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.
直到薄暮時分格里高爾才從沉睡中甦醒過來， 這與其說是沉睡 還不如說是昏厥。其實再過一會兒他自己也會醒的， 因為他覺得睡 得很長久，已經睡夠了， 可是他仍覺得彷彿有一陣疾走的腳步聲和 輕輕關上通向前廳房門的聲音驚醒了他。街上的電燈， 在天花板和 傢具的上半部投下一重淡淡的光暈，可是在低處他躺着的地方， 卻 是一片漆黑。他緩慢而笨拙地試了試他的觸覺，只是到了這時， 他 才初次學會運用這個器官，接着便向門口爬去， 想知道那兒發生了 什麼事。他覺得有一條長長的、綳得緊緊的不舒服的傷疤， 他的兩 排腿事實上只能瘸着走了。 而且有一條細小的腿在早晨的事件裡受 了重傷，現在是毫無用處地曳在身後－－僅僅壞了一條腿， 這倒真 是個奇蹟。
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.
他來到門邊， 這才發現把他吸引過來的事實上是什麼：食物的 香味。因為那兒放了一個盆子，盛滿了甜牛奶， 上面還浮着切碎的 白麵包。他險些兒要高興得笑出聲來， 因為他現在比早晨更加餓了 ，他立刻把頭浸到牛奶裡去，几乎把眼睛也浸沒了。 可是很快又失 望地縮了回來；他發現不僅吃東西很困難， 因為柔軟的左側受了傷 －－他要全身抽搐地配合著才能把食物吃到口中－－而且也不喜歡 牛奶了，雖然牛奶一直是他喜愛的飲料， 他妹妹準是因此才給他準 備的；事實上，他几乎是懷着厭惡的心情把頭從盆子邊上扭開， 爬 回到房間中央去的。
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.
他從門縫裡看到起坐室的煤氣燈已經點亮了，在平日， 到這時 候，他父親總要大聲地把晚報讀給母親聽，有時也讀給妹妹聽， 可 是現在卻沒有絲毫聲息。 也許是父親新近拋棄大聲讀報的習慣了吧 ，他妹妹在說話和寫信中經常提到這件事。可是到處都那麼寂靜， 雖然家裡顯然不是沒有人。“我們這一家子過得多麼平靜啊。 ”格 裡高爾自言自語道，他一動不動地瞪視着黑暗，心裡感到很自豪， 因為他能夠讓他的父母和妹妹在這樣一套挺好的房間裡過着滿不錯 的日子。可是如果這一切的平靜、 舒適與滿足都要恐怖地告一結束 ，那可怎麼辦呢？為了使自己不致陷入這樣的思想， 格里高爾活動 起來了，他在房間裡不斷地爬來爬去。
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.
在這個漫長的夜晚，有一次一邊的門打開了一道縫， 但馬上又 關上了，後來另一邊的門上也發生了這樣的事； 顯然是有人打算進 來但是又猶豫不決。格里高爾現在緊緊地伏在起坐室的門邊， 打算 勸那個躊躇的人進來，至少也想知道那人是誰； 可是門再也沒有開 過，他白白地等待着。清晨那會兒，門鎖着，他們全都想進來； 可 是如今他打開了一扇門，另一扇門顯然白天也是開着的， 卻又誰都 不進來了，而且連鑰匙都插到外面去了。
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.
一直到深夜，起坐室的煤氣燈才熄滅， 格里高爾很容易就推想 到，他的父母和妹妹久久清醒地坐在那兒， 因為他清晰地聽見他們 躡手躡腳走開的聲音。沒有人會來看他了， 至少天亮以前是不會了 ，這是肯定的， 因此他有充裕的時間從容不迫地考慮他該怎樣安排 生活。 可是他匍匐在地板上的這間高大空曠的房間使他充滿了一種 不可言喻的恐懼， 雖然這就是他自己住了五年的房間－－他自己還 不大清楚是怎麼回事，就已經不無害臊地急急鑽到沙發底下去了， 他馬上就感到這兒非常舒服，雖然他的背稍有點兒被壓住， 他的頭 也抬不起來。他唯一感到遺憾的是身子太寬， 不能整個藏進沙發底 下。
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.
他在那裡整整待了一夜，一部分的時間消磨在假寐上， 腹中的 饑餓時時刻刻使他驚醒，而另一部分時間裡， 他一直沉浸在擔憂和 渺茫的希望中，但他想來想去， 總是只有一個結論：那就是目前他 必須靜靜地躺着， 作忍耐和極度的體諒來協助家庭克服他在目前的 情況下必然會給他們造成的不方便。
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.
