The Monkey’s Paw

“Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.”

Part I

Outside, it was a cold and rainy night. But inside the small living room of Laburnum house, the curtains were closed and there was a warm fire. A father and his son were playing chess. The father was taking big risks with his king, making the game exciting. This made the old lady with white hair, who was knitting by the fire, watch them closely.

• knitting (verb) – Making clothes by using two needles and yarn.

“Listen to the wind,” said Mr. White. He had just made a bad move in the chess game and wanted to distract his son from noticing it.

• distract (verb) – To take someone’s attention away from something.

“I’m listening,” said his son, looking seriously at the chessboard. He moved a piece and said, “Check.”

“I don’t think he’s coming tonight,” said the father, with his hand still in the air.

“Mate,” answered the son, meaning he won the chess game.

• mate (noun) – In chess, a move that ends the game by trapping the opponent’s king.

Mr. White suddenly raised his voice, “I don’t like living here! It’s so far from everything, and it’s always muddy and wet. Nobody cares about this place because there are only two houses here.”

“Don’t worry, dear,” said his wife in a calm voice. “Maybe you’ll win the next game.”

Mr. White looked up quickly and saw his wife and son share a knowing smile. He stopped talking and hid a smile behind his beard.

“There he is,” said Herbert White when they heard the gate make a loud noise and heavy footsteps coming to the door.

The old man got up fast to welcome their guest. He opened the door and they exchanged greetings. Mrs. White heard this and said, “Oh dear!” and coughed a little as her husband came back into the room with a big, strong man who had shiny eyes and red cheeks.

“This is Sergeant-Major Morris,” he said, introducing him.

Sergeant-Major Morris shook hands and sat by the fire. Mr. White brought out drinks. They all sat and listened to Morris talk about his adventures in faraway lands, fighting in wars and meeting strange people.

• shook hands (phrasal verb) – Greeted each other by holding hands and moving them up and down.
• faraway (adjective) – Distant or remote, far from where you are.

“He’s been away for twenty-one years,” said Mr. White to his wife and son. “He was just a young boy when he left.”

“He looks good,” said Mrs. White kindly.

“I wish I could go to India just to see it,” said the old man.

“It’s better here,” said Sergeant-Major Morris, shaking his head. He finished his drink and looked sad.

“I want to see the old buildings and the people doing magic tricks,” said the old man. “What was that story you started telling me about a monkey’s paw, Morris?”

“Nothing important,” said the soldier quickly.

“Monkey’s paw?” asked Mrs. White with interest.

“Well, it’s kind of like magic,” said Sergeant-Major Morris in a relaxed way.

Everyone leaned in to listen. The visitor tried to drink from his empty glass, so Mr. White filled it again.

“It looks like a normal, dried-up monkey’s paw,” said Sergeant-Major Morris, taking something out of his pocket.

Mrs. White didn’t like the look of it, but her son took it and looked at it closely.

“What’s special about it?” Mr. White asked, taking the paw and looking at it before putting it on the table.

“A holy man in India put magic on it,” said Sergeant-Major Morris. “He wanted to show that we can’t control everything and that messing with fate is bad. The magic lets three different people have three wishes each.”

• holy (adjective) – Sacred or very religious.
• fate (noun) – The power that controls what happens in the future.

The soldier spoke in such a serious way that everyone felt bad for laughing earlier.

“Well, why don’t you have three, sir?” Herbert White joked.

The soldier looked at him sternly, like an older person might look at a young person acting silly. “I have,” he said quietly, and his face turned pale.

• sternly (adverb) – In a strict or serious way.

“And did your three wishes really come true?” Mrs. White asked.

“Yes, they did,” answered the soldier, tapping his glass with his teeth.

“Did anyone else make wishes?” Mrs. White kept asking.

“Yes, another man made three wishes. I don’t know what his first two wishes were, but his last wish was to die. That’s how I got the paw,” he answered.

