Probably written at the beginning of 1915, it first appeared in 1936 in the collection Beschreibung eines Kampfes (Description of a Struggle).
It relates part of the life of Blumfeld, an elderly bachelor, who upon arriving home finds two balls bouncing off the ground of their own accord.
The action continues into the next day, following his attempt to be rid of the balls.
[1] An entry from Kafka's Diaries, dated February 9, 1915, could refer to "Blumfeld": Just now read the beginning.
In spite of all its truth, it is wicked, pedantic, mechanical, a fish barely breathing on a sandbank.