拂曉時分，其實還簡直是夜裡， 格里高爾就有機會考驗他的新 決心是否堅定了， 因為他的妹妹衣服還沒有完全穿好就打開了通往 客廳的門，表情緊張地向裡張望，她沒有立刻看見他， 可是一等她 看到他躲在沙發底下－－說究竟，他總是待在什麼地方， 他又不能 飛走，是不是？－－她大吃一驚，不由自主就把門砰地重新關上。 可是彷彿是後悔自己方纔的舉動似的，她馬上又打開了門， 踮起腳 走了進來，似乎她來看望的是一個重病人，甚至是陌生人。 格里高 爾把頭探出沙發的邊緣看著她。 她會不會注意到他並非因為不餓而 留着牛奶沒喝，她會不會拿別的更合他的口味的東西來呢？ 除非她 自動注意到這一層，他情願挨餓也不願喚起她的注意， 雖然他有一 股強烈的願望，想從沙發底下衝出來，伏在她腳下， 求她拿點食物 來。可是妹妹馬上就注意到了，她很驚訝， 發現除了潑了些出來以 外，盆子還是滿滿的，她立即把盆子端了起來， 雖然不是直接用手 ，而是用手裡拿着的布，她把盆子端走了。格里高爾好奇地要命， 想知道她會換些什麼來，而且還作了種種猜測。 然而心地善良的妹 妹實際上所做的卻是他怎麼也想像不到的。為了弄清楚他的嗜好， 她給他帶來了許多種食物，全都放在一張舊報紙上。 這裡有不新鮮 的一半腐爛的蔬菜，有昨天晚飯剩下來的肉骨頭， 上面還蒙着已經 變稠硬結的白醬油；還有些葡萄乾杏仁； 一塊兩天前格里高爾準會 說吃不得的乳酪；一塊陳麵包，一塊抹了黃油的麵包， 一塊灑了鹽 的黃油麵包。除了這一切，她又放下了那只盆子， 往裡倒了些清水 ，這盆子顯然算是他專用的了。她考慮得非常周到， 生怕格里高爾 不願當她的面吃東西，所以馬上就退了出去，甚至還鎖上了門， 讓 他明白他可以安心地隨意進食。 格里高爾所有的腿都嗖地向食物奔 過去。而他的傷口也準是已經完全癒合了， 因為他並沒有感到不方 便，這使他頗為吃驚，也令他回憶起，一個月以前， 他用刀稍稍割 傷了一個手指，直到前天還覺得疼痛。
"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.
“難道我現在感覺遲鈍些了 ？”他想，緊接着便對乳酪狼吞虎嚥起來，在所有的食物裡， 這一 種立刻強烈地吸引了他。他眼中含着滿意的淚水，逐一地把乳酪、 蔬菜和醬油都吃掉；可是新鮮的食物卻一點兒也不給他以好感， 他 甚至都忍受不了那種氣味， 事實上他是把可吃的東西都叼到遠一點 的地方去吃的。他吃飽了，正懶洋洋地躺在原處， 這時他妹妹慢慢 地轉動鑰匙，彷彿是給他一個暗示，讓他退走。 他立刻驚醒了過來 ，雖然他差不多睡着了，就急急地重新鑽到沙發底下去。 可是藏在 沙發底下需要相當的自我剋制力量， 即使只是妹妹在房間裡這短短 的片刻，因為這頓飽餐使他的身子有些膨脹，他只覺得地方狹窄， 連呼吸也很困難。他因為透不過氣，眼珠也略略鼓了起來， 他望着 沒有察覺任何情況的妹妹在用掃帚掃去不光是他吃剩的食物， 甚至 也包括他根本沒碰的那些，彷彿這些東西現在根本沒人要了， 掃完 後又急匆匆地全都倒進了一隻桶裡，把木蓋蓋上就提走了。 她剛扭 過身去，格里高爾就打沙發底下爬出來舒展身子， 呼哧呼哧喘了幾 口氣。
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.
格里高爾就是這樣由他妹妹喂養着， 一次在清晨他父母和使女 還睡着的時候，另一次是在他們吃過午飯， 他父母睡午覺而妹妹把 使女打發出去隨便幹點雜事的時候。他們當然不會存心叫他挨餓， 不過也許是他們除了聽妹妹說一聲以外對於他吃東西的情形根本不 忍心知道吧，也許是他妹妹也想讓他們儘量少操心吧， 因為眼下他 們心裡已經夠煩的了。
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."
