Spanish-English Intermediate Bilingual Novella
(long short story OR short novel)
FRANZ KAFKA
La Metamorfosis [The Metamorphosis]
PART SIX
SECTION A ~ Traditional Parallel Text
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Gregorio comprendió que de ningún modo debía dejar marchar al apoderado en este estado de ánimo, si es que no quería ver extremadamente amenazado su trabajo en el almacén. Los padres no entendían todo esto demasiado bien: durante todos estos largos años habían llegado al convencimiento de que Gregorio estaba colocado en este almacén para el resto de su vida, y además, con las preocupaciones actuales, tenían tanto que hacer, que habían perdido toda previsión. Pero Gregorio poseía esa previsión. El apoderado tenía que ser retenido, tranquilizado, persuadido y, finalmente, atraído. ¡El futuro de Gregorio y de su familia dependía de ello! ¡Si hubiese estado aquí la hermana! Ella era lista; ya había llorado cuando Gregorio todavía estaba tranquilamente sobre su espalda, y seguro que el apoderado, ese aficionado a las mujeres, se hubiese dejado llevar por ella; ella habría cerrado la puerta del piso y en el vestíbulo le hubiese disuadido de su miedo.
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Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let the chief clerk go away in this mood if his position in the firm was not to be put into extreme danger. That was something his parents did not understand very well; over the years, they had become convinced that this job would provide for Gregor for his entire life, and besides, they had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did think about the future. The chief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over; the future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only his sister were here! She was clever; she was already in tears while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back. And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she could persuade him; she would close the front door in the entrance hall and talk him out of his shocked state.
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Pero lo cierto es que la hermana no estaba aquí y Gregorio tenía que actuar. Y sin pensar que no conocía todavía su actual capacidad de movimiento, y que sus palabras posiblemente, seguramente incluso, no habían sido entendidas, abandonó la hoja de la puerta y se deslizó a través del hueco abierto. Pretendía dirigirse hacia el apoderado que, de una forma grotesca, se agarraba ya con ambas manos a la barandilla del rellano; pero, buscando algo en que apoyarse, se cayó inmediatamente sobre sus múltiples patitas, dando un pequeño grito. Apenas había sucedido esto, sintió por primera vez en esta mañana un bienestar físico: las patitas tenían suelo firme por debajo, obedecían a la perfección, como advirtió con alegría; incluso intentaban transportarle hacia donde él quería; y ya creía Gregorio que el alivio definitivo de todos sus males se encontraba a su alcance; pero en el mismo momento en que, balanceándose por el movimiento reprimido, no lejos de su madre, permanecía en el suelo justo. Enfrente de ella, ésta, que parecía completamente sumida en sus propios pensamientos, dio un salto hacia arriba, con los brazos extendidos, con los dedos muy separados entre sí, y exclamó: —¡Socorro, por el amor de Dios, socorro! Mantenía la cabeza inclinada, como si quisiera ver mejor a Gregorio, pero, en contradicción con ello, retrocedió atropelladamente; había olvidado que detrás de ella estaba la mesa puesta; cuando hubo llegado a ella, se sentó encima precipitadamente, como fuera de sí, y no pareció notar que, junto a ella, el café de la cafetera volcada caía a chorros sobre la alfombra.
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But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the job himself. And without considering that he still was not familiar with how well he could move about in his present state, or that his speech still might not - or probably would not - be understood, he let go of the door; pushed himself through the opening; tried to reach the chief clerk on the landing who, ridiculously, was holding on to the banister with both hands; but Gregor fell immediately over and, with a little scream as he sought something to hold onto, landed on his numerous little legs. Hardly had that happened than, for the first time that day, he began to feel alright with his body; the little legs had the solid ground under them; to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them; they were even making the effort to carry him where he wanted to go; and he was soon believing that all his sorrows would soon be finally at an end. He held back the urge to move but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the floor. His mother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite engrossed in herself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her fingers spread shouting: "Help, for pity's sake, Help!" The way she held her head suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the unthinking way she was hurrying backwards showed that she did not; she had forgotten that the table was behind her with all the breakfast things on it; when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing; without even seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been knocked over and a gush of coffee was pouring down onto the carpet.
