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German writing
Other books by Franz Kafka
published by Twisted Spoon:
A Country Doctor
A Hunger Artist
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from CONTEMPLATION
by Franz Kafka
translated from the German by Kevin Blahut
illustrated by Fedele Spadafora
The Wish to Become an Indian
 If one actually were an Indian, instantly ready, on the running horse, slanting into the air, trembling again and
again over the trembling ground, until one shed the spurs, because there were no spurs, until one threw away the reins,
because there were no reins, and hardly saw the land ahead as a smooth-mown heath, already without horse's neck and
horse's head.
The People Running by
 When one is taking a walk through the street
at night, and a man — already visible from a distance because the street rises in front of us and the moon is full
— runs toward us, we will not tackle him, even if he is weak and ragged, even if someone is running behind him and
screaming, but we will let him continue running. Because it is night, and we cannot do anything about the street's
rising in front of us in the full moon, and besides, maybe these two have staged this chase for their own entertainment,
maybe both of them are pursuing a third, maybe the first man is being pursued even though he is innocent, maybe the
second man wants to kill him and we will become accomplices to the murder, maybe the two of them know nothing about one
another and each is going independently to his bed, maybe they are sleepwalkers, maybe the first man is armed.
And after all, don't we have a right to be tired, haven't we drunk a lot of wine? We are happy when the second man has
also vanished from sight.
Excursion into the Mountains
 "I don't know," I cried without a sound,
"I just don't know. If nobody comes, then nobody comes. I have not done anyone any harm, nobody has done me any harm,
but nobody wants to help me. Absolutely nobody. But really it is not this way. Just that nobody helps me —
otherwise absolutely nobody would be fine. I would really like — and why not? — to make an excursion in the
company of absolutely nobody. Into the mountains of course, where else? How these nobodies press against each other,
all these arms, crossed and entangled, all these feet, separated by tiny steps! It is understood that everyone is in
tails. We don't walk so badly, and the wind moves through the gaps that we and our limbs leave open. In the mountains
throats become free! It's a wonder we don't sing."
© Twisted Spoon Press
translation © Kevin Blahut
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ISBN 978 80 902171 5 7
72 pp.
130 x 180mm
18 b/w illustrations
hardcover
short fiction
Price of €13.50 includes airmail worldwide
Order in the US ($13.50):
Amazon
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SPD
Order in the UK (£8.95):
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