Yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí – the numbers from one to ten. Gregor does not store them just anywhere in his head but on ten points of the body, numbered from bottom to top: feet, knees, thighs, back pocket, navel, chest, shoulders, neck, face and hair. Your hand on your navel with its five fingers marks the five, and the seven dwarfs on your shoulders mark the seven.
Each point gets an image: on your foot stands a hedgehog with spines as straight as the horizon (yī). Your knee is badly hurt – “arg” in German (èr). In the pocket on your thigh there is sand, level as the horizon (sān). A long snake slithers out of your back pocket through the buttonhole (sì). At your navel runs a softly sprung underground train whose exit is shaped like an O (wǔ). On your chest lies a folder of watch brochures (liù). On your shoulders an Indian man dances the cha-cha-cha, his turban as straight as the horizon (qī). Round your neck hang swimming goggles (bā). With your lips you drink tea with very soft ham, next to a cup that is round like an O at the top and curved like a U at the bottom (jiǔ). And when you ask whether your hairstyle looks nice, you get a half-swallowed “schön”, German for “nice” (shí).
Gregor’s advice: keep speaking the numbers along with Ben over the next few days. After two or three days the tones will come out right by themselves.