"The Tunnel" is a 1952 short story by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It belongs to the most important works of Dürrenmatt and is a classic among the surrealistic short stories. With the beginning of the story, Dürrenmatt parodies Thomas Mann. The first sentence is very long and nested. Furthermore, Dürrenmatt's student is in a train and likes cigars – just like the young man in The Magic Mountain .