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—¡Madre, madre! — dijo Gregorio en voz baja, y miró hacia ella. Por un momento había olvidado completamente al apoderado; por el contrario, no pudo evitar, a la vista del café que se derramaba, abrir y cerrar varias veces sus mandíbulas al vacío. Al verlo la madre gritó nuevamente, huyó de la mesa y cayó en los brazos del padre, que corría a su encuentro. Pero Gregorio no tenía ahora tiempo para sus padres. El apoderado se encontraba ya en la escalera; con la barbilla sobre la barandilla miró de nuevo por última vez.
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"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at her. He had completely forgotten the chief clerk for the moment, but could not help himself snapping in the air with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee. That set his mother screaming anew, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as he rushed towards her. Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents now; the chief clerk had already reached the stairs; with his chin on the banister, he looked back for the last time.
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Gregorio tomó impulso para alcanzarle con la mayor seguridad posible. El apoderado debió adivinar algo, porque saltó de una vez varios escalones y desapareció; pero lanzó aún un «¡Uh!», que se oyó en toda la escalera. Lamentablemente esta huida del apoderado pareció desconcertar del todo al padre, que hasta ahora había estado relativamente sereno, pues en lugar de perseguir él mismo al apoderado o, al menos, no obstaculizar a Gregorio en su persecución, agarró con la mano derecha el bastón del apoderado, que aquél había dejado sobre la silla junto con el sombrero y el gabán; tomó con la mano izquierda un gran periódico que había sobre la mesa y, dando patadas en el suelo, comenzó a hacer retroceder a Gregorio a su habitación blandiendo el bastón y el periódico. De nada sirvieron los ruegos de Gregorio, tampoco fueron entendidos, y por mucho que girase humildemente la cabeza, el padre pataleaba aún con más fuerza.
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Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sure of reaching him; the chief clerk must have expected something, as he leapt down several steps at once and disappeared; his shouts resounding all around the staircase. The flight of the chief clerk seemed, unfortunately, to put Gregor's father into a panic as well. Until then he had been relatively self controlled, but now, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or at least not impeding Gregor as he ran after him, Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand (the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat and overcoat), picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and used them to drive Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went. Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his appeals were simply not understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder.
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Al otro lado, la madre había abierto de par en par una ventana, a pesar del tiempo frío, e inclinada hacia fuera se cubría el rostro con las manos. Entre la calle y la escalera se estableció una fuerte corriente de aire, las cortinas de las ventanas volaban, se agitaban los periódicos de encima de la mesa, las hojas sueltas revoloteaban por el suelo. El padre le acosaba implacablemente y daba silbidos como un loco. Pero Gregorio todavía no tenía mucha práctica en andar hacia atrás, andaba realmente muy despacio. Sí Gregorio se hubiese podido dar la vuelta, enseguida hubiese estado en su habitación, pero tenía miedo de impacientar al padre con su lentitud. Al darse la vuelta, y a cada instante le amenazaba el golpe mortal del bastón en la espalda o la cabeza. Finalmente, no le quedó a Gregorio otra solución, pues advirtió con angustia que andando hacia atrás ni siquiera era capaz de mantener la dirección, y así, mirando con temor constantemente a su padre de reojo, comenzó a darse la vuelta con la mayor rapidez posible, pero, en realidad, con una gran lentitud. Quizá advirtió el padre su buena voluntad, porque no sólo no le obstaculizó en su empeño, sino que, con la punta de su bastón, le dirigía de vez en cuando, desde lejos, en su movimiento giratorio. ¡Si no hubiese sido por ese insoportable silbar del padre! Por su culpa Gregorio perdía la cabeza por completo.
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Across the room, despite the chilly weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window, leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face. A strong draught of air flew in from the street towards the stairway, the curtains flew up, the newspapers on the table fluttered and some of them were blown onto the floor. Nothing would stop Gregor's father as he drove him back, making hissing noises at him like a wild man. Gregor had never had any practice in moving backwards and was only able to go very slowly. If Gregor had only been allowed to turn round he would have been back in his room straight away, but he was afraid that if he took the time to do that his father would become impatient, and there was the threat of a lethal blow to his back or head from the stick in his father's hand any moment. Eventually, though, Gregor realised that he had no choice as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite incapable of going backwards in a straight line; so he began, as quickly as possible and with frequent anxious glances at his father, to turn himself round. It went very slowly, but perhaps his father was able to see his good intentions as he did nothing to hinder him, in fact now and then he used the tip of his stick to give directions from a distance as to which way to turn. If only his father would stop that unbearable hissing! It was making Gregor quite confused.
