1 Even if it was cold, she would stay at the window breathing deeply for a little while.
2 He became noticeably short of breath, even in his earlier life his lungs had not been very reliable.
3 Then, without his willing it, his head sank down completely, and his last breath flowed weakly from his nostrils.
4 It was to his satisfaction, and Gregor's mother and sister, who had been looking on anxiously, began to breathe again and smiled.
5 His mother, who still had not had time to catch her breath, began to cough dully, her hand held out in front of her and a deranged expression in her eyes.
6 And he lay there quietly a while longer, breathing lightly as if he perhaps expected the total stillness to bring things back to their real and natural state.
7 But he needed great self-control to stay there even for the short time that his sister was in the room, as eating so much food had rounded out his body a little and he could hardly breathe in that narrow space.
8 He was especially fond of hanging from the ceiling; it was quite different from lying on the floor; he could breathe more freely; his body had a light swing to it; and up there, relaxed and almost happy, it might happen that he would surprise even himself by letting go of the ceiling and landing on the floor with a crash.
9 So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out, changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall - which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it - of the lady dressed in copious fur.