moment, however, this money was nowhere near sufficient to permit the family to live on the interest payments. Perhaps it would be enough to maintain the family for one or at most two years, that's all. Thus it came only to an amount which one should not really take out and which must be set aside for an emergency. But the money to live on must be earned. Now, his father was a healthy man, although he was old, who had not worked at all for five years now and thus could not be counted on for very much. He had in these five years, the first holidays of his trouble-filled but unsuccessful life, put on a good deal of fat and thus had become really heavy. And should his old mother now maybe work for money, a woman who suffered from asthma, for whom wandering through the apartment even now was a great strain and who spent every second day on the sofa by the open window labouring for breath? Should his sister earn money, a girl who was still a seventeen-year-old child, whose earlier life style had been so very delightful that it had consisted of dressing herself nicely, sleeping in late, helping around the house, taking part in a few modest enjoyments and, above all, playing the violin? When it came to talking about this need to earn money, at first Gregor went away from the door and threw himself on the cool leather sofa beside the door, for he was quite hot from shame and sorrow.

   Apesar de tudo, aquele capital não era de modo nenhum suficiente para que a família vivesse dos juros. Talvez o pudessem fazer durante um ano ou dois, quando muito. Era, pura e simplesmente, uma quantia que urgia deixar de parte para qualquer emergência. Quanto ao dinheiro para fazer face às despesas normais, havia que ganhá-lo. o pai era ainda saudável, mas estava velho e não trabalhava havia cinco anos, pelo que não era de esperar que fizesse grande coisa. Ao longo desses cinco anos, os primeiros anos de lazer de uma vida de trabalho, ainda que mal sucedido, tinha engordado e tornara-se um tanto lento. Quanto à velha mãe, como poderia ganhar a vida com aquela asma, que até o simples andar agravava, obrigando-a muitas vezes a deixar-se cair num sofá, a arquejar junto de uma janela aberta? E seria então justo encarregar do sustento da casa a irmã, ainda uma criança com os seus dezassete anos e cuja vida tinha até aí sido tão agradável e se resumia a vestir-se bem, dormir bastante tempo, ajudar a cuidar da casa, ir de vez em quando a diversões modestas e, sobretudo, tocar violino? A principio, sempre que ouvia menções à necessidade de ganhar dinheiro, Gregório afastava-se da porta e deixava-se cair no fresco sofá de couro ao lado dela, rubro de vergonha e desespero.

Often he lay there all night long. He didn't sleep a moment and just scratched on the leather for hours at a time. He undertook the very difficult task of shoving a chair over to the window. Then he crept up on the window sill and, braced in the chair, leaned against the window to look out, obviously with some memory or other of the satisfaction which that used to bring him in earlier times. Actually from day to day he perceived things with less and less clarity, even those a short distance away: the hospital across the street, the all too frequent sight of which he had previously cursed, was not visible at all any more, and if he had not been precisely aware that he lived in the quiet but completely urban Charlotte Street, he could have believed that from his window he was peering out at a featureless wasteland, in which the gray heaven and the gray earth had merged and were indistinguishable. His attentive sister must have observed a couple of times that the chair stood by the window; then, after cleaning up the room, each time she pushed the chair back right against the window and from now on she even left the inner casement open.

   Muitas vezes ali se deixava estar durante toda a noite, sem dormir a esfregar-se no couro, durante horas a fio. Quando não, reunia a coragem necessária para se entregar ao violento esforço de empurrar uma cadeira de braços para junto da janela, trepava para o peitoril e, arrimando-se à cadeira, encostava-se às vidraças, certamente obedecendo a qualquer reminiscência da sensação de liberdade que sempre experimentava ao ver à janela. De fato, dia após dia, até as coisas que estavam relativamente pouco afastadas se tornavam pouco nítidas; o hospital do outro lado da rua, que antigamente odiava por ter sempre à frente dos olhos, ficava agora bastante para além do seu alcance visual e, se não soubesse que vivia ali, numa rua sossegada, de qualquer maneira, uma rua de cidade, bem poderia julgar que a janela dava para um terreno deserto onde o cinzento do céu e da terra se fundiam indistintamente. Esperta como era, a irmã só precisou de ver duas vezes a cadeira junto da janela: a partir de então, sempre que acabava de arrumar o quarto, tornava a colocar a cadeira no mesmo, sítio e até deixava as portadas interiores da janela abertas.

If Gregor had only been able to speak to his sister and thank her for everything that she had to do for him, he would have tolerated her service more easily. As it was he suffered under it. The sister admittedly sought to cover up the awkwardness of everything as much as possible, and, as time went by, she naturally got more successful at it. But with the passing of time Gregor also came to understand everything more precisely. Even her entrance was terrible for him. As soon as she entered, she ran straight to the window, without taking the time to shut the door (in spite of the fact that she was otherwise very considerate in sparing anyone the sight of Gregor's room), and yanked the window open with eager hands, as if she was almost suffocating, and remained for a while by the window breathing deeply, even when it was still so cold. With this running and noise she frightened Gregor twice every day. The entire time he trembled under the couch, and yet he knew very well that she would certainly have spared him gladly if it had only been possible to remain with the window closed in a room where Gregor lived.