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Ya casi se había dado la vuelta del todo cuando, siempre oyendo ese silbido, incluso se equivocó y retrocedió un poco en su vuelta. Pero cuando por fin, feliz, tenía ya la cabeza ante la puerta, resultó que su cuerpo era demasiado ancho para pasar por ella sin más. Naturalmente, al padre, en su actual estado de ánimo, ni siquiera se le ocurrió ni por lo más remoto abrir la otra hoja de la puerta para ofrecer a Gregorio espacio suficiente. Su idea fija consistía solamente en que Gregorio tenía que entrar en su habitación lo más rápidamente posible; tampoco hubiera permitido jamás los complicados preparativos que necesitaba Gregorio para incorporarse y, de este modo, atravesar la puerta. Es más, empujaba hacia adelante a Gregorio con mayor ruido aún, como si no existiese obstáculo alguno. Ya no sonaba tras de Gregorio como si fuese la voz de un solo padre; ahora ya no había que andarse con bromas, y Gregorio se empotró en la puerta, pasase lo que pasase. Uno de los costados se levantó, ahora estaba atravesado en el hueco de la puerta, su costado estaba herido por completo, en la puerta blanca quedaron marcadas unas manchas desagradables, pronto se quedó atascado y sólo no hubiera podido moverse, las patitas de un costado estaban colgadas en el aire, y temblaban, las del otro lado permanecían aplastadas dolorosamente contra el suelo. Entonces el padre le dio por detrás un fuerte empujón que, en esta ocasión, le produjo un auténtico alivio, y Gregorio penetró profundamente en su habitación sangrando con intensidad. La puerta fue cerrada con el bastón y a continuación se hizo, por fin, el silencio.
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When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening to that hissing, he made a mistake and turned himself back a little the way he had just come. He was pleased when he finally had his head in front of the doorway, but then saw that it was too narrow, and his body was too broad to get through it without further difficulty. In his present mood, it obviously did not occur to his father to open the other of the double doors so that Gregor would have enough space to get through. He was merely fixed on the idea that Gregor should be got back into his room as quickly as possible. Nor would he ever have allowed Gregor the time to get himself upright as preparation for getting through the doorway. What he did, making more noise than ever, was to drive Gregor forwards all the harder as if there had been nothing in the way; it sounded to Gregor as if there was now more than one father behind him; it was not a pleasant experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway without regard for what might happen. One side of his body lifted itself, he lay at an angle in the doorway, one flank scraped on the white door and was painfully injured, leaving vile brown flecks on it, soon he was stuck fast and would not have been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hung quivering in the air while those on the other side were pressed painfully against the ground. Then his father gave him a hefty shove from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily bleeding, deep into his room. The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all was quiet.
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Hasta la caída de la tarde no se despertó Gregorio de su profundo sueño similar a una pérdida de conocimiento. Seguramente no se hubiese despertado mucho más tarde, aun sin ser molestado, porque se sentía suficientemente repuesto y descansado; sin embargo, le parecía como si le hubiesen despertado unos pasos fugaces y el ruido de la puerta que daba al vestíbulo al ser cerrada con cuidado. El resplandor de las farolas eléctricas de la calle se reflejaba pálidamente aquí y allí en el techo de la habitación y en las partes altas de los muebles, pero abajo, donde se encontraba Gregorio, estaba oscuro. Tanteando todavía torpemente con sus antenas, que ahora aprendía a valorar, se deslizó lentamente hacia la puerta para ver lo que había ocurrido allí. Su costado izquierdo parecía una única y larga cicatriz que le daba desagradables tirones y le obligaba realmente a cojear con sus dos filas de patas. Por cierto, que una de las patitas había resultado gravemente herida durante los incidentes de la mañana — casi parecía un milagro que sólo una hubiese resultado herida—, y se arrastraba sin vida.