至于第一天上午大夫和鎖匠是用什麼藉口打發走的， 格里高爾 就永遠不得而知了，因為他說的話人家既然聽不懂， 他們－－甚至 連妹妹在內－－就不會想到他能聽懂大家的話， 所以每逢妹妹來到 他的房間裡，他聽到她不時發出的幾聲嘆息， 和向聖者作的喁喁祈 禱，也就滿足了。後來，她對這種情形略為有點習慣了－－當然， 完全習慣是絶對不可能的－－這時， 她間或也會讓格里高爾聽到這 樣好心的或者可以作這樣理解的話。“ 他喜歡今天的飯食。 ” 要是格里高爾把東西吃得一乾二淨，她會這樣說。 但是遇到相反的 情形，並且這種情形越來越多了， 她部是有點憂鬱地說：“又是什 麼都沒有吃。”
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.
雖然格里高爾無法直接得到任何消息， 他卻從隔壁房間裡偷聽 到一些，只要聽到一點點聲音，他就急忙跑到那個房間的門後， 把 整個身子貼在門上。特別是在頭幾天， 几乎沒有什麼談話不牽涉到 他，即使是悄悄話。整整兩天，一到吃飯時候， 全家人就商量該怎 麼辦；就是不在吃飯時候，也老是談這個題目， 那陣子家裡至少總 有兩個人，因為誰也不願孤單單地留在家裡， 至于全都出去那更是 不可想像的事。就在第一天， 女仆－－她對這件事到底知道幾分還 弄不太清楚－－來到母親跟前，跪下來哀求讓她辭退工作， 當她一 刻鐘之後離開時，居然眼淚盈眶感激不盡， 彷彿得到了什麼大恩典 似的，而且誰也沒有逼她，她就立下重誓， 說這件事她一個字也永 遠不對外人說。
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.
女仆一走，妹妹就幫着母親做飯了；其實這事也並不太麻煩， 因為事實上大家都簡直不吃什麼。 格里高爾常常聽到家裡一個人白 費力氣地勸另一個人多吃一些，可是回答總不外是：“謝謝， 我吃 不下了。”或是諸如此類的話。現在似乎連酒也不喝了。 他妹妹總 是一次又一次地問父親要不要喝啤酒， 並且好心好意地說要親自去 買，她見父親沒有回答，便建議讓看門的女人去買， 免得父親覺得 過意不去，這時父親斷然地說一個“不”字， 大家就再也不提這事 了。
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.
在頭幾天裡， 格里高爾的父親便向母親和妹妹解釋了家庭的經 濟現狀和遠景。他常常從桌子旁邊站起來，去取一些檔案和帳目， 這都放在一個小小的保險箱裡， 這是五年前他的公司破產時保存下 來的。他打開那把複雜的鎖、悉悉蘇蘇（字型檔中無此二字， 先用同 音字代替）地取出紙張又重新鎖上的聲音都一一聽得清清楚楚。 他 父親的敘述是格里高爾幽禁以來聽到的第一個愉快的消息。 他本來 還以為父親的買賣什麼也沒有留下呢， 至少父親沒有說過相反的話 ；當然，他也沒有直接問過。那時， 格里高爾唯一的願望就是竭盡 全力， 讓家裡人儘快忘掉父親事業崩潰使全家淪于絶望的那場大災 難。所以，他以不尋常的熱情投入工作， 很快就不再是個小辦事員 ，而成為一個旅行推銷員，賺錢的機會當然更多， 他的成功馬上就 轉化為亮晃晃圓滾滾的銀幣， 好讓他當着驚詫而又快樂的一家人的 面放在桌上。那真是美好的時刻啊， 這種時刻以後就沒有再出現過 ，至少是再也沒有那種光榮感了， 雖然後來格里高爾掙的錢已經夠 維持一家的生活，事實上家庭也的確是他在負擔。大家都習慣了， 不論是家裡人還是格里高爾，收錢的人固然很感激， 給的人也很樂 意，可是再也沒有那種特殊的溫暖感覺了。只有妹妹和他最親近， 他心裡有個秘密的計劃，想讓她明年進音樂學院，她跟他不一般， 愛好音樂，小提琴拉得很動人，進音樂學院費用當然不會小， 這筆 錢一定得另行設法籌措。他逗留在家的短暫時間， 音樂學院這一話 題在他和妹妹之間經常提起， 不過總是把它當作一個永遠無法實現 的美夢；只要聽到關於這件事的天真議論，他的父母就感到沮喪； 然而格里高爾已經痛下決心， 準備在聖誕節之夜隆重地宣佈這件事。
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.
這就是他貼緊門站着傾聽時湧進腦海的一些想法， 這在目前當 然都是毫無意義的空想了。有時他實在疲倦了，便不再傾聽， 而是 懶懶地把頭靠在門上，不過總是立即又得抬起來， 因為他弄出的最 輕微的聲音隔壁都聽得見，談話也因此停頓下來。 “他現在又在干 什麼呢？”片刻之後他父親會這樣問，而且顯然把頭轉向了門， 這 以後，被打斷的談話才會逐漸恢復。
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.