   Se ao menos pudesse falar com ela e agradecer-lhe tudo o que fazia por ele, suportaria melhor os seus cuidados; mas naquelas condições, sentia-se oprimido. É certo que ela tentava fazer, o mais despreocupadamente possível, tudo o que lhe fosse desagradável, o que, com o correr do tempo, cada vez o conseguia melhor, mas também Gregório, aos poucos, se ia apercebendo mais lucidamente da situação. Bastava a maneira de ela entrar para o angustiar. Mal penetrava no quarto, corria para a janela, sem sequer dar-se ao trabalho de fechar a porta atrás de si, apesar do cuidado que costumam ter em ocultar aos outros a visão de Gregório, e, como se estivesse pontos de sufocar, abria precipitadamente a janela e ali ficava a apanhar ar durante um minuto, por mais frio que fizesse, respirando profundamente. Duas vezes por dia, incomodava Gregório com a sua ruidosa precipitação, que o fazia refugiar-se, a tremer, debaixo do sofá, durante todo o tempo, ciente de que a irmã certamente o pouparia a tal incômodo se lhe fosse possível permanecer na sua presença sem abrir a janela.

On one occasion (about one month had already gone by since Gregor's transformation, and there was now no particular reason any more for his sister to be startled at Gregor's appearance) she came a little earlier than usual and came upon Gregor as he was still looking out the window, immobile and well positioned to frighten someone. It would not have come as a surprise to Gregor if she had not come in, since his position was preventing her from opening the window immediately. But she not only did not step inside; she even retreated and shut the door. A stranger really could have concluded from this that Gregor had been lying in wait for her and wanted to bite her. Of course, Gregor immediately concealed himself under the couch, but he had to wait until the noon meal before his sister returned, and she seemed much less calm than usual. From this he realized that his appearance was still constantly intolerable to her and must remain intolerable in future, and that she really had to exert a lot of self-control not to run away from a glimpse of only the small part of his body which stuck out from under the couch. In order to spare her even this sight, one day he dragged the sheet on his back onto the couch (this task took him four hours) and arranged it in such a way that he was now completely concealed and his sister, even if she bent down, could not see him. If this sheet was not necessary as far as she was concerned, then she could remove it, for it was clear enough that Gregor could not derive any pleasure from isolating himself away so completely. But she left the sheet just as it was, and Gregor believed he even caught a look of gratitude when on one occasion he carefully lifted up the sheet a little with his head to check as his sister took stock of the new arrangement.

   Certa vez, coisa de um mês após a metamorfose de Gregório, quando já não havia por certo motivo para assustar-se com o seu aspecto, apareceu ligeiramente mais cedo do que era habitual e deu com ele a ver à janela, imóvel, numa posição em que parecia um espectro. Gregório não se surpreenderia se ela não entrasse pura e simplesmente, pois não podia abrir imediatamente a janela enquanto ele ali estivesse, mas ela não só evitou entrar como deu um salto para trás, diria que alarmada, e bateu com a porta em retirada. Um estranho que observasse a cena julgaria com certeza que Gregório a esperava para lhe morder. É claro que imediatamente se escondeu debaixo do sofá, mas ela só voltou ao meio-dia com um ar bastante mais perturbado do que era vulgar. Este acontecimento revelou a Gregório a repulsa que o seu aspecto provocava ainda à irmã e o esforço que devia custar-lhe não desatar a correr mal via a pequena porção do seu corpo que aparecia sob o sofá. Nestas condições, decidiu um dia poupá-la a tal visão e, à custa de quatro horas de trabalho, pôs um lençol pelas costas e dirigiu-se para o sofá, dispondo-o de modo a ocultar-lhe totalmente o corpo, mesmo que a irmã se baixasse para espreitar. Se ela achasse desnecessário o lençol, decerto o tiraria do sofá, visto ser evidente que aquela forma de ocultação e confinamento em nada contribuíam para o conforto de Gregório; neste instante, ela deixou o lençol onde estava e ele teve mesmo a impressão de surpreender-lhe um olhar de gratidão, ao levantar cuidadosamente uma ponta do lençol para ver qual a reação da irmã àquela nova disposição.

In the first two weeks his parents could not bring themselves to visit him, and he often heard how they fully acknowledged his sister's present work; whereas, earlier they had often got annoyed at his sister because she had seemed to them a somewhat useless young woman. However, now both his father and his mother often waited in front of Gregor's door while his sister cleaned up inside, and as soon as she came out she had to explain in detail how things looked in the room, what Gregor had eaten, how he had behaved this time, and whether perhaps a slight improvement was perceptible. In any event, his mother comparatively soon wanted to visit Gregor, but his father and his sister restrained her, at first with reasons which Gregor listened to very attentively and which he completely endorsed. Later, however, they had to hold her back forcefully, and when she then cried "Let me go to Gregor. He's my unlucky son! Don't you understand that I have to go to him?" Gregor then thought that perhaps it would be a good thing if his mother came in, not every day, of course, but maybe once a week. She understood everything much better than his sister, who in spite of all her courage was still a child and, in the last analysis, had perhaps undertaken such a difficult task only out of childish recklessness.

   Durante os primeiros quinze dias, os pais não conseguiram reunir a coragem necessária para entrarem no quarto de Gregório, que freqüentemente os ouvia elogiarem a atividade da irmã, que anteriormente costumavam repreender, por a considerarem, até certo ponto, uma lia inútil. Agora, era freqüente esperarem ambos à porta, enquanto a irmã procedia à limpeza do quarto, perguntando-lhe logo que saía como corriam as coisas lá dentro, o que tinha Gregório comido, como se comportara desta vez e se porventura não melhorara um pouco. A mãe, essa, começou relativamente cedo a pretender visitá-lo, mas o pai e a irmã tentaram logo dissuadi-la, contrapondo argumentos que Gregório escutava atentamente, e que ela aceitou totalmente. Mais tarde, só conseguiam removê-la pela forca e, quando ela exclamava, a chorar: Deixem-me ir ver o Gregório, o meu pobre filho! Não percebem que tenho de ir vê-lo, Gregório pensava que talvez fosse bom que ela lá fosse, não todos os dias, claro, mas talvez uma vez por semana; no fim de contas, ela havia de compreender, muito melhor que a irmã, que não passava de uma criança, apesar dos esforços que fazia e aos quais talvez se tivesse entregado por mera consciência infantil.

Gregor's wish to see his mother was soon realized. While during the day Gregor, out of consideration for his parents, did not want to show himself by the window, he couldn't crawl around very much on the few square metres of the floor. He found it difficult to bear lying quietly during the night, and soon eating no longer gave him the slightest pleasure. So for diversion he acquired the habit of crawling back and forth across the walls and ceiling. He was especially fond of hanging from the ceiling. The experience was quite different from lying on the floor. It was easier to breathe, a slight vibration went through his body, and in the midst of the almost happy amusement which Gregor found up there, it could happen that, to his own surprise, he let go and hit the floor. However, now he naturally controlled his body quite differently, and he did not injure himself in such a great fall. His sister noticed immediately the new amusement which Gregor had found for himself (for as he crept around he left behind here and there traces of his sticky stuff), and so she got the idea of making Gregor's creeping around as easy as possible and thus of removing the furniture which got in the way, especially the chest of drawers and the writing desk.

   O desejo que Gregório sentia de ver a mãe não tardou em ser satisfeito. Durante o dia evitava mostrar-se à janela, por consideração para com os pais, mas os poucos metros quadrados de chão de que dispunha não davam para grandes passeios, nem lhe seria possível passar toda a noite imóvel; por outro lado, perdia rapidamente todo e qualquer gosto pela comida. Para se distrair, adquirira o hábito de se arrastar ao longo das paredes e do tecto. Gostava particularmente de manter-se suspenso do tecto, coisa muito melhor do que estar no chão: a respiração tornava-se-lhe mais livre, o corpo oscilava e coleava suavemente e, quase beatificamente absorvido por tal suspensão, chegava a deixar-se cair ao chão. Possuindo melhor coordenação dos movimentos do corpo, nem uma queda daquela altura tinha conseqüências. A irmã notara imediatamente esta nova distração de Gregório, visto que ele deixava atrás de si, ao deslocar-se, marcas da substância pegajosa das extremidades das pernas, e meteu-se-lhe na cabeça arranjar-lhe a maior porção de espaço livre possível para os passeios, retirando as peças de mobiliário que constituíssem obstáculos para o irmão, especialmente a cômoda e a secretária.

But she was in no position to do this by herself. She did not dare to ask her father to help, and the servant girl would certainly not have assisted her, for although this girl, about sixteen years old, had courageously remained since the dismissal of the previous cook, she had begged for the privilege of being allowed to stay permanently confined to the kitchen and of having to open the door only in answer to a special summons. Thus, his sister had no other choice but to involve his mother while his father was absent. His mother approached Gregor's room with cries of excited joy, but she fell silent at the door. Of course, his sister first checked whether everything in the room was in order. Only then did she let his mother walk in. In great haste Gregor had drawn the sheet down even further and wrinkled it more. The whole thing really looked just like a coverlet thrown carelessly over the couch. On this occasion, Gregor held back from spying out from under the sheet. Thus, he refrained from looking at his mother this time and was just happy that she had come. "Come on; he is not visible," said his sister, and evidently led his mother by the hand. Now Gregor listened as these two weak women shifted the still heavy old chest of drawers from its position, and as his sister constantly took on herself the greatest part of the work, without listening to the warnings of his mother who was afraid that she would strain herself. The work lasted a long time. After about a quarter of an hour had already gone by his mother said that it would be better if they left the chest of drawers where it was, because, in the first place, it was too heavy: they would not be finished before his father's arrival, and with the chest of drawers in the middle of the room it would block all Gregor's pathways, but, in the second place, it might not be certain that Gregor would be pleased with the removal of the furniture. To her the reverse seemed to be true; the sight of the empty walls pierced her right to the heart, and why should Gregor not feel the same, since he had been accustomed to the room furnishings for a long time and in an empty room would thus feel himself abandoned.

   A tarefa era demasiado pesada para si e, se não se atrevia a pedir ajuda ao pai, estava fora de questão recorrer à criada, uma menina de dezasseis anos que havia tido a coragem de ficar após a partida da cozinheira, visto que a moça tinha pedido o especial favor de manter a porta da cozinha fechada à chave e abri-la apenas quando expressamente a chamavam. Deste modo, só lhe restava apelar para a mãe numa altura em que o pai não estivesse em casa. A mãe anuiu-se, entre exclamações de ávida satisfação, que diminuíram junto à porta do quarto de Gregório. É claro que a irmã entrou primeiro, para verificar se estava tudo em ordem antes de deixar a mãe entrar. Gregório puxou precipitadamente o lençol para baixo e dobrou-o mais, de maneira a parecer que tinha sido acidentalmente atirado para cima do sofá. Desta vez não deitou a cabeça de fora para espreitar, renunciando ao prazer de ver a mãe pela satisfação de ela ter decidido afinal visitá-lo.

