21 Short Tales Quotes

“Oh dear," said the mouse, "the world shrinks with every passing day. At first it was so vast I was afraid; I ran on further and was cheered when at last, in the distance, to the right and to the left, I saw walls; but these long walls converge on one another so quickly that I'm already in the final room, and there, in the corner, lies the trap into which I'm running." "You just have to change direction," said the cat, and ate him.”
― Franz Kafka, 21 Short Tales

“My grandfather used to say, "Life is amazingly short. Now, looking back, it all appears so crowded together that I can hardly see how a young man could, for example, make up his mind to ride to the next village without fearing that, even without any special misfortunes, a normal, contentedly spent life might entirely run its course long before such a journey was complete.”
― Franz Kafka, 21 Short Tales

“Since everyone strives for the law," says the man, "how is it that in all these years nobody but me has asked for admittance?" The doorkeeper sees that the man is at an end, and, to reach his fading senses, bellows his answer, "None but you could gain admittance here, for this entrance was meant only for you. I shall close it now.”
― Franz Kafka, 21 Short Tales

“How will it all end?" we ask ourselves. "How long will we have to bear this burden and this agony? The imperial palace has drawn the nomads, but no-one knows how to turn them back again. The gate remains locked; the guard, which once constantly, splendidly, marched in and out, now remains behind barred windows. Salvation of the fatherland is left to us, craftsmen and merchants, who, however, are not equal to such a task, and have never claimed to be equal to it. It is a misunderstanding, and it is killing us.”
― Franz Kafka, 21 Short Tales

“As long as you don't stop climbing the steps will never cease; beneath your climbing feet they rise on ever upwards.”
― David Barrett, 21 Short Tales