由於他父親很久沒有接觸經濟方面的事， 他母親也總是不能一 下子就弄清楚，所以他父親老是一遍又一遍地反覆解釋， 使格里高 爾瞭解得非常詳細：他的家庭雖然破產， 卻有一筆投資保存了下來 －－款子當然很小－－而且因為紅利沒動用，錢數還有些增加。 另 外， 格里高爾每個月給的家用－－他自己只留下幾個零用錢－－沒 有完全花掉，所以到如今也積成了一筆小數目。 格里高爾在門背後 拚命點頭，為這種他沒料到的節約和謹慎而高興。當然， 本來他也 可以用這些多餘的款子把父親欠老闆的債再還掉些， 使自己可以少 替老闆賣幾天命，可是無疑還是父親的做法更為妥當。
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.
不過，如果光是靠利息維持家用，這筆錢還遠遠不夠； 這項款 子可以使他們生活一年，至多兩年，不能再多了。 這筆錢根本就不 能動用，要留着以備不時之需；日常的生活費用得另行設法。 他父 親身體雖然還算健壯，但已經老了，他已有五年沒做事， 也很難期 望他能有什麼作為了；在他勞累的卻從未成功過的一生裡， 他還是 第一次過安逸的日子，在這五年裡，他發胖了， 連行動都不方便了 。而格里高爾的老母親患有氣喘病，在家裡走動都很困難， 隔一天 就得躺在打開的窗戶邊的沙發上喘得氣都透不過來， 又怎能叫她去 掙錢養家呢？妹妹還只是個十七歲的孩子， 她的生活直到現在為止 還是一片歡樂，關心的只是怎樣穿得漂亮些，睡個懶覺， 在家務上 幫幫忙，出去找些不太花錢的娛樂，此外最重要的就是拉小提琴， 又怎能叫她去給自己掙麵包呢？只要話題轉到掙錢養家的問題， 最 初格里高爾總是放開了門，撲倒在門旁冰涼的皮沙發上， 羞愧與焦 慮得心中如焚。
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.
他往往躺在沙發上，通夜不眠， 一連好幾個小時在皮面子上蹭 來蹭去。他有時也集中全身力量，將扶手椅推到窗前， 然後爬上窗 台，身體靠着椅子，把頭貼到玻璃窗上， 他顯然是企圖回憶過去臨 窗眺望時所感到的那種自由。因為事實上，隨着日子一天天過去， 稍稍遠一些的東西他就看不清了；從前， 他常常詛咒街對面的醫院 ，因為它老是逼近在他眼面前，可是如今他卻看不見了， 倘若他不 知道自己住在雖然僻靜，卻完全是市區的夏洛蒂街， 他真要以為自 己的窗子外面是灰色的天空與灰色的土地常常渾然成為一體的荒漠 世界了。他那細心的妹妹只看見扶手椅兩回都靠在窗前， 就明白了 ；此後她每次打掃房間總把椅子推回到窗前， 甚至還讓裡面那層窗 子開着。
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.
如果他能開口說話，感激妹妹為他所作的一切， 他也許還能多 少忍受她的憐憫，可現在他卻受不住。 她工作中不太愉快的那些方 面，她顯然想儘量避免；日子一天天過去， 她的確逐漸達到了目的 ，可是格里高爾也漸漸地越來越明白了。 她走進房間的樣子就使他 痛苦。她一進房間就衝到窗前，連房門也顧不上關， 雖然她往常總 是小心翼翼不讓旁人看到格里高爾的房間。她彷彿快要窒息了， 用 雙手匆匆推開窗子，甚至在嚴寒中也要當風站着作深呼吸。 她這種 吵閙急促的步子一天總有兩次使得格里高爾心神不定； 在這整段時 間裡，他都得蹲在沙發底下，打着哆嗦。他很清楚， 她和他待在一 起時，若是不打開窗子也還能忍受，她是絶對不會如此打擾他的。
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.