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It was not until it was getting dark that evening that Gregor awoke from his deep and coma-like sleep. He would have woken soon afterwards anyway even if he hadn't been disturbed, as he had had enough sleep and felt fully rested. But he had the impression that some hurried steps and the sound of the door leading into the front room being carefully shut had woken him. The light from the electric street lamps shone palely here and there onto the ceiling and tops of the furniture, but down below, where Gregor was, it was dark. He pushed himself over to the door, feeling his way clumsily with his antennae - of which he was now beginning to learn the value - in order to see what had been happening there. The whole of his left side seemed like one, painfully stretched scar, and he limped badly on his two rows of legs. One of the legs had been badly injured in the events of that morning - it was nearly a miracle that only one of them had been - and dragged along lifelessly.
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Sólo cuando ya había llegado a la puerta advirtió que lo que le había atraído hacia ella había sido el olor a algo comestible, porque allí había una escudilla llena de leche dulce en la que nadaban trocitos de pan. Estuvo a punto de llorar de alegría porque ahora tenía aún más hambre que por la mañana, e inmediatamente introdujo la cabeza dentro de la leche casi hasta por encima de los ojos. Pero pronto volvió a sacarla con desilusión, no sólo comer le resultaba difícil debido a su delicado costado izquierdo — sólo podía comer si todo su cuerpo cooperaba jadeando—, sino que, además, la leche, que siempre había sido su bebida favorita, y que seguramente por eso se la había traído la hermana, ya no le gustaba, es más, se retiró casi con repugnancia de la escudilla y retrocedió a rastras hacia el centro de la habitación.
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It was only when he had reached the door that he realised what it actually was that had drawn him over to it; it was the smell of something to eat. By the door there was a dish filled with sweetened milk with little pieces of white bread floating in it. He was so pleased he almost laughed, as he was even hungrier than he had been that morning, and immediately dipped his head into the milk, nearly covering his eyes with it. But he soon drew his head back again in disappointment; not only did the pain in his tender left side make it difficult to eat the food - he was only able to eat if his whole body worked together as a snuffling whole - but the milk did not taste at all nice. Milk like this was normally his favourite drink, and his sister had certainly left it there for him because of that, but he turned, almost against his own will, away from the dish and crawled back into the centre of the room.
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En el cuarto de estar, por lo que veía Gregorio a través de la rendija de la puerta, estaba encendido el gas, pero mientras que, como era habitual a estas horas del día, el padre solía leer en voz alta a la madre, y a veces también a la hermana, el periódico vespertino, ahora no se oía ruido alguno. Bueno, quizá esta costumbre de leer en voz alta, tal como le contaba y le escribía siempre su hermana, se había perdido del todo en los últimos tiempos. Pero todo a su alrededor permanecía en silencio, a pesar de que, sin duda, el piso no estaba vacío. «¡Qué vida tan apacible lleva la familia!», se dijo Gregorio, y, mientras miraba fijamente la oscuridad que reinaba ante él, se sintió muy orgulloso de haber podido proporcionar a sus padres y a su hermana la vida que llevaban en una vivienda tan hermosa. Pero ¿qué ocurriría si toda la tranquilidad, todo el bienestar, toda la satisfacción, llegase ahora a un terrible final? Para no perderse en tales pensamientos, prefirió Gregorio ponerse en movimiento y arrastrarse de acá para allá por la habitación.
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Through the crack in the door, Gregor could see that the gas had been lit in the living room. His father at this time would normally be sat with his evening paper, reading it out in a loud voice to Gregor's mother, and sometimes to his sister, but there was now not a sound to be heard. Gregor's sister would often write and tell him about this reading, but maybe his father had lost the habit in recent times. It was so quiet all around too, even though there must have been somebody in the flat. "What a quiet life it is the family lead", said Gregor to himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents. But what now, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible and frightening end? That was something that Gregor did not want to think about too much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room.
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SECTION B ~ Spanish-English Bilingual Text
Sentence Under Sentence Text Alignment
Gregorio comprendió que de ningún modo debía dejar marchar al apoderado en este estado de ánimo, si es que no quería ver extremadamente amenazado su trabajo en el almacén. Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let the chief clerk go away in this mood if his position in the firm was not to be put into extreme danger.