    — Entre, que ele não está à vista — disse a irmã, certamente guiando-a pela mão.

    Gregório ouvia agora as duas mulheres a esforçarem-se por deslocar a pesada cômoda e a irmã a chamar a si a maior parte do trabalho, sem dar ouvidos às admoestações da mãe, receosa de que a filha estivesse a fazer esforços demasiados. A manobra foi demorada. Passado, pelo menos, um quarto de hora de tentativas, a mãe objetou que o melhor seria deixar a cômoda onde estava, em primeiro lugar, porque era pesada de mais e nunca conseguiriam deslocá-la antes da chegada do pai e, se ficasse no meio do quarto, como estava, só dificultaria os movimentos de Gregório; em segundo lugar, nem sequer havia a certeza de que a remoção da mobília lhe prestasse um serviço. Tinha a impressão do contrário; a visão das paredes nuas deprimia-a, e era natural que sucedesse o mesmo a Gregório, dado que estava habituado à mobília havia muito tempo e a sua ausência poderia fazê-lo sentir-se só.

"And is it not the case," his mother concluded very quietly, almost whispering as if she wished to prevent Gregor, whose exact location she really didn't know, from hearing even the sound of her voice (for she was convinced that he did not understand her words), "and isn't it a fact that by removing the furniture we're showing that we're giving up all hope of an improvement and are leaving him to his own resources without any consideration? I think it would be best if we tried to keep the room exactly in the condition in which it was before, so that, when Gregor returns to us, he finds everything unchanged and can forget the intervening time all the more easily."

   — Não é verdade — disse em voz baixa, aliás pouco mais que murmurara, durante todo o tempo, como se quisesse evitar que Gregório, cuja localização exata desconhecia, lhe reconhecesse sequer o tom de voz, pois estava convencida de que ele não percebia as palavras —, não é verdade que, retirando-lhe a mobília, lhe mostramos não ter já qualquer esperança de que ele se cure e que o abandonamos impiedosamente à sua sorte? Acho que o melhor é deixar o quarto exatamente como sempre esteve, para que ele, quando voltar para nós, encontre tudo na mesma e esqueça com mais facilidade o que aconteceu entretanto.

As he heard his mother's words Gregor realized that the lack of all immediate human contact, together with the monotonous life surrounded by the family over the course of these two months must have confused his understanding, because otherwise he couldn't explain to himself that he in all seriousness could've been so keen to have his room emptied. Was he really eager to let the warm room, comfortably furnished with pieces he had inherited, be turned into a cavern in which he would, of course, then be able to crawl about in all directions without disturbance, but at the same time with a quick and complete forgetting of his human past as well? Was he then at this point already on the verge of forgetting and was it only the voice of his mother, which he had not heard for along time, that had aroused him? Nothing was to be removed; everything must remain. In his condition he couldn't function without the beneficial influences of his furniture. And if the furniture prevented him from carrying out his senseless crawling about all over the place, then there was no harm in that, but rather a great benefit.

   Ao ouvir as palavras da mãe, Gregório apercebeu-se de que a falta de conversação direta com qualquer ser humano, durante os dois últimos meses, aliada à monotonia da vida em família, lhe deviam ter perturbado o espírito; se assim não fosse, não teria genuinamente ansiado pela retirada da mobília do quarto. Quereria, efetivamente, que o quarto acolhedor, tão confortavelmente equipado com a velha mobília da família, se transformasse numa caverna nua onde decerto poderia arrastar-se livremente em todas as direções, à custa do simultâneo abandono de qualquer reminiscência do seu passado humano? Sentia-se tão perto desse esquecimento total que só a voz da mãe, que há tanto tempo não ouvia, não lhe permitira mergulhar completamente nele. Nada devia ser retirado do quarto. Era preciso que ficasse tudo como estava, pois não podia renunciar à influência positiva da mobília, no estado de espírito em que se encontrava, e, mesmo que o mobiliário lhe perturbasse as voltas sem sentido, isso não redundava em prejuízo, mas sim em vantagem.

But his sister unfortunately thought otherwise. She had grown accustomed, certainly not without justification, so far as the discussion of matters concerning Gregor was concerned, to act as an special expert with respect to their parents, and so now the mother's advice was for his sister sufficient reason to insist on the removal, not only of the chest of drawers and the writing desk, which were the only items she had thought about at first, but also of all the furniture, with the exception of the indispensable couch. Of course, it was not only childish defiance and her recent very unexpected and hard won self-confidence which led her to this demand. She had also actually observed that Gregor needed a great deal of room to creep about; the furniture, on the other hand, as far as one could see, was not of the slightest use.

   Infelizmente a irmã era de opinião contrária; habituara-se, e não sem motivos, a considerar-se uma autoridade no que respeitava a Gregório, em contradição com os pais, de modo que a presente opinião da mãe era suficiente para a decidir a retirar, não só a cômoda e a secretária, mas toda a mobília, à excepção do indispensável sofá. É certo que esta decisão não era conseqüência da simples teimosia infantil nem da autoconfiança que recentemente adquirira, tão inesperada como penosamente; tinha, efetivamente, percebido que Gregório precisava de uma porção de espaço para vaguear e, tanto quanto lhe era dado observar, Gregório nunca usara sequer a mobília.

