The Metamorphosis — Episode 1

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning after bad dreams. Something is wrong. He is lying on his back, and his back is hard, like a shell. His stomach is brown and round. He has many small, thin legs, and they move in the air. He can't stop them.

"What has happened to me?" he thinks. It is not a dream. His room is the same. His table is the same. On the wall there is a picture of a lady in a fur hat.

Outside it is raining. Gregor feels sad. He wants to sleep again and forget everything. But he can't. He always sleeps on his right side, and now he can't turn. He tries a hundred times.

Then he thinks about his job. Gregor is a salesman. He travels every day, by train, to sell cloth. He hates the job. The food is bad, the trains are early, and the boss is unfriendly. But Gregor can't stop working. His parents owe the boss a lot of money. Gregor must work for five or six more years to pay it back.

Then he looks at the clock. It is half past six! His train left at five o'clock. The alarm clock rang at four — but he didn't hear it. Now the boss will be angry.

There is a knock on the door. "Gregor," says his mother, "it's a quarter to seven. Aren't you going to work?"

Gregor answers: "Yes, yes, thank you, Mother. I'm getting up now." But his voice is strange. There is a small, high sound in it, like an animal.

Now his father knocks on another door. "Gregor! What's the matter?" And his sister, Grete, speaks softly through the third door: "Gregor? Are you ill? Do you need anything?"

"I'm nearly ready," says Gregor, very slowly and carefully. All three doors are locked. Gregor always locks his doors at night. Today he is happy about that.

Gregor tries to get out of bed. It is very difficult. He has no arms and no hands now. His little legs move all the time, but he can't control them. He tries to move his bottom half first. He can't. Then he tries to move his head first. But he is afraid: if he falls, he will hurt his head.

"Before a quarter past seven, I must be out of this bed," he says.

He starts to rock from side to side. Then — the doorbell rings. It is a quarter past seven. Gregor knows who it is. It is the chief clerk from the office — the boss's assistant. He wants to know why Gregor is not on the train.

Gregor is angry. Is it a crime to miss one train? Why does the chief clerk come himself? He falls out of bed with a loud bang. He hits his head.

"Something fell in there," says the chief clerk in the next room.

Gregor's father speaks through the door: "Gregor, the chief clerk is here. He wants to talk to you. Please open the door."

His mother says to the chief clerk: "He is ill. Gregor never misses a train. He only thinks about work. He never goes out in the evening. He sits at home and reads train timetables!"

The chief clerk speaks loudly: "Mr Samsa, what is the matter? You lock yourself in your room. You answer only yes and no. Your parents are worried. And your work is not good at the moment. The boss is not happy."

"But sir!" cries Gregor. "I'm opening the door now, this minute! I was a little ill — I felt dizzy. But now I'm fine. I can take the eight o'clock train. Please don't say bad things about me to the boss!"

There is silence. Then the chief clerk says quietly: "Did you understand one word of that?"

"He's ill!" cries the mother. "Grete, run for the doctor!"

"That was an animal's voice," says the chief clerk.

"Anna!" shouts the father to the maid. "Get a locksmith!"

Gregor is calmer now. They think he is ill. They want to help him. He goes to the door. He turns the key — with his mouth. He has no teeth, but his jaws are strong. Something brown comes out of his mouth. The key turns.

"Do you hear that?" says the chief clerk. "He's turning the key!"

The door opens. Gregor is behind it. Slowly, he moves round the door. Now they can see him.

"Oh!" The chief clerk puts his hand over his mouth. He walks backwards, step by step.

Gregor's mother looks at him. Then she falls to the floor and hides her face.

Gregor's father makes a fist. Then he looks around the room. Then he puts his hands over his eyes, and he cries.

Gregor stays in the doorway. Outside, it is still raining. On the wall there is a photo of Gregor in his army uniform. He is smiling in the photo. On the table there is breakfast for the family.

"Now," says Gregor — he is the only calm person in the flat — "I'll get dressed and go to work. Sir, please don't go. I'm not lazy. I like my job. Please say good things about me to the boss. I'm in trouble, but I can get out of it."

But the chief clerk can't understand Gregor's words. He moves slowly to the door of the flat. He looks at the stairs.

Gregor thinks: "I can't let him go! He will tell the boss. I'll lose my job!" He lets go of the door and falls onto his little legs. And for the first time, he feels good. His legs work! He can walk!

His mother jumps up. "Help! Help!" She runs backwards and sits on the table. The coffee pot falls over, and coffee runs onto the carpet.

"Mother, Mother," says Gregor quietly.

The chief clerk runs down the stairs. "Ugh!" he shouts.

Now the father is angry. He takes the chief clerk's walking stick in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He stamps his feet. He makes a sound like a snake: "Sssss!" He pushes Gregor back towards his room.

Gregor can't walk backwards. He turns round, very slowly. But the door is narrow, and his body is wide. He can't get through. His side hurts. There are marks on the white door. He is stuck.

Then his father pushes him hard from behind. Gregor flies into his room. He is bleeding. The father closes the door with the stick — bang.

Then everything is quiet.