Everyone became very quiet because he spoke so seriously.

“If you already made your three wishes, why do you still have the paw?” the old man finally asked.

The soldier shook his head. “I guess I just wanted to keep it,” he said slowly. “I thought about selling it, but I changed my mind. It brought me too much trouble. Also, people don’t believe it’s real, or they want to try it before paying.”

“If you could make three more wishes, would you?” the old man asked, looking closely at him.

“I don’t know,” said the soldier. “I don’t know.”

He held the paw and then threw it into the fire. Mr. White quickly grabbed it out of the fire.

• grab (verb) – Take hold of something quickly and firmly.

“You should have let it burn,” said the soldier in a serious voice.

“If you don’t want it, give it to me,” said Mr. White.

“I won’t,” said the soldier firmly. “I tried to burn it. If you keep it, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Be smart and throw it in the fire.”

Mr. White shook his head and looked at the paw. “How do you use it?” he asked.

“Hold it in your right hand and make your wish out loud,” said the soldier. “But be careful.”

“It sounds like a story from ‘Arabian Nights’,” said Mrs. White, as she got up to prepare supper. “Maybe you should wish for me to have four hands to help me.”

Mr. White took out the paw and they all laughed. The soldier looked worried and grabbed Mr. White’s arm.

“If you’re going to wish, wish for something that makes sense,” he said in a rough voice.

Mr. White put the paw back in his pocket and they all sat down to eat. During supper, they started to forget about the paw. Afterward, they listened to more of the soldier’s stories about India.

“If the story about the monkey’s paw is as made-up as his other stories,” said Herbert after the soldier left, “it won’t do anything.”

“Did you pay him for it, dad?” Mrs. White asked, looking closely at her husband.

“A little,” he said, turning red. “He didn’t want to take it, but I insisted. He told me again to throw it away.”

“Oh no,” Herbert joked. “We’re going to be rich and famous and happy. Dad, wish to be an emperor so no one can boss you around!”

Herbert ran around the table, and Mrs. White chased him playfully with a cloth.

Mr. White took the paw out of his pocket and looked at it, not sure what to do. “I don’t know what to wish for,” he said slowly. “I feel like I have everything I want.”

“Just wish for enough money to pay off the house, and you’ll be happy, right?” said Herbert, putting his hand on his dad’s shoulder. “Wish for two hundred pounds. That should be enough.”

Mr. White’s dad, looking a bit embarrassed but happy, held up the magic paw. His son, with a serious face that was a bit funny because he winked at his mom, sat at the piano and played a few loud notes.

“I wish for two hundred pounds,” said the old man clearly.

A loud noise from the piano followed his words, and then the old man shouted. His wife and son ran to him.

“It moved,” he yelled, looking scared at the paw on the floor. “When I made the wish, it twisted in my hand like a snake.”

• twisted (verb) – Moved or bent into a different shape.

“But I don’t see any money,” said his son, picking up the paw and putting it on the table. “I don’t think we’ll ever see it.”

“Maybe you just imagined it, dad,” said his wife, looking worried.

He shook his head. “It’s okay; nothing bad happened. But it really scared me.”

They sat near the fire again while the men smoked. Outside, the wind was very strong, and the old man jumped when he heard a door slam upstairs. A quiet, sad feeling came over all three of them. This feeling stayed until the old man and woman got up to go to bed.

“I bet you’ll find the money in a big bag on your bed,” said Herbert, joking as he said goodnight. “And there will be something scary sitting on your closet watching you.”

He sat alone in the dark, looking at the fire. He saw faces in the fire. The last face was so scary and looked like a monkey. He was so surprised that he reached for a glass of water to throw on it. His hand touched the monkey’s paw, and he felt cold. He wiped his hand on his jacket and went to bed.

Part II

The next morning, the sun was bright and made everything look normal and happy. The room felt better than last night. The monkey’s paw was thrown on a shelf like it wasn’t important.

“I guess all old soldiers like to tell big stories,” said Mrs. White. “I can’t believe we listened to that! How can wishes come true? And even if they did, how could two hundred pounds be bad?”

“Maybe the money would fall on his head from the sky,” joked Herbert.

“Morris said the wishes happen in a way that seems normal,” said his dad. “You could think it was just luck.”

“Just don’t spend the money without me,” said Herbert as he got up from the table. “I don’t want you to become greedy and not share.”

His mom laughed and watched him walk down the road. When she came back to the table, she made fun of her husband for believing the story. But she still ran to the door when the mailman came. She was not happy when she saw that they got a bill and talked about how old soldiers drink too much.

“When Herbert comes back, he will probably make more jokes,” she said while they were eating.

“I guess so,” said Mr. White, having a drink of beer. “But I’m telling you, the paw moved in my hand. I know it did.”

“You think it did,” his wife said kindly.

“No, it really did,” he answered. “I’m sure of it. I just – What’s wrong?”

Mrs. White didn’t say anything. She was looking at a man outside who seemed unsure about coming into the house. The man looked rich and was wearing a fancy hat. He stopped at the gate three times and then, finally, opened it and walked to the house. Mrs. White quickly took off her apron and hid it under her chair cushion.

She brought the man inside. He looked uncomfortable. Mrs. White said sorry for how the room and her husband’s old coat looked. She waited for him to say why he was there, but he was quiet for a while.

“I – was asked to call,” he finally said, picking a piece of thread from his pants. “I come from ‘Maw and Meggins.'”

Mrs. White got worried. “Is something wrong?” she asked fast. “Did something happen to Herbert? What is it? What is it?

Mr. White tried to calm her. “Calm down, dear,” he said quickly. “Please sit. You didn’t bring bad news, did you, sir?” he asked the man hopefully.

“I’m sorry – ” the man started.

“Is Herbert hurt?” Mrs. White asked very worried.

The man nodded. “Very hurt,” he said calmly, “but he doesn’t feel pain.”

“Oh, thank God!” said Mrs. White, putting her hands together. “Thank God for that! Thank – “

Then she realized what the man really meant and saw the sad look on his face. She stopped talking and held her husband’s hand. They were both silent for a long time.

“He got caught in a machine,” the man said quietly after a while.

“Caught in the machinery,” Mr. White repeated, like he was confused, “yes.”

• machinery (noun) – Machines or machine systems, especially large ones used in industry.

Mr. White was looking out the window and held his wife’s hand like he did when they were young and in love.

“He was our only child,” he said softly to the man. “This is very sad for us.”

The man cleared his throat and stood up. He walked to the window. “The company sent me to tell you they are very sorry for your loss,” he said without turning around. “Please know I am just doing what they told me to.”

Nobody said anything. Mrs. White looked very pale and shocked. Mr. White looked brave, like a soldier.

“The company says they are not to blame,” the man continued. “But because Herbert worked for them, they want to give you some money.”

Mr. White stood up and looked scared. His voice was dry. “How much?”

“Two hundred pounds,” the man answered.

Mr. White didn’t hear his wife scream. He smiled a little, reached out his hands like he couldn’t see, and fell to the floor.

Part III

In the big new graveyard, which was quite far, the old couple buried their son and then came back to a quiet and dark house. Everything happened so fast that they couldn’t believe it. They waited for something to make them feel better because they felt very sad.

But days went by, and they stopped hoping. They didn’t talk much because they had nothing to say, and they felt very tired.

One night, about a week later, the old man woke up and reached for his wife, but she wasn’t there. The room was dark, and he could hear soft crying near the window. He sat up and listened.

“Come back to bed,” he said kindly. “You’ll be cold.”

“It’s colder for my son,” said the old lady, crying more.

He heard her crying but started to feel sleepy again. His bed was warm. He fell asleep but woke up when his wife screamed.

“The paw! The monkey’s paw!” she shouted.

He was scared. “Where is it? What happened?” he asked.

She walked to him. “I need it,” she said quietly. “You didn’t throw it away?”

“It’s in the living room, on the shelf,” he answered, confused. “But why?”

She was crying and laughing at the same time and kissed his face.

“I just thought of something,” she said with a lot of emotions. “Why didn’t we think of it before?”

“Think of what?” he asked.

“The other two wishes,” she answered fast. “We only used one.”

“Wasn’t that enough?” he asked, angry.

“No,” she said, looking happy. “We can make one more wish. Go and get the paw and wish for our son to come back alive.”

He was shocked and threw off the blankets. “You are crazy!” he shouted. “Go get it,” she said out of breath, “and wish for him to come back.”

He lit a candle. “Go back to bed,” he said, shaking. “This is a bad idea.”

“But our first wish came true,” said the old lady, talking fast. “Why not the second one?”

“It was just luck,” the old man said, scared.

“Go get it and make the wish,” she shouted, very excited.

He looked at her and spoke with a shaking voice. “He’s been dead for ten days, and he looked so bad that I could only know it was him by his clothes. If it was too scary to see him then, how about now?”

“Bring him back!” she shouted, pulling him to the door. “I am not scared of my own son.”

He went downstairs in the dark, to the living room. He found the monkey’s paw on the shelf. He was very scared that his wish might bring his son back looking very bad. He was sweating and had trouble finding the door. Finally, he made it back to the bedroom with the paw.

His wife’s face looked different. She looked too excited and it scared him.

“Make the wish!” she shouted.

“This is a bad idea,” he said.

“Wish!” she said again.

He lifted his hand. “I wish my son alive again.”

The monkey’s paw fell on the floor. He was very scared. He sat down and his wife went to the window and opened the curtains.

He sat there feeling very cold, sometimes looking at the old woman who was searching outside through the window. The candle was almost gone. It made moving shadows on the walls and ceiling. Then, it went out completely. The old man felt happy that the monkey’s paw didn’t work. He slowly went back to his bed. Soon, the old woman also came to bed quietly.

They didn’t talk. They just listened to the clock ticking. The stairs made a noise and they heard a mouse in the wall. It was very dark and kind of scary. After some time, the old man took some matches to light a candle. He went downstairs.

When he was at the bottom of the stairs, the match went out. He stopped to light another one. Just then, there was a very soft knock on the front door.

He dropped the matches in shock. He didn’t move and didn’t breathe until he heard the knock again. Then he ran back to his room very fast and closed the door. There was another knock.

“What was that?” the old woman shouted, waking up.

“A rat,” the old man said, his voice shaking. “A rat ran by me on the stairs.”

His wife listened. There was a loud knock.

“It’s Herbert!” she yelled.

She tried to run to the door, but the old man grabbed her arm and held her.

“What are you doing?” he whispered, very scared.

“It’s my boy; it’s Herbert!” she shouted, trying to get away. “I forgot the graveyard is far. Let me go. I have to open the door.”

“Please don’t open the door,” the old man said, shaking.

“You’re scared of your own son,” she shouted. “Let me go. Herbert, I’m coming!”

There were more knocks. The old woman pulled away and ran out of the room. The old man followed her. She was running downstairs. He called her name but she didn’t stop. He heard her trying to unlock the door.

“The lock is too high,” she shouted. “Come help me!”

But the old man was looking for the monkey’s paw on the floor. He thought if he could find it, he could make everything stop. There were more knocks that shook the house. He heard his wife moving a chair to reach the lock. The lock was opening and at that moment he found the monkey’s paw. He quickly made his last wish.

Suddenly, the knocking stopped. He heard his wife open the door. Cold air came into the house and the old woman made a very sad sound. This gave him the strength to run to her, and then to the gate. There was a street light outside. He saw that the street was empty and quiet.

THE END