But perhaps the enthusiastic sensibility of young women of her age also played a role. This feeling sought release at every opportunity, and with it Grete now felt tempted to want to make Gregor's situation even more terrifying, so that then she would be able to do even more for him than now. For surely no one except Grete would ever trust themselves to enter a room in which Gregor ruled the empty walls all by himself. And so she did not let herself be dissuaded from her decision by her mother, who in this room seemed uncertain of herself in her sheer agitation and soon kept quiet, helping his sister with all her energy to get the chest of drawers out of the room. Now, Gregor could still do without the chest of drawers if need be, but the writing desk really had to stay. And scarcely had the women left the room with the chest of drawers, groaning as they pushed it, when Gregor stuck his head out from under the sofa to take a look how he could intervene cautiously and with as much consideration as possible. But unfortunately it was his mother who came back into the room first, while Grete had her arms wrapped around the chest of drawers in the next room and was rocking it back and forth by herself, without moving it from its position. His mother was not used to the sight of Gregor; he could have made her ill, and so, frightened, Gregor scurried backwards right to the other end of the sofa, but he could no longer prevent the sheet from moving forward a little. That was enough to catch his mother's attention. She came to a halt, stood still for a moment, and then went back to Grete.

   Outro fator terá porventura sido igualmente o temperamento entusiástico de qualquer menina adolescente, que tende a manifestar-se em todas as ocasiões possíveis e que agora levava Grete a exagerar o drama da situação do irmão, a fim de poder auxiliá-1o mais ainda. Num quarto onde Gregório reinasse rodeado de paredes nuas, havia fortes probabilidades de ninguém alguma vez entrar, anão ser ela. Assim, não se deixou dissuadir pela mãe, que parecia cada vez menos à vontade no quarto, estado de espírito que só contribuía para sentir-se mais insegura. Rapidamente reduzida ao silêncio, limitou-se, pois, a ajudar a filha a retirar a cômoda, na medida do possível. Ora, sem a cômoda podia Gregório muito bem passar, mas era forçoso que conservasse a secretária. Logo que as mulheres removeram a cômoda, à força de arquejantes arrancos, Gregório pôs a cabeça de fora, para ver como poderia intervir da maneira mais delicada e cuidadosa. Quis o destino que fosse a mãe a primeira a regressar, enquanto Grete, no quarto contíguo, tentava deslocar sozinha a cômoda, evidentemente debalde. Como a mãe não estava habituada ao seu aspecto, era provável que sofresse um grande choque ao vê-lo. Receando que tal acontecesse, Gregório recuou precipitadamente para a outra extremidade do sofá, mas não conseguiu evitar que o lençol se agitasse ligeiramente. Esse movimento foi o bastante para alertar a mãe, que ficou imóvel por um instante e em seguida se refugiou junto de Grete.

Although Gregor kept repeating to himself over and over that really nothing unusual was going on, that only a few pieces of furniture were being rearranged, he soon had to admit to himself that the movements of the women to and fro, their quiet conversations, the scratching of the furniture on the floor affected him like a great swollen commotion on all sides, and, so firmly was he pulling in his head and legs and pressing his body into the floor, he had to tell himself unequivocally that he wouldn't be able to endure all this much longer. They were cleaning out his room, taking away from him everything he cherished; they had already dragged out the chest of drawers in which the fret saw and other tools were kept, and they were now loosening the writing desk which was fixed tight to the floor, the desk on which he, as a business student, a school student, indeed even as an elementary school student, had written out his assignments. At that moment he really didn't have any more time to check the good intentions of the two women, whose existence he had in any case almost forgotten, because in their exhaustion they were working really silently, and the heavy stumbling of their feet was the only sound to be heard.

   Embora Gregório tentasse convencer-se de que nada de anormal se passava, que se tratava apenas de uma mudança de algumas peças de mobiliário, acabou por reconhecer que as idas e vindas das mulheres, os sons momentâneos que produziam e o arrastar de móveis o afetavam como se tratasse de uma indisposição que viesse de todos os lados ao mesmo tempo e, por mais que encolhesse a cabeça e as pernas e se acachapasse no chão, viu-se perante a certeza de que não poderia continuar a suportar tudo aquilo por muito tempo. Tiravam-lhe tudo do quarto, privavam-no de tudo o que lhe agradava: a cômoda onde guardava a serra de recorte e as outras ferramentas tinha sido retirada, e agora tentavam remover a secretária, que quase parecia colada ao chão, na qual fizera todos os trabalhos de casa quando freqüentara a escola comercial, e, antes disso, o liceu e, pois era, até a escola primária... Não conseguia deter-se a analisar as boas intenções das duas mulheres, cuja existência quase tinha esquecido nessa altura, visto estarem tão exaustas que se dedicavam ao trabalho em silêncio, ouvindo-se apenas o pesado arrastar dos pés de ambas.

And so he scuttled out (the women were just propping themselves up on the writing desk in the next room in order to take a breather) changing the direction of his path four times. He really didn't know what he should rescue first. Then he saw hanging conspicuously on the wall, which was otherwise already empty, the picture of the woman dressed in nothing but fur. He quickly scurried up over it and pressed himself against the glass that held it in place and which made his hot abdomen feel good. At least this picture, which Gregor at the moment completely concealed, surely no one would now take away. He twisted his head towards the door of the living room to observe the women as they came back in.