有一次，大概在格里高爾變形一個月以後， 其實這時她已經沒 有理由見到他再吃驚了，她比平時進來得早了一些， 發現他正在一 動不動地向着窗外眺望，所以模樣更像妖魔了。 要是她光是不進來 格里高爾倒也不會感到意外，因為既然他在窗口， 她當然不能立刻 開窗了，可是她不僅退出去，而且彷彿是大吃一驚似地跳了回去， 並且還砰地關上了門； 陌生人還以為他是故意等在那兒要撲過去咬 她呢。格里高爾當然立刻就躲到了沙發底下， 可是他一直等到中午 她才重新進來，看上去比平時更顯得惴惴不安。這使他明白， 妹妹 看見他依舊那麼噁心，而且以後也勢必一直如此。 她看到他身體的 一小部分露出在沙發底下而不逃走，該是作出了多大的努力呀。 為 了使她不致如此，有一天他花了四個小時的勞動， 用背把一張背單 拖到沙發上，鋪得使它可以完全遮住自己的身體，這樣， 即使她彎 下身子也不會看到他了。如果她認為被單放在那兒根本沒有必要， 她當然會把它拿走， 因為格里高爾這樣把自己遮住又蒙上自然不會 舒服。可是她並沒有拿走被單， 當格里高爾小心翼翼地用頭把被單 拱起一些看她怎樣對待新情況的時候， 他甚至彷彿看到妹妹眼睛裡 閃出了一絲感激的光輝。
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.
在最初的兩個星期裡，他的父母鼓不起勇氣進他的房間， 他常 常聽到他們對妹妹的行為表示感激，而以前他們是常常罵她， 說她 是個不中用的女兒。可是現在呢，在妹妹替他收拾房間的時候， 老 兩口往往在門外等着，她一出來就問她房間裡的情形， 格里高爾吃 了什麼，他這一次行為怎麼樣，是否有些好轉的跡象。 過了不多久 ，母親想要來看他了，起先父親和妹妹都用種種理由勸阻她， 格里 高爾留神地聽著，暗暗也都同意。後來， 他們不得不用強力拖住她 了，而她卻拚命嚷道：“讓我進去瞧瞧格里高爾， 他是我可憐的兒 子！你們就不明白我非進去不可嗎？”聽到這裡， 格里高爾想也許 還是讓她進來的好，當然不是每天都來， 每星期一次也就差不多了 ；她畢竟比妹妹更周到些，妹妹雖然勇敢，總還是個孩子， 再說她 之所以擔當這件苦差事恐怕還是因為年輕稚氣，少不更事罷了。
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.
格里高爾想見見他母親的願望很快就實現了。在大白天， 考慮 到父親的臉面，他不願趴在窗子上讓人家看見， 可是他在幾平方米 的地板上沒什麼好爬的， 漫漫的長夜裡他也不能始終安靜地躺着不 動，此外他很快就失去了對於食物的任何興趣，因此， 為了鍛鍊身 體，他養成了在牆壁和天花板上縱橫交錯地爬來爬去的習慣。 他特 別喜歡倒掛在天花板上，這比躺在地板上強多了， 呼吸起來也輕鬆 多了，而且身體也可以輕輕地晃來晃去； 倒懸的滋味使他樂而忘形 ，他忘乎所以地鬆了腿，直挺挺地掉在地板上。 可是如今他對自己 身體的控制能力比以前大有進步，所以即使摔得這麼重， 也沒有受 到損害。 他的妹妹馬上就注意到了格里高爾新發現的娛樂－－他的 腳總要在爬過的地方留下一種粘液－－於是她想到應該讓他有更多 地方可以活動，得把礙路的傢具搬出去， 首先要搬的是五斗櫥和寫 字台。
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.
可是一個人幹不了；她不敢叫父親來幫忙； 家裡的用人又只 有一個十六歲的使女，女仆走後她雖說有勇氣留下來， 但是她求主 人賜給她一個特殊的恩惠，讓她把廚房門鎖着， 只有在人家特意叫 她時才打開，所以她也是不能幫忙的；這樣， 除了趁父親出去時求 母親幫忙之外，也沒有別的法子可想了。老太太真的來了， 一邊還 興奮地叫喊着， 可是這股勁頭沒等到她來到格里高爾房門口就煙消 雲散了。格里高爾的妹妹當然先進房間， 她來看看是否一切都很穩 妥，然後再招呼母親。格里高爾趕緊把被單拉低些， 並且把它弄得 皺褶更多些，讓人看了以為這是隨隨便便扔在沙發上的。 這一回他 也不打沙發底下往外張望了；他放棄了見到母親的快樂， 她終於來 了，這就已經使他喜出望外了。“進來吧，他躲起來了。 ”妹妹說 ，顯然是攙着母親的手在領她進來。此後， 格里高爾聽到了兩個荏 弱的女人使勁把那口舊柜子從原來的地方拖出來的聲音， 他妹妹只 管挑重活兒干，根本不聽母親叫她當心累壞身子的勸告。 她們搬了 很久。在拖了至少一刻鐘之後，母親提出相反的意見， 說這口櫥還 是放在原處的好，因為首先它太重了， 在父親回來之前是絶對搬不 走的；而這樣立在房間的中央當然只會更加妨礙格里高爾的行動， 況且把傢具搬出去是否就合格里高爾的意，這可誰也說不上來。 她 甚至還覺得恰恰相反呢；她看到牆壁光禿禿，只覺得心裡堵得慌， 為什麼格里高爾就沒有同感呢， 既然好久以來他就用慣了這些傢具 ，一旦沒有，當然會覺得很淒涼。
"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."
