The Hunter Gracchus by Franz Kafka. Short summary

5 seconds

A ship arrived in town with a dead hunter on board. The dead man was taken to the house on the shore, and the mayor of the town, who had been notified of the strange procession’s arrival, arrived there as well.

1 minute

A boat entered the quiet harbor. A bosun came ashore, followed by two sailors who lowered a stretcher upon which the man lay.

The sailors with the stretcher were taken to a small yellow two-story cabin. There, in a cool hall, they placed the stretcher, set tall candlesticks at the heads of the stretcher, and lit candles. A gentleman in a crepe-ribbon hat appeared outside — the burgomaster of Riva. He came into the lodge.

The veil was thrown from the stretcher. Beneath it lay a shaggy man with a weathered face, who looked like a hunter. He was dead. The lord asked everyone to come out, knelt down and prayed.

Suddenly the dead man opened his eyes, turned to the burgomaster and asked who he was. The burgomaster introduced himself. The dead man told him that he was a hunter named Gracchus. Many years ago he had fallen into an abyss while hunting and died. He was about to pass away, but something went wrong. Since then, neither dead nor alive, the hunter has wandered from town to town on a boat, accompanied by a strange bosun and sailors.