   Nestas condições, apressou-se a sair do esconderijo, ao mesmo tempo que as mulheres, no quarto ao lado, se apoiavam na secretária, tomando fôlego. Quatro vezes mudou de direção, pois não sabia o que salvar primeiro. De repente, avistou na parede oposta, totalmente liberta de mobiliário, a figura da mulher envolta em peles; trepou rapidamente pela parede e colou-se ao vidro da moldura, que constituía uma superfície à qual o seu corpo aderia bem e que lhe refrescava agradavelmente o ventre escaldante. Pelo menos o quadro, que o corpo de Gregório ocultava totalmente, ninguém havia de retirar. Voltou a cabeça para a porta da sala de estar, a fim de poder observar as mulheres quando regressassem.

They had not allowed themselves very much rest and were coming back right away. Grete had placed her arm around her mother and held her tightly. "So what shall we take now?" said Grete and looked around her. Then her glance crossed with Gregor's from the wall. She kept her composure only because her mother was there. She bent her face towards her mother in order to prevent her from looking around, and said, although in a trembling voice and too quickly, "Come, wouldn't it be better to go back to the living room for just another moment?" Grete's purpose was clear to Gregor: she wanted to bring his mother to a safe place and then chase him down from the wall. Well, let her just attempt that! He squatted on his picture and did not hand it over. He would sooner spring into Grete's face.

   Pouco tinham descansado, visto que regressavam nesse momento, a mãe quase apoiada a Grete, que lhe passara o braço em torno da cintura.

    — Bem, que havemos de tirar agora? perguntou Grete, olhando em volta.

    Foi então que deparou com Gregório. Manteve a compostura, provavelmente em atenção à mãe, e inclinou a cabeça para ela, a fim de evitar que levantasse a vista. Ao mesmo tempo, perguntou-lhe, em voz trêmula e desabrida:

    — Não será melhor voltarmos um instante ao refeitório?

    Gregório adivinhou facilmente as intenções de Grete: queria pôr a mãe a salvo e enxotá-lo seguidamente da parede. Muito bem, ela que experimentasse! Agarraria ao quadro e não cederia. Preferia avançar sobre o rosto de Grete.

But Grete's words had immediately made the mother very uneasy. She walked to the side, caught sight of the enormous brown splotch on the flowered wallpaper, and, before she became truly aware that what she was looking at was Gregor, screamed out in a high pitched raw voice "Oh God, oh God" and fell with outstretched arms, as if she was surrendering everything, down onto the couch and lay there motionless. "Gregor, you. . .," cried out his sister with a raised fist and an urgent glare. Since his transformation those were the first words which she had directed right at him. She ran into the room next door to bring some spirits or other with which she could revive her mother from her fainting spell. Gregor wanted to help as well (there was time enough to save the picture), but he was stuck fast on the glass and had to tear himself loose forcefully. Then he also scurried into the next room, as if he could give his sister some advice, as in earlier times, but then he had to stand there idly behind her, while she rummaged about among various small bottles. Still, she was frightened when she turned around. A bottle fell onto the floor and shattered. A splinter of glass wounded Gregor in the face, some corrosive medicine or other dripped over him. Now, without lingering any longer, Grete took as many small bottles as she could hold and ran with them into her mother. She slammed the door shut with her foot. Gregor was now shut off from his mother, who was perhaps near death, thanks to him. He could not open the door, and he did not want to chase away his sister who had to remain with her mother. At this point he had nothing to do but wait, and overwhelmed with self-reproach and worry, he began to creep and crawl over everything: walls, furniture, and ceiling,. Finally, in his despair, as the entire room started to spin around him, he fell onto the middle of the large table.

   Mas as palavras de Grete não haviam logrado senão desassossegar a mãe, que deu um passo para o lado e encarou o enorme vulto castanho no florido papel da parede. Antes de tomar perfeita consciência de que se tratava de Gregório, gritou roucamente:

    — Ai, meu Deus! Ai, meu Deus!— e deixou-se desmaiar de braços abertos no sofá, não dando mais sinal de vida.

    — Gregório! — gritou a irmã, fitando-o com um punho cerrado erguido na sua direção.

    Era a primeira vez que se lhe dirigia diretamente depois da metamorfose. Correu à sala contígua em busca de um frasco de sais para reanimar a mãe. Gregório quis igualmente ajudar, pois havia tempo para salvar o quadro, mas teve de fazer grande esforço para se descolar do vidro. Ao consegui-lo, correu atrás da irmã para a sala contígua, como se pudesse aconselhá-la, a exemplo do que costumava fazer, mas não teve outro remédio senão deixar-se ficar desamparadamente atrás dela. Grete remexia por entre vários frascos e, ao virar-se, entrou em pânico ante a visão de Gregório. Um dos frascos caiu ao chão, partindo-se. Ao saltar, um caco cortou o focinho de Gregório, ao mesmo tempo que uma droga corrosiva lhe salpicava o corpo. Sem mais detenças, Grete agarrou em todos os frascos que lhe era possível transportar e correu para a mãe, fechando violentamente a porta com o pé. Gregório via-se assim separado da mãe, que talvez estivesse à beira da morte, por sua culpa. Não se atrevia a abrir a porta, receando assustar Grete, que tinha de cuidar da mãe. Só lhe restava esperar. Consumido pelo remorso e cuidado, começou a andar para um lado e para o outro, trepando tudo, paredes, mobília e tecto. Finalmente, acossado pelo desespero, viu a sala a andar à roda e caiu no meio da grande mesa.