最後她又壓低了聲音說－－事實 上自始至終她都几乎是用耳語在說話， 她彷彿連聲音都不想讓格里 高爾聽到－－他到底藏在哪兒她並不清楚－－因為她相信他已經聽 不懂她的話了－－“再說，我們搬走傢具，豈不等於向他表示， 我 們放棄了他好轉的希望，硬着心腸由他去了嗎？ 我想還是讓他房間 保持原狀的好，這樣，等格里高爾回到我們中間， 他就會發現一切 如故，也就能更容易忘掉這其間發生的事了。”
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.
聽到了母親這番話， 格里高爾明白兩個月不與人交談以及單調 的家庭生活，已經把他的頭腦弄糊塗了，否則他就無法解釋， 他怎 麼會認真希望把房間裡的傢具清出去。 難道他真的要把那麼舒適地 放滿祖傳傢具的溫暖的房間變成光禿禿的洞窟， 好讓自己不受阻礙 地往四面八方亂爬， 同時還要把做人的時候的回憶忘得乾乾淨淨作 為代價嗎？ 他的確已經瀕于忘卻一切， 只是靠了好久沒有聽到的母 親的聲音，才把他拉了回來。什麼都不能從他的房間裡搬出去； 一 切都得保持原狀；他不能喪失這些傢具對他精神狀態的良好影響； 即使在他無意識地到處亂爬的時候傢具的確擋住他的路， 這也絶不 是什麼妨礙，而是大大的好事。
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.
不幸的是，妹妹卻有不同的看法； 她已經慣于把自己看成是格 裡高爾事務的專家了，自然認為自己要比父母高明， 這當然也有點 道理，所以母親的勸說只能使她決心不僅僅搬走柜子和書桌， 這只 是她的初步計劃，而且還要搬走一切，只剩那張不可缺少的沙發。 她作出這個決定當然不僅僅是出於孩子氣的倔強和她近來自己也沒 料到的，花了艱苦代價而獲得的自信心； 她的確覺得格里高爾需要 許多地方爬動，另一方面，他又根本用不着這些傢具， 這也是不言 而喻的。另一個原因也可能是她這種年齡的少女的熱烈氣質， 她們 無論做什麼事總要迷在裡面， 這個原因使得葛蕾特誇大哥哥環境的 可怕，這樣，她就能給他做更多的事了。 對於一間由格里高爾一個 人主宰的光有四堵空牆的房間， 除了葛蕾特是不會有別人敢於進去 的。
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.
因此，她不因為母親的一番話而動搖自己的決心， 母親在格里 高爾的房間裡越來越不舒服，所以也拿不穩主意，旋即不作聲了， 只是竭力幫她女兒把柜子推出去。如果不得已， 格里高爾也可以不 要柜子，可是寫字檯是非留下不可的。 這兩個女人哼哼着剛把柜子 推出房間，格里高爾就從沙發底下探出頭來， 想看看該怎樣儘可能 溫和妥善地干預一下。可是真倒霉，是他母親先回進房間來的， 她 讓葛蕾特獨自在隔壁房間攥住柜子搖晃着往外拖， 柜子當然是一動 也不動。母親沒有看慣他的模樣；為了怕她看了嚇出病來， 格里高 爾馬上退到沙發另一頭去，可是還是使被單在前面晃動了一下。 這 就已經使她大吃一驚了。她愣住了，站了一會兒， 這才往葛蕾特那 兒跑去。
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.
雖然格里高爾不斷地安慰自己， 說根本沒有出什麼大不了的事 ，只是搬動了幾件傢具，但他很快就不得不承認， 這兩個女人跑過 來跑過去，她們的輕聲叫喊以及傢具在地板上的拖動， 這一切給了 他很大影響，彷彿亂動從四面八方同時襲來， 儘管他拚命把頭和腿 都蜷成一團貼緊在地板上，他也不得不承認他忍受不了多久了。 她 們在搬清他房間裡的東西，把他所喜歡的一切都拿走； 安放他的鋼 絲鋸和各種工具的柜子已經給拖走了； 她們這會兒正在把几乎陷進 地板去的寫字檯抬起來， 他在商學院唸書時所有的作業就是在這張 桌子上做的，更早的還有中學的作業，還有，對了， 小學的作業－ －他再也顧不上體會這兩個女人的良好動機了， 他几乎已經忘了她 們的存在，因為她們太累了，幹活時連聲音也發不出來， 除了她們 沉重的腳步聲以外，旁的什麼也聽不見。
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.
