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The Monkey's Paw
A1 · English · Free ?
The White family welcomes an old soldier who brings a dried monkey’s paw associated with three wishes. His warnings do not prevent Mr White from testing its power. The first wish appears to bring money at an unbearable price, and grief drives the family toward a second demand. Everyday domestic details become increasingly threatening as the possibility of fulfilment approaches. Jacobs builds suspense through uncertainty about coincidence, fate and the danger of trying to undo loss without understanding the consequences.
General English edition: simplified and original readings, with word and culture notes. No translations.
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Outside, the night is cold and wet. Inside the White family's house, a fire burns brightly. Mr. White and his son Herbert are playing chess. Mrs. White sits near the fire with her knitting.
The wind blows against the house. Mr. White is expecting a visitor, but perhaps the weather will keep him away.
Then the gate makes a noise. Heavy feet come towards the door.
“Here he is,” Herbert says.
The visitor is Sergeant-Major Morris, an old friend of Mr. White. He spent many years as a soldier in India. Now he sits beside the fire and tells them stories of faraway places.
Mr. White wants to hear more.
“What was that story about a monkey's paw?” he asks.
Morris does not want to talk about it. But the family keeps asking. At last, he takes a small, dry paw from his pocket.
“It looks ordinary,” he says. “But a holy man put a spell on it. He wanted to show that people must not try to change their fate. Three different men can each have three wishes.”
The others listen more quietly now.
Morris says that his own three wishes came true. Another man had the paw before him. That man's last wish was for death.
Suddenly, Morris throws the paw into the fire. Mr. White quickly picks it out.