The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw is a short story. W.W. Jacobs wrote it in 1902. It is a very famous scary story in English.

The story is about the White family. There is a father, a mother and their son, Herbert. Their house is small and quiet. One night, there is a big storm, and an old friend comes to visit. His name is Morris. He was a soldier, and he just came back from India. He has a very strange thing with him. It is a small, dry paw from a monkey.

Morris says, "This paw has magic in it. Three men can make three wishes each." But he looks afraid. He does not want to say more. Then he throws the paw into the fire. He wants to burn it.

But Mr. White quickly takes it out of the fire.

He wants it for himself.

That night, Mr. White makes a wish. It is his first wish. He asks for two hundred pounds of English money. With that money, he can finish paying for his house.

But nothing happens. The family laughs, and they go to bed.

The next morning, a man comes to the house. He is from Herbert's company. He talks slowly and carefully. Herbert is dead. A big machine at work caught him.

Then the man says a strange thing.

The company is sorry, but it was not their mistake. Still, they want to give the family some money. It is a present, because they feel bad for them.

The money is two hundred pounds.

Mr. White understands at once. The paw gave him his wish. But it did not come true in a good way. He asked for money, and the money came. It came because his son died.

This is the terrible lesson of the paw. You get the thing you wish for. But you lose someone you love.

Weeks go by. The house is very quiet. Mr. and Mrs. White do not talk much. Their son is gone. Nothing feels real to them.

One night, Mrs. White thinks of something.

"We have two more wishes," she says.

She wants Herbert to come back. But Mr. White says no. He knows a hard fact, and she does not want to hear it. The accident hurt Herbert's body very badly. To bring him back is wrong. It is dangerous. It may be worse than death.

But she asks again and again. She is crying. "Please, please!" she says.

So Mr. White wishes again.

Then something comes to the door. It knocks. The knocks are slow. They come again and again.

Mrs. White runs to the door. But before she gets there, Mr. White makes his third and last wish.

The knocks stop. Then the door is open.

There is nobody in the street.

The monkey's paw teaches us one thing. Sometimes it is better not to change things.

First, Mr. White wished for two hundred pounds. Nothing happened that night. But the next day, a man came to the house. He had very bad news. Their son, Herbert, was dead. There was an accident at his work. The company was very sorry. They gave the family two hundred pounds.

The house was quiet and sad. A week later, Mrs. White thought of the paw. "We have two more wishes," she said. "Wish for Herbert! Bring him back to us!" Mr. White did not want to do it. But he was afraid to say no. So he