Los padres no entendían todo esto demasiado bien:
That was something his parents did not understand very well;
durante todos estos largos años habían llegado al convencimiento de que Gregorio estaba colocado en este almacén para el resto de su vida, y además, con las preocupaciones actuales, tenían tanto que hacer, que habían perdido toda previsión.
over the years, they had become convinced that this job would provide for Gregor for his entire life, and besides, they had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight of any thought for the future.
Pero Gregorio poseía esa previsión.
Gregor, though, did think about the future.
El apoderado tenía que ser retenido, tranquilizado, persuadido y, finalmente, atraído.
The chief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over;
¡El futuro de Gregorio y de su familia dependía de ello!
the future of Gregor and his family depended on it!
¡Si hubiese estado aquí la hermana!
If only his sister were here!
Ella era lista;
She was clever;
ya había llorado cuando Gregorio todavía estaba tranquilamente sobre su espalda,
she was already in tears while Gregor was still lying peacefully on his back.
y seguro que el apoderado, ese aficionado a las mujeres, se hubiese dejado llevar por ella;
And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she could persuade him;
ella habría cerrado la puerta del piso y en el vestíbulo le hubiese disuadido de su miedo.
she would close the front door in the entrance hall and talk him out of his shocked state.
Pero lo cierto es que la hermana no estaba aquí y Gregorio tenía que actuar.
But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to do the job himself.
Y sin pensar que no conocía todavía su actual capacidad de movimiento, y que sus palabras posiblemente, seguramente incluso, no habían sido entendidas, abandonó la hoja de la puerta And without considering that he still was not familiar with how well he could move about in his present state, or that his speech still might not - or probably would not - be understood, he let go of the door;
y se deslizó a través del hueco abierto.
pushed himself through the opening;
Pretendía dirigirse hacia el apoderado que, de una forma grotesca, se agarraba ya con ambas manos a la barandilla del rellano;
tried to reach the chief clerk on the landing who, ridiculously, was holding on to the banister with both hands;
pero, buscando algo en que apoyarse, se cayó inmediatamente sobre sus múltiples patitas, dando un pequeño grito.
but Gregor fell immediately over and, with a little scream as he sought something to hold onto, landed on his numerous little legs.
Apenas había sucedido esto, sintió por primera vez en esta mañana un bienestar físico:
Hardly had that happened than, for the first time that day, he began to feel alright with his body;
las patitas tenían suelo firme por debajo,
the little legs had the solid ground under them;
obedecían a la perfección, como advirtió con alegría;
to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them;
incluso intentaban transportarle hacia donde él quería;
they were even making the effort to carry him where he wanted to go;
y ya creía Gregorio que el alivio definitivo de todos sus males se encontraba a su alcance;
and he was soon believing that all his sorrows would soon be finally at an end.
pero en el mismo momento en que, balanceándose por el movimiento reprimido, no lejos de su madre, permanecía en el suelo justo. Enfrente de ella, ésta, que parecía completamente sumida en sus propios pensamientos, dio un salto hacia arriba, con los brazos extendidos, con los dedos muy separados entre sí, y exclamó:
He held back the urge to move but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the floor. His mother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite engrossed in herself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and her fingers spread shouting:
"¡Socorro, por el amor de Dios, socorro!"
"Help, for pity's sake, Help!"
Mantenía la cabeza inclinada, como si quisiera ver mejor a Gregorio, pero, en contradicción con ello, retrocedió atropelladamente;
The way she held her head suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the unthinking way she was hurrying backwards showed that she did not;
había olvidado que detrás de ella estaba la mesa puesta;
she had forgotten that the table was behind her with all the breakfast things on it;
cuando hubo llegado a ella, se sentó encima precipitadamente, como fuera de sí,
when she reached the table she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing;
y no pareció notar que, junto a ella, el café de la cafetera volcada caía a chorros sobre la alfombra.
without even seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been knocked over and a gush of coffee was pouring down onto the carpet.
—¡Madre, madre! — dijo Gregorio en voz baja, y miró hacia ella.
