Gregor ate hardly anything any more. Only when he chanced to
move past the food which had been prepared did he, as a game, take
a bit into his mouth, hold it there for hours, and generally spit
it out again. At first he thought it might be his sadness over the
condition of his room which kept him from eating, but he very soon
became reconciled to the alterations in his room. People had grown
accustomed to put into storage in his room things which they
couldn't put anywhere else, and at this point there were many such
things, now that they had rented one room of the apartment to three
lodgers. These solemn gentlemen—all three had full beards, as
Gregor once found out through a c***k in the door—were meticulously
intent on tidiness, not only in their own room but, since they had
