The first volume of my collected works contains my early poetry, the second my early prose, and the third volume, namely this one, my early short plays and sketches. This tripartite division of my early work is the result of a very spontaneous decision, the correctness of which I am no longer entirely convinced of. The fact is that each of my seven published collections of short prose contains both short stories and short plays, without anyone having found fault with that. Perhaps it was even a mistake to dedicate a separate volume to my short plays. But mistakes are part of life, and experience has taught me that most of them turn into cheerful anecdotes over the years, which are often told and enjoyed, much to the chagrin of the sighing, eye-rolling listeners. If all goes according to plan, my collected works will comprise twenty volumes. Consequently, I will have seventeen more opportunities to avoid old, familiar mistakes and replace them with new, yet unknown ones. So I will not lack for anecdotes in the future either. It is said that the wisdom of age is silence. But I have never claimed to be wise.