"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at her.
Por un momento había olvidado completamente al apoderado;
He had completely forgotten the chief clerk for the moment,
por el contrario, no pudo evitar, a la vista del café que se derramaba, abrir y cerrar varias veces sus mandíbulas al vacío.
but could not help himself snapping in the air with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee.
Al verlo la madre gritó nuevamente, huyó de la mesa y cayó en los brazos del padre, que corría a su encuentro.
That set his mother screaming anew, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as he rushed towards her.
Pero Gregorio no tenía ahora tiempo para sus padres.
Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents now;
El apoderado se encontraba ya en la escalera;
the chief clerk had already reached the stairs;
con la barbilla sobre la barandilla miró de nuevo por última vez.
with his chin on the banister, he looked back for the last time.
Gregorio tomó impulso para alcanzarle con la mayor seguridad posible.
Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sure of reaching him;
El apoderado debió adivinar algo, porque saltó de una vez varios escalones y desapareció;
the chief clerk must have expected something, as he leapt down several steps at once and disappeared;
pero lanzó aún un «¡Uh!», que se oyó en toda la escalera.
his shouts resounding all around the staircase.
Lamentablemente esta huida del apoderado pareció desconcertar del todo al padre,
The flight of the chief clerk seemed, unfortunately, to put Gregor's father into a panic as well.
que hasta ahora había estado relativamente sereno,
Until then he had been relatively self controlled,
pues en lugar de perseguir él mismo al apoderado o, al menos, no obstaculizar a Gregorio en su persecución,
but now, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or at least not impeding Gregor as he ran after him,
agarró con la mano derecha el bastón del apoderado,
Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand
que aquél había dejado sobre la silla junto con el sombrero y el gabán;
(the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat and overcoat),
tomó con la mano izquierda un gran periódico que había sobre la mesa y,
picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left,
dando patadas en el suelo, comenzó a hacer retroceder a Gregorio a su habitación blandiendo el bastón y el periódico.
and used them to drive Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went.
De nada sirvieron los ruegos de Gregorio, tampoco fueron entendidos, y por mucho que girase humildemente la cabeza, el padre pataleaba aún con más fuerza.
Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his appeals were simply not understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder.
Al otro lado, la madre había abierto de par en par una ventana, a pesar del tiempo frío, e inclinada hacia fuera se cubría el rostro con las manos.
Across the room, despite the chilly weather, Gregor's mother had pulled open a window, leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face.
Entre la calle y la escalera se estableció una fuerte corriente de aire, las cortinas de las ventanas volaban, se agitaban los periódicos de encima de la mesa, las hojas sueltas revoloteaban por el suelo.
A strong draught of air flew in from the street towards the stairway, the curtains flew up, the newspapers on the table fluttered and some of them were blown onto the floor.
El padre le acosaba implacablemente y daba silbidos como un loco.
Nothing would stop Gregor's father as he drove him back, making hissing noises at him like a wild man.
Pero Gregorio todavía no tenía mucha práctica en andar hacia atrás, andaba realmente muy despacio.
Gregor had never had any practice in moving backwards and was only able to go very slowly.
Sí Gregorio se hubiese podido dar la vuelta, enseguida hubiese estado en su habitación,
If Gregor had only been allowed to turn round he would have been back in his room straight away,
pero tenía miedo de impacientar al padre con su lentitud. Al darse la vuelta, y a cada instante le amenazaba el golpe mortal del bastón en la espalda o la cabeza.
but he was afraid that if he took the time to do that his father would become impatient, and there was the threat of a lethal blow to his back or head from the stick in his father's hand any moment.
Finalmente, no le quedó a Gregorio otra solución, pues advirtió con angustia que andando hacia atrás ni siquiera era capaz de mantener la dirección,
Eventually, though, Gregor realised that he had no choice as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite incapable of going backwards in a straight line;
y así, mirando con temor constantemente a su padre de reojo, comenzó a darse la vuelta con la mayor rapidez posible,
so he began, as quickly as possible and with frequent anxious glances at his father, to turn himself round.
pero, en realidad, con una gran lentitud. Quizá advirtió el padre su buena voluntad, porque no sólo no le obstaculizó en su empeño, sino que, con la punta de su bastón, le dirigía de vez en cuando, desde lejos, en su movimiento giratorio.