A short time elapsed. Gregor lay there limply. All around was still. Perhaps that was a good sign. Then there was ring at the door. The servant girl was naturally shut up in her kitchen, and Grete must therefore go to open the door. The father had arrived. "What's happened," were his first words. Grete's appearance had told him everything. Grete replied with a dull voice; evidently she was pressing her face into her father's chest: "Mother fainted, but she's getting better now. Gregor has broken loose." "Yes, I have expected that," said his father, "I always told you that, but you women don't want to listen."

   Decorridos alguns instantes, Gregório estava ainda impotentemente deitado na mesa, cercado pelo silêncio, que constituía talvez um bom sintoma. Depois soou a campainha da porta. A criada estava certamente fechada na cozinha e tinha que ser Grete a abrir a porta. Era o pai.

    — Que aconteceu? — foram as suas primeiras palavras. A expressão de Grete deve ter sido suficientemente elucidativa. Respondeu em voz abafada, aparentemente com a cabeça oculta no peito:

    — A mãe teve um desmaio, mas está melhor. Foi o Gregório que se soltou.

    — Bem me parecia — replicou o pai. — Eu bem vos avisei, mas vocês, as mulheres, nunca ligam.

It was clear to Gregor that his father had badly misunderstood Grete's short message and was assuming that Gregor had committed some violent crime or other. Thus, Gregor now had to find his father to calm him down, for he had neither the time nor the opportunity to clarify things for him. And so he rushed away to the door of his room and pushed himself against it, so that his father could see right away as he entered from the hall that Gregor fully intended to return at once to his room, that it was not necessary to drive him back, but that one only needed to open the door and he would disappear immediately.

   Era evidente para Gregório que o pai tinha interpretado da pior maneira possível a explicação demasiado curta de Grete e imaginava Gregório culpado de qualquer ato violento. Urgia, portanto, deixar o pai acalmar-se, visto que não tinha tempo nem processo de dar explicações. Precipitou-se assim para a porta do quarto e comprimiu-se contra ela, para que o pai visse, ao passar do vestíbulo, que o filho tinha tido a louvável intenção de regressar imediatamente ao quarto e que, por conseguinte, não era preciso obrigá-lo a recolher-se ali, pois desapareceria num ápice, se simplesmente a porta estivesse aberta.

But his father was not in the mood to observe such niceties. "Ah," he yelled as soon as he entered, with a tone as if he were all at once angry and pleased. Gregor pulled his head back from the door and raised it in the direction of his father. He had not really pictured his father as he now stood there. Of course, what with his new style of creeping all around, he had in the past while neglected to pay attention to what was going on in the rest of the apartment, as he had done before, and really should have grasped the fact that he would encounter different conditions. Nevertheless, nevertheless, was that still his father? Was that the same man who had lain exhausted and buried in bed in earlier days when Gregor was setting out on a business trip, who had received him on the evenings of his return in a sleeping gown and arm chair, totally incapable of standing up, who had only lifted his arm as a sign of happiness, and who in their rare strolls together a few Sundays a year and on the important holidays made his way slowly forwards between Gregor and his mother (who themselves moved slowly), always a bit more slowly than them, bundled up in his old coat, all the time setting down his walking stick carefully, and who, when he had wanted to say something, almost always stood still and gathered his entourage around him?

   O pai não estava em estado de espírito que lhe permitisse essas substituições. Mal o avistou, gritou um Ali simultaneamente irado e exultante. Gregório afastou a cabeça da porta e virou-a para o pai. Para dizer a verdade, não era o pai que imaginara; tinha de admitir que ultimamente se deixara absorver de tal modo pela diversão de caminhar pelo tecto que não dava a atenção de outros tempos ao que se passava no resto da casa, embora fosse obrigação sua estar preparado para certas alterações. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, seria aquele realmente o seu pai? Seria o mesmo homem que costumava ver pesadamente deitado na cama quando partia para cada viagem? Que o cumprimentava quando ele voltava, à noite, deitado, de pijama, numa cadeira de braços? Que não conseguia ter-se de pé e se limitava a erguer os braços para o saudar? Que, nas raras vezes em que saía com o resto da família, um ou dois domingos por ano, nas férias, caminhava entre Gregório e a mãe; andavam bem devagar, o pai ainda mais vagarosamente do que eles, atabafado dentro do velho sobretudo, arrastando-se laboriosamente com o auxílio da bengala, que pousava cautelosamente em cada degrau e que, sempre que tinha alguma coisa para dizer, quase sempre era obrigado a parar e a juntá-los todos à sua volta?

But now he was standing up really straight, dressed in a tight fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, like the ones servants wear in a banking company. Above the high stiff collar of his jacket his firm double chin stuck out prominently, beneath his bushy eyebrows the glance of his black eyes was freshly penetrating and alert, his otherwise disheveled white hair was combed down into a carefully exact shining part. He threw his cap, on which a gold monogram (apparently the symbol of the bank) was affixed, in an arc across the entire room onto the sofa and moved, throwing back the edge of the long coat of his uniform, with his hands in his trouser pockets and a grim face, right up to Gregor.

   Agora estava ali de pé firme, envergando urna bela farda azul de botões dourados, das que os contínuos dos bancos usam; o vigoroso duplo queixo espetava-se para fora da dura gola alta do casaco e, sob as espessas sobrancelhas, brilhavam-lhe os olhos pretos, vívidos e penetrantes. Os cabelos brancos outrora emaranhados dividiam-se agora, bem lisos, para um e outro lado de uma risca ao meio, impecavelmente traçada. Lançou vigorosamente o boné, que tinha bordado o monograma de qualquer banco, para cima de um sofá, no outro extremo da sala e, corri as largas abas do casaco, avançou ameaçadoramente para Gregório.

