THE TRIAL
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Translation Copyright © by David Wyllie
Translator contact email: dandelion@post.cz
Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had donenothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested. Every day at eight inthe morning he was brought his breakfast by Mrs. Grubach's cook—Mrs.Grubach was his landlady—but today she didn't come. That had neverhappened before. K. waited a little while, looked from his pillow at theold woman who lived opposite and who was watching him with aninquisitiveness quite unusual for her, and finally, both hungry anddisconcerted, rang the bell. There was immediately a knock at the doorand a man entered. He had never seen the man in this house before. Hewas slim but firmly built, his clothes were black and close-fitting,with many folds and pockets, buckles and buttons and a belt, all ofwhich gave the impression of being very practical but without making itvery clear what they were actually for. "Who are you?" asked K., sittinghalf upright in his bed. The man, however, ignored the question as ifhis arrival simply had to be accepted, and merely replied, "You rang?""Anna should have brought me my breakfast," said K. He tried to workout who the man actually was, first in silence, just throughobservation and by thinking about it, but the man didn't stay still tobe looked at for very long. Instead he went over to the door, opened itslightly, and said to someone who was clearly standing immediatelybehind it, "Hewants Anna to bring him his breakfast." There was a little laughter inthe neighbouring room, it was not clear from the sound of it whetherthere were several people laughing. The strange man could not havelearned anything from it that he hadn't known already, but now he saidto K., as if making his report "It is not possible." "It would be thefirst time that's happened," said K., as he jumped out of bed andquickly pulled on his trousers. "I want to see who that is in the nextroom, and why it is that Mrs. Grubach has let me be disturbed in thisway." It immediately occurred to him that he needn't have said this outloud, and that he must to some extent have acknowledged their authorityby doing so, but that didn't seem important to him at the time. That, atleast, is how the stranger took it, as he said, "Don't you think you'dbetter stay where you are?" "I want neither to stay here nor to bespoken to by you until you've introduced yourself." "I meant it for yourown good," said the stranger and opened the door, this time withoutbeing asked. The next room, which K. entered more slowly than he hadintended, looked at first glance exactly the same as it had the previousevening. It was Mrs. Grubach's livin