It went very slowly, but perhaps his father was able to see his good intentions as he did nothing to hinder him, in fact now and then he used the tip of his stick to give directions from a distance as to which way to turn.
¡Si no hubiese sido por ese insoportable silbar del padre!
If only his father would stop that unbearable hissing!
Por su culpa Gregorio perdía la cabeza por completo.
It was making Gregor quite confused.
Ya casi se había dado la vuelta del todo cuando, siempre oyendo ese silbido, incluso se equivocó y retrocedió un poco en su vuelta.
When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening to that hissing, he made a mistake and turned himself back a little the way he had just come.
Pero cuando por fin, feliz, tenía ya la cabeza ante la puerta, resultó que su cuerpo era demasiado ancho para pasar por ella sin más.
He was pleased when he finally had his head in front of the doorway, but then saw that it was too narrow, and his body was too broad to get through it without further difficulty.
Naturalmente, al padre, en su actual estado de ánimo, ni siquiera se le ocurrió ni por lo más remoto abrir la otra hoja de la puerta para ofrecer a Gregorio espacio suficiente.
In his present mood, it obviously did not occur to his father to open the other of the double doors so that Gregor would have enough space to get through.
Su idea fija consistía solamente en que Gregorio tenía que entrar en su habitación lo más rápidamente posible;
He was merely fixed on the idea that Gregor should be got back into his room as quickly as possible.
tampoco hubiera permitido jamás los complicados preparativos que necesitaba Gregorio para incorporarse y, de este modo, atravesar la puerta.
Nor would he ever have allowed Gregor the time to get himself upright as preparation for getting through the doorway.
Es más, empujaba hacia adelante a Gregorio con mayor ruido aún, como si no existiese obstáculo alguno.
What he did, making more noise than ever, was to drive Gregor forwards all the harder as if there had been nothing in the way;
Ya no sonaba tras de Gregorio como si fuese la voz de un solo padre;
it sounded to Gregor as if there was now more than one father behind him;
ahora ya no había que andarse con bromas, y Gregorio se empotró en la puerta, pasase lo que pasase.
it was not a pleasant experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway without regard for what might happen.
Uno de los costados se levantó, ahora estaba atravesado en el hueco de la puerta,
One side of his body lifted itself, he lay at an angle in the doorway,
su costado estaba herido por completo, en la puerta blanca quedaron marcadas unas manchas desagradables,
one flank scraped on the white door and was painfully injured, leaving vile brown flecks on it,
pronto se quedó atascado y sólo no hubiera podido moverse, las patitas de un costado estaban colgadas en el aire, y temblaban, las del otro lado permanecían aplastadas dolorosamente contra el suelo.
soon he was stuck fast and would not have been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hung quivering in the air while those on the other side were pressed painfully against the ground.
Entonces el padre le dio por detrás un fuerte empujón que, en esta ocasión, le produjo un auténtico alivio, y Gregorio penetró profundamente en su habitación sangrando con intensidad.
Then his father gave him a hefty shove from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily bleeding, deep into his room.
La puerta fue cerrada con el bastón y a continuación se hizo, por fin, el silencio.
The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all was quiet.
..
Hasta la caída de la tarde no se despertó Gregorio de su profundo sueño similar a una pérdida de conocimiento.
It was not until it was getting dark that evening that Gregor awoke from his deep and coma-like sleep.
Seguramente no se hubiese despertado mucho más tarde, aun sin ser molestado, porque se sentía suficientemente repuesto y descansado;
He would have woken soon afterwards anyway even if he hadn't been disturbed, as he had had enough sleep and felt fully rested.
sin embargo, le parecía como si le hubiesen despertado unos pasos fugaces y el ruido de la puerta que daba al vestíbulo al ser cerrada con cuidado.
But he had the impression that some hurried steps and the sound of the door leading into the front room being carefully shut had woken him.
El resplandor de las farolas eléctricas de la calle se reflejaba pálidamente aquí y allí en el techo de la habitación y en las partes altas de los muebles, pero abajo, donde se encontraba Gregorio, estaba oscuro.
The light from the electric street lamps shone palely here and there onto the ceiling and tops of the furniture, but down below, where Gregor was, it was dark.
Tanteando todavía torpemente con sus antenas, que ahora aprendía a valorar, se deslizó lentamente hacia la puerta para ver lo que había ocurrido allí.
He pushed himself over to the door, feeling his way clumsily with his antennae - of which he was now beginning to learn the value - in order to see what had been happening there.
Su costado izquierdo parecía una única y larga cicatriz que le daba desagradables tirones y le obligaba realmente a cojear con sus dos filas de patas.
The whole of his left side seemed like one, painfully stretched scar, and he limped badly on his two rows of legs.
Por cierto, que una de las patitas había resultado gravemente herida durante los incidentes de la mañana — casi parecía un milagro que sólo una hubiese resultado herida—, y se arrastraba sin vida.
One of the legs had been badly injured in the events of that morning - it was nearly a miracle that only one of them had been - and dragged along lifelessly.
Sólo cuando ya había llegado a la puerta advirtió que lo que le había atraído hacia ella había sido el olor a algo comestible,
It was only when he had reached the door that he realised what it actually was that had drawn him over to it; it was the smell of something to eat.
porque allí había una escudilla llena de leche dulce en la que nadaban trocitos de pan.
By the door there was a dish filled with sweetened milk with little pieces of white bread floating in it.
Estuvo a punto de llorar de alegría porque ahora tenía aún más hambre que por la mañana, e inmediatamente introdujo la cabeza dentro de la leche casi hasta por encima de los ojos.
He was so pleased he almost laughed, as he was even hungrier than he had been that morning, and immediately dipped his head into the milk, nearly covering his eyes with it.
Pero pronto volvió a sacarla con desilusión,
But he soon drew his head back again in disappointment;
no sólo comer le resultaba difícil debido a su delicado costado izquierdo
not only did the pain in his tender left side make it difficult to eat the food
— sólo podía comer si todo su cuerpo cooperaba jadeando—,
- he was only able to eat if his whole body worked together as a snuffling whole -
sino que, además, la leche, que siempre había sido su bebida favorita, y que seguramente por eso se la había traído la hermana, ya no le gustaba, es más, se retiró casi con repugnancia de la escudilla y retrocedió a rastras hacia el centro de la habitación.
but the milk did not taste at all nice. Milk like this was normally his favourite drink, and his sister had certainly left it there for him because of that, but he turned, almost against his own will, away from the dish and crawled back into the centre of the room.
En el cuarto de estar, por lo que veía Gregorio a través de la rendija de la puerta, estaba encendido el gas,
Through the crack in the door, Gregor could see that the gas had been lit in the living room.
pero mientras que, como era habitual a estas horas del día, el padre solía leer en voz alta a la madre, y a veces también a la hermana, el periódico vespertino, ahora no se oía ruido alguno.
His father at this time would normally be sat with his evening paper, reading it out in a loud voice to Gregor's mother, and sometimes to his sister, but there was now not a sound to be heard.
Bueno, quizá esta costumbre de leer en voz alta, tal como le contaba y le escribía siempre su hermana, se había perdido del todo en los últimos tiempos.
Gregor's sister would often write and tell him about this reading, but maybe his father had lost the habit in recent times.
Pero todo a su alrededor permanecía en silencio, a pesar de que, sin duda, el piso no estaba vacío.
It was so quiet all around too, even though there must have been somebody in the flat.
«¡Qué vida tan apacible lleva la familia!», se dijo Gregorio, y, mientras miraba fijamente la oscuridad que reinaba ante él, se sintió muy orgulloso de haber podido proporcionar a sus padres y a su hermana la vida que llevaban en una vivienda tan hermosa.
"What a quiet life it is the family lead", said Gregor to himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents.
Pero ¿qué ocurriría si toda la tranquilidad, todo el bienestar, toda la satisfacción, llegase ahora a un terrible final?
But what now, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible and frightening end?
Para no perderse en tales pensamientos, prefirió Gregorio ponerse en movimiento y arrastrarse de acá para allá por la habitación.
That was something that Gregor did not want to think about too much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room.