He really didn't know what he had in mind, but he raised his foot uncommonly high anyway, and Gregor was astonished at the gigantic size of his sole of his boot. However, he did not linger on that point. For he knew from the first day of his new life that as far as he was concerned his father considered the greatest force the only appropriate response. And so he scurried away from his father, stopped when his father remained standing, and scampered forward again when his father merely stirred. In this way they made their way around the room repeatedly, without anything decisive taking place; indeed because of the slow pace it didn't look like a chase. Gregor remained on the floor for the time being, especially as he was afraid that his father could take a flight up onto the wall or the ceiling as an act of real malice. At any event Gregor had to tell himself that he couldn't keep up this running around for a long time, because whenever his father took a single step, he had to go through an enormous number of movements. Already he was starting to suffer from a shortage of breath, just as in his earlier days his lungs had been quite unreliable. As he now staggered around in this way in order to gather all his energies for running, hardly keeping his eyes open, in his listlessness he had no notion at all of any escape other than by running and had almost already forgotten that the walls were available to him, although they were obstructed by carefully carved furniture full of sharp points and spikes--at that moment something or other thrown casually flew down close by and rolled in front of him. It was an apple; immediately a second one flew after it. Gregor stood still in fright. Further flight was useless, for his father had decided to bombard him.

   Provavelmente, nem ele próprio sabia o que ia fazer, mas, fosse corno fosse, ergueu o pé a uma altura pouco natural, aterrando Gregório ante o tamanho descomunal das solas dos sapatos. Mas Gregório não podia arriscar-se a enfrentá-lo, pois desde o primeiro dia da sua nova vida se tinha apercebido de que o pai considerava que só se podia lidar com ele adotando as mais violentas medidas. Nestas condições, desatou a fugir do pai, parando quando ele parava e precipitando-se novamente em frente ao menor movimento do pai. Foi assim que deram várias voltas ao quarto, sem que nada de definido sucedesse; aliás, tudo aquilo estava longe de assemelhar-se sequer a uma perseguição, dada a lentidão com que se processava. Gregório resolveu manter-se no chão, não fosse o pai interpretar como manifestação declarada de perversidade qualquer excursão pelas paredes ou pelo tecto. Apesar disso, não podia suportar aquela corrida por muito mais tempo, uma vez que, por cada passada do pai, era obrigado a empenhar-se em toda uma série de movimentos e, da mesma maneira que na vida anterior nunca tivera uns pulmões famosos, começava a perder o fôlego. Prosseguia ofegante, tentando concentrar todas as energias na fuga, mal mantendo os olhos abertos, tão apatetado que não conseguia sequer imaginar qualquer processo de escapar a não ser continuar em frente, quase esquecendo que podia utilizar as paredes, repletas de mobílias ricamente talhadas, cheias de saliências e reentrâncias. De súbito, sentiu embater perto de si e rolar à sua frente qualquer coisa que fora violentamente arremessada. Era uma maçã, à qual logo outra se seguiu. Gregório deteve-se, assaltado pelo pânico. De nada servia continuar a fugir, uma vez que o pai resolvera bombardeá-lo.

From the fruit bowl on the sideboard his father had filled his pockets, and now, without for the moment taking accurate aim, was throwing apple after apple. These small red apples rolled as if electrified around on the floor and collided with each other. A weakly thrown apple grazed Gregor's back but skidded off harmlessly. However another thrown immediately after that one drove into Gregor's back really hard. Gregor wanted to drag himself off, as if the unexpected and incredible pain would go away if he changed his position. But he felt as if he was nailed in place and lay stretched out completely confused in all his senses. Only with his final glance did he notice how the door of his room was pulled open and how, right in front of his sister (who was yelling), his mother ran out in her undergarments, for his sister had undressed her in order to give her some freedom to breathe in her fainting spell, and how his mother then ran up to his father, on the way her tied up skirts one after the other slipped toward the floor, and how, tripping over her skirts, she hurled herself onto his father and, throwing her arms around him, in complete union with him--but at this moment Gregor's powers of sight gave way--as her hands reached to the back of his father's head and she begged him to spare Gregor's life.

   Tinha enchido os bolsos de maçãs, que tirara da fruteira do aparador, e atirava-lhas uma a uma, sem grandes preocupações de pontaria. As pequenas maçãs vermelhas rebolavam no chão como que magnetizadas e engatilhadas umas nas outras. Uma delas, arremessada sem grande força, roçou o dorso de Gregório e ressaltou sem causar-lhe dano. A que se seguiu, penetrou-lhe nas costas. Gregório tentou arrastar-se para a frente, como se, fazendo-o, pudesse deixar para trás a incrível dor que repentinamente sentiu, mas sentia-se pregado ao chão e só conseguiu acaçapar-se, completamente desorientado. Num último olhar, antes de perder a consciência, viu a porta abrir-se de repente e a mãe entrar de roldão à frente da filha, em trajos menores, pois Grete tinha-a libertado da roupa para lhe permitir melhor respiração e reanimá-la. Viu ainda a mãe correr para o pai, deixando cair no chão as saias de baixo, uma após outra, tropeçar nelas e cair nos braços do pai, em completa união com ele nesse instante, a vista de Gregório começou a falhar, enclavinhando-lhe as mãos em redor do pescoço e pedindo-lhe que poupasse a vida ao filho.