因此他衝出去了－－兩個女人在隔壁房間正靠着寫字檯略事休 息－－他換了四次方向，因為他真的不知道應該先拯救什麼； 接着 ，他看見了對面的那面牆，靠牆的東西已給搬得七零八落了， 牆上 那副穿皮大衣的女士的像吸引了他，格里高爾急忙爬上去， 緊緊地 貼在鏡面玻璃上，這地方倒挺不錯； 他那火熱的肚子頓時覺得愜意 多了。至少，這張完全藏在他身子底下的畫是誰也不許搬走的。 他 把頭轉向起坐室，以便兩個女人重新進來的時候可以看到她們。
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.
她們休息了沒多久就已經往裡走來了； 葛蕾特用胳膊圍住她母 親，簡直是在抱著她。“那麼，我們現在再搬什麼呢？ ”葛蕾特說 ，向周圍掃了一眼，她的眼睛遇上了格里高爾從牆上射來的眼光。 大概因為母親也在場的緣故，她保持住了鎮靜， 她向母親低下頭去 ，免得母親的眼睛抬起來，說道：“走吧， 我們要不要再回起坐室 待一會兒？”她的意圖格里高爾非常清楚； 她是想把母親安置到安 全的地方，然後再把他從牆上趕下來。好吧，讓她來試試看吧！ 他 抓緊了他的圖片絶不退讓。他還想對準葛蕾特的臉飛撲過去呢。
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.
可是葛蕾特的話卻已經使母親感到不安了， 她向旁邊跨了一步 ，看到了印花牆紙上那一大團棕色的東西， 她還沒有真的理會到她 看見的正是格里高爾，就用嘶啞的聲音大叫起來：“啊，上帝， 啊 ，上帝！”接着就雙手一攤倒在沙發上，彷彿聽天由命似的， 一動 也不動了。“唉，格里高爾！”他妹妹喊道， 對他又是揮拳又是瞪 眼。自從變形以來這還是她第一次直接對他說話。 她跑到隔壁房間 去拿什麼香精來使母親從昏厥中甦醒過來。 格里高爾也想幫忙－－ 要救那張圖片以後還有時間－－可是他已經緊緊地粘在玻璃上， 不 得不使點勁兒才能夠讓身子移動； 接着他就跟在妹妹後面奔進房間 ，好像他與過去一樣。真能給她什麼幫助似的； 可是他馬上就發現 ，自己只能無可奈何地站在她後面； 妹妹正在許許多多小瓶子堆裡 找來找去，等她回過身來一看到他，真的又吃了一驚； 一隻瓶子掉 到地板上，打碎了；一塊玻璃片劃破了格里高爾的臉， 不知什麼腐 蝕性的藥水濺到了他身上；葛蕾特才愣住一小會兒， 就馬上抱起所 有拿得了的瓶子跑到母親那兒去了；她用腳砰地把門關上。 格里高 爾如今和母親隔開了，她就是因為他，也許快要死了； 他不敢開門 ，生怕嚇跑了不得不留下來照顧母親的妹妹；目前，除了等待， 他 沒有別的事可做；他被自我譴責和憂慮折磨着，就在牆壁、 傢具和 天花板上到處亂爬起來，最後，在絶望中， 他覺得整個房間竟在他 四周旋轉，就掉了下來，跌落在大桌子的正中央。
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."
過了一小會兒。格里高爾依舊軟弱無力地躺着， 周圍寂靜無聲 ；這也許是個吉兆吧。接着門鈴響了。 使女當然是鎖在她的廚房裡 的，只能由葛蕾特去開門。進來的是他的父親。“出了什麼事？ ” 他一開口就問；準是葛蕾特的神色把一切都告訴他了。 葛蕾特顯然 把頭埋在父親胸口上， 因為他的回答聽上去悶聲悶氣的：“媽媽剛 才暈過去了，不過這會兒已經好點了。格里高爾逃了出來。 ”－－ “果然不出我的所料，”他父親說，“我不是告訴過你們嗎， 可是 你們這些女人根本不聽。 ”
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.
格里高爾清楚地感覺到他父親把葛蕾特 過于簡單的解釋想到最壞的方面去了， 他大概以為格里高爾作了什 麼凶狠的事呢。格里高爾現在必須設法使父親息怒， 因為他既來不 及也無法替自己解釋。因此他趕忙爬到自己房間的門口， 蹲在門前 ，好讓父親從客廳裡一進來便可以看見自己的兒子乖得很， 一心想 立即回自己房間，根本不需要趕，要是門開着， 他馬上就會進去的 。
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?
