Franz Kafka's story continues: a bowl of milk, a sister who helps, a picture on the wall — and an apple.
Want the fuller version? Read this episode at B2/C1 level → · ← Episode 1 · Episode 3 →
Ten words for this episode. Think first — then check with Reveal.
Read the sentence. What does the word in bold mean? Say it, then reveal.
Choose from: furniture · a wall · to faint. Say the word, then reveal.
Kafka's story, told again in easier English. Read each part; after it, try the quick check from memory, then talk about the question.
It is evening when Gregor wakes up. He is hungry. Next to the door there is a bowl of milk with some white bread in it. Gregor is happy — milk was his favourite drink. His sister, Grete, is thinking of him!
He puts his head in the milk. But he can't eat well, because his side hurts. And the milk tastes horrible to him now. He turns away.
In the living room, it is very quiet. Before, his father always read the newspaper aloud in the evening. Now nobody reads. Gregor thinks: What a quiet life my family has. And I paid for this nice flat.
The next morning, Grete opens the door. She sees the milk. Gregor didn't drink it. So she brings him lots of different food: old vegetables, bones, cheese, dry bread. Gregor eats the old cheese first. He likes it much more than fresh food now.
Grete comes twice a day with food. When she comes in, Gregor hides under the sofa, because he knows she doesn't want to see him. When she goes, he comes out and eats.
Nobody in the family can understand Gregor. But Gregor can understand them. He listens at the door. One day he hears his father talk about money. There is some old money in a box — more than Gregor thought. Good, thinks Gregor. They can live on it for a year or two. But after that, somebody must work. His father is old and fat. His mother is ill. Grete is only seventeen.
1. Why doesn't Gregor drink the milk?
2. What does Gregor like to eat now?
1. His side hurts, and the milk tastes horrible to him now — before, it was his favourite drink.
2. Old food — he eats the old cheese first. He doesn't like fresh food any more.
Weeks go by. Gregor sits at the window a lot. He looks out, but every day he can see less. Before, he could see the hospital across the street. Now he can't see it. The street looks grey and empty.
Nobody in the family comes into his room, only Grete. She opens the window for fresh air. She does it very fast, and she doesn't look at him. One day Gregor is at the window when she comes in. She jumps back and closes the door! Gregor understands: she is afraid of him. So he puts a sheet over the sofa, and he hides under it all the time.
Gregor finds a new game. He walks on the walls and on the ceiling! He likes hanging from the ceiling. It is more fun than the floor, and he can breathe better up there.
Grete sees the marks on the walls. She has an idea. Gregor needs more space. Let's take the furniture out of his room. She asks their mother to help.
Their mother comes into the room for the first time. She is afraid, but she wants to see her son. “But maybe he likes his furniture,” she says quietly. “Maybe it helps him remember his old life. When he gets better, he can find everything the same.”
Gregor hears this. He thinks: Mother is right. I don't want an empty room. I want to remember that I am a person.
1. Why does Gregor hide under the sheet all the time?
2. Why does Grete want to take the furniture out? Why does their mother not want to?
1. Because Grete is afraid of him — once she saw him at the window and jumped back.
2. Grete thinks Gregor needs more space to walk on the walls. Their mother thinks the furniture helps him remember his old life.
But Grete wants to take everything out, and the two women carry the heavy furniture out of the room. It is hard work. Gregor watches. They take the big cupboard. They take his desk — he did his homework at that desk when he was a boy.
Gregor can't watch any more. He comes out. What can he save? On the wall there is a picture of a lady in a fur hat. He climbs up and holds on to the picture. They can't have this!
His mother comes back into the room. She sees a big brown insect on the wall. “Oh God, oh God!” she cries, and she faints onto the sofa.
“Gregor!” shouts Grete. It is the first time she speaks to him. She runs to get medicine for their mother. Gregor wants to help. He runs after her, into the next room. Grete turns and sees him. She drops a bottle and it breaks. She runs back to her mother and shuts the door. Now Gregor can't go back.
Then his father comes home. Gregor looks at him. His father is different! Before, he was a tired old man in a dressing gown. Now he stands tall in a blue uniform with gold buttons. He looks stronger and younger. He has a new job.
“Gregor broke out,” says Grete. His father is very angry. He takes some apples from the table and he throws them at Gregor, one after another. One apple hits Gregor's back and goes into it. The pain is terrible.
The door opens. His mother runs to his father and holds him. “Please,” she cries, “don't kill him!” And then Gregor can't see any more.
1. What does Gregor try to save, and why does his mother faint?
2. How is Gregor's father different now?
1. The picture of the lady in the fur hat. His mother sees him on the wall — a big brown insect — and faints.
2. Before, he was a tired old man in a dressing gown. Now he wears a blue uniform, stands tall and looks stronger and younger — he has a job.
In this episode, everything changes. To compare before and now, we use comparatives: older, bigger, more tired, better, worse + than.
Write the correct form of the adjective in brackets.
1. Now the flat is (quiet) than before. Nobody reads the newspaper.
2. Old cheese is (nice) for Gregor than fresh food.
3. Every day the street looks (grey) to Gregor.
4. Hanging from the ceiling is (interesting) than sitting on the floor.
5. Gregor's father looks (young) in his uniform.
6. The furniture is (heavy) than the women think.
1. quieter
2. nicer
3. greyer
4. more interesting
5. younger
6. heavier
Write better or worse.
1. After the apple, Gregor's back hurts much more. His pain is than before.
2. Gregor can breathe much more easily on the ceiling. He feels up there.
3. The family has less money every month. Their situation is getting .
4. The father has a job and new clothes. He looks than he did at the start.
1. worse
2. better
3. worse
4. better
Write one or two words. Use the adjective in brackets.
1. Before, the father was weak. Now he is (strong).
2. Before, Grete was a happy girl. Now she is (serious).
3. Before, Gregor could see the hospital. Now his eyes are (bad).
4. Before, the family had lots of money. Now life is (difficult).
1. stronger
2. more serious
3. worse
4. more difficult
Now compare yourself: you five years ago and you now. Say three sentences with comparatives.
Gregor is an insect, but inside he is still Gregor. He still loves his family, and he still worries about money. But his body wants different things now — old food, dark places, the ceiling.
And look at his family. Before, Gregor worked and everybody else rested. Now the father works, the sister works, and they are stronger. It is almost as if Gregor's problem makes them better.
The picture of the lady is Gregor's last thing from his old life. He holds it with his whole body.
Now it's your turn to speak. Use the timer — try to keep talking until the time is up.
Tell this episode to a friend: the milk → the old cheese → hiding under the sofa → the money → the window → the walls and the ceiling → the furniture → the picture → the mother faints → the father in uniform → the apple.
Use at least four comparatives and at least five words from today (milk, look after, hide, carry, furniture, wall, faint, hard, hit, throw).
Choose one person: the father, the mother or Grete. Compare their life before Gregor changed and now. What is better? What is worse? Is their life better or worse in the end? Give reasons.
Gregor has an apple in his back and he is badly hurt. What happens next? Say your idea and explain why.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: