length he said: “I know about the whole business as, indeed, you have remarked. The reason why I’ve done nothing is firstly, that I’ve been unwell, and secondly, that you’ve been so long in coming; I thought finally that you had given up the business. But now that you’ve been so kind as to look me up, really I must tell you the plain unvarnished truth of the matter. You’ve been taken on as Land Surveyor, as you say, but, unfortunately, we have no need of a Land Surveyor. There wouldn’t be the least use for one here. The frontiers of our little state are marked out and all officially recorded. So what should we do with a Land Surveyor?” Though he had not given the matter a moment’s thought before, K. was convinced now at the bottom of his heart that he had expected some such response as this. Exactly for that reason he was able to reply immediately: “This is a great surprise for me. It throws all my calculations out. I can only hope that there’s some misunderstanding.” “No, unfortunately,” said the Superintendent, “it’s as I’ve said.” “But how is that possible?” cried K. “Surely I haven’t made this endless journey just be sent back again.” “That’s another question,” replied the Superintendent, “which isn’t for me to decide, but how this misunderstanding became possible, I can certainly explain that. In such a large governmental office as the Count’s, it may occasionally happen that one department ordains this, another that; neither knows of the other, and though the supreme control is absolutely efficient, it comes by its nature too late, and so every now and then a trifling miscalculation arises. Of course that applies only to the pettiest little affairs, as for example your case. In great matters I’ve never known of any error yet, but even little affairs are often painful enough. Now as for your case, I’ll be open with you about its history, and make no official mystery of it⁠—I’m not enough of the official for that, I’m a farmer and always will remain one. A long time ago⁠—I had only been Superintendent for a few months⁠—there came an order, I can’t remember from what department, in which in the usual categorical way of the gentlemen up there, it was made known that a Land Surveyor was to be called in, and the municipality