可是父親目前的情緒完全無法體會他那細膩的感情。“啊！ ” 他一露面就喊道，聲音裡既有狂怒，同時又包含了喜悅。 格里高爾 把頭從門上縮回來，抬起來瞧他的父親。啊， 這簡直不是他想象中 的父親了；顯然，最近他太熱衷于爬天花板這一新的消遣， 對家裡 別的房間裡的情形就不像以前那樣感興趣了， 他真應該預料到某些 新的變化才行。不過，不過，這難道真是他父親嗎？從前， 每逢格 裡高爾動身出差，他父親總是疲累不堪地躺在床上； 格里高爾回來 過夜總看見他穿著睡衣靠在一張長椅子裡，他連站都站不起來， 把 手舉一舉就算是歡迎。一年裡有那麼一兩個星期天， 還得是盛大的 節日，他也偶爾和家裡人一起出去， 總是走在格里高爾和母親的當 中，他們走得已經夠慢的了，可是他還要慢， 他裹在那件舊大衣裡 ，靠了那把彎柄的手杖的幫助艱難地向前移動， 每走一步都先要把 手杖小心翼翼地支好，逢到他想說句話，往往要停下腳步， 讓護衛 的人靠攏來。難道那個人就是他嗎？
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.
現在他身子筆直地站着， 穿一 件有金色鈕扣的漂亮的藍制服，這通常是銀行的雜役穿的； 他那厚 實的雙下巴鼓出在上衣堅硬的高領子外面；從他濃密的睫毛下面， 那雙黑眼睛射出了神氣十足咄咄逼人的光芒； 他那頭本來亂蓬蓬的 頭髮如今從當中整整齊齊一絲不苟地分了開來， 兩邊都梳得又光又 平。 他把那頂綉有金字－－肯定是哪家銀行的標記－－的帽子遠遠 地往房間那頭的沙發上一扔，把大衣的下襬往後一甩， 雙手插在褲 袋裏，板着嚴峻的臉朝格里高爾衝來。
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.
他大概自己也不清楚要幹什 麼；但是他卻把腳舉得老高， 格里高爾一看到他那大得驚人的鞋後 跟簡直嚇獃了。不過格里高爾不敢冒險聽任父親擺弄， 他知道從自 己新生活的第一天起，父親就是主張對他採取嚴厲措施的。 因此他 就在父親的前頭跑了起來，父親停住他也停住， 父親稍稍一動他又 急急地奔跑。就這樣，他們繞着房間轉了好幾圈， 並沒有真出什麼 事；事實上這簡直都不太像是追逐，因為他們都走得很慢。 所以格 裡高爾也沒有離開地板， 生怕父親把他的爬牆和上天花板看成是一 種特別惡劣的行為。可是，即使就這樣跑他也支持不了多久， 因為 他父親邁一步，他就得動好多下。他已經感到氣喘不過來了， 他從 前做人的時候肺也不太強。他跌跌撞撞地向前衝， 因為要把精力全 部集中在奔走上，連眼睛都几乎不睜開來；在昏亂的狀態中， 除了 向前衝以外，他根本沒有想到還有別的出路； 他几乎忘記自己是可 以隨便上牆的，但是在這個房間裡放著凸凸凹凹精雕細鏤的傢具， 把牆擋住了－－正在這時， 突然有一樣扔得不太有力的東西飛了過 來，落在他緊後面，又滾到他前面去。這是一個蘋果； 緊接着第二 個蘋果又扔了過來；格里高爾驚慌地站住了；再跑也沒有用了， 因 為他父親決心要轟炸他了。
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.
他把碗櫥上盤子裡的水果裝滿了衣袋， 也沒有好好地瞄準，只是把蘋果一個接一個地扔出來。 這些小小的 紅蘋果在地板上滾來滾去，彷彿有吸引力似的，都在互相碰撞。 一 個扔得不太用力的蘋果輕輕擦過格里高爾的背， 沒有帶給他什麼損 害就飛走了。可是緊跟着馬上飛來了另一個， 正好打中了他的背並 且還陷了進去；格里高爾掐扎着往前爬， 彷彿能把這種可驚的莫名 其妙的痛苦留在身後似的；可是他覺得自己好像被釘住在原處， 就 六神無主地癱倒在地上。在清醒的最後一剎那， 他瞥見他的門猛 然打開，母親搶在尖叫着的妹妹前頭跑了過來，身上只穿著內衣， 她女兒為了讓她呼吸舒暢好緩過氣來，已經把她衣服都解開了， 格 裡高爾看見母親向父親撲過去， 解鬆了的裙子一條接着一條都掉在 地板上，她絆着裙子徑直向父親奔去，抱住他，緊緊地摟住他， 雙 手圍在父親的脖子上，求他別傷害兒子的生命－－可是這時， 格里 高爾的眼光已經逐漸暗淡了。