不 幸
地道英文
作者：by Franz Kafka
弗蘭茨·卡夫卡（（Franz Kafka，1883—1924），20世紀德文小說家，生於布拉格的一個猶太人家庭，曾入布拉格大學學習文學和法律，1904年開始寫作，主要作品為4部短篇小說集和3部長篇小說。
卡夫卡是歐洲著名的表現主義作家，但其境遇就像梵高一樣，生前默默無聞，生活痛苦孤獨，作品大多未被發表，死後好友違背他要求燒毀所有書稿的遺言，替他整理遺稿出版，並替他立傳。隨著時間的流逝，他的價值才逐漸為人們所認識，作品引起了世界的震動。卡夫卡的作品大都用變形荒誕的形象和象征直覺的手法，表現被充滿敵意的社會環境所包圍的孤立、絕望的個人。文筆明淨而想像奇詭，常采用寓言體，背後的寓意言人人殊，暫無（或永無）定論，令20世紀各個寫作流派紛紛追認其為先驅。
在《不幸》這篇短篇小說中，作者描述一個如同幽閉恐怖症患者般的孤獨者，他有時注視窗外，有時心血來潮到街上散步，又總會遇到令人不滿的事。這一次，他遇到了“一個小鬼”，後者以一種突然的、戲劇性的方式闖進房間，於是兩人展開了一段離奇的對話。這篇小說一方麵講述了不幸的人要求結交可能的朋友，另一方麵則是對模糊的不安和恐懼的發泄。對社會的陌生感、孤獨感與恐懼感，是卡夫卡創作的永恒主題。美國詩人奧登曾說：“卡夫卡對我們至關重要，因為他的困境就是現代人的困境。”不知從這個故事中，讀者們是否也能看到自己心中那個孤獨與恐懼的影子？
When it was becoming unbearable—once toward evening in November—and I ran along the narrow strip of carpet in my room as on a racetrack， shrank from the sight of the litup street， then turning to the interior of the room found a new goal in the depths of the looking glass and screamed aloud， to hear only my own scream which met no answer nor anything that could draw its force away， so that it rose up without check and could not stop even when it ceased being audible， the door in the wall opened toward me， how swiftly， because swiftness was needed and even the cart horses down below on the paving stones were rising in the air like horses driven wild in a battle， their throats bare to the enemy.
Like a small ghost a child blew in from the 1）pitch-dark corridor， where the lamp was not yet lit， and stood a-tiptoe on a floor board that quivered 2）imperceptibly. At once dazzled by the twilight in my room she made to cover her face quickly with her hands， but contented herself unexpectedly with a glance at the window， where the mounting vapor of the street lighting had at last settled under its cover of darkness behind the crossbars. With her right elbow she supported herself against the wall in the open doorway and let the 3）draught from outside play along her ankles， her throat， and her 4）temples.
I gave her a brief glance， then said “Good day，” and took my jacket from the hood of the stove， since I didn’t want to stand there halfundressed. For a little while I let my mouth hang open， so that my agitation could find a way out. I had a bad taste in my mouth， my eyelashes were fluttering on my cheeks. In short this visit， though I had expected it， was the one thing needful.
The child was still standing by the wall on the same spot， she had pressed her right hand against the plaster and was quite taken up with finding，her cheeks all pink， that the whitewashed walls had a rough surface and 5）chafed her finger tips. I said： “Are you really looking for me？ Isn’t there some mistake？ Nothing easier than to make a mistake in this big building. I’m called So-and-so and I live on the third floor. Am I the person you want to find？”
“Hush， hush，” said the child over her shoulder， “it’s all right.”
“Then come farther into the room， I’d like to shut the door.”
“I’ve shut it this very minute. Don’t bother. Just be easy in your mind.”
“It’s no bother. But there’s a lot of people living on this corridor， and I know them all， of course； most of them are coming back from work now； if they hear someone talking in a room， they simply think they have a right to open the door and see what’s happening. They’re just like that. They’ve turned their backs on their daily work and in their 6）provisionally free evenings they’re not going to be dictated to by anyone. Besides， you know that as well as I do. Let me shut the door.”
“Why， what’s the matter with you？ I don’t mind if the whole house comes in. Anyhow， as I told you， I’ve already shut the door， do you think you’re the only person who can shut doors？ I’ve even turned the key in the lock.”
“That’s all right then. I couldn’t ask for more. You didn’t need to turn the key， either. And now that you are here， make yourself comfortable. You are my guest. You can trust me entirely. Just make yourself at home and don’t be afraid. I won’t compel you either to stay or to go away. Do I have to tell you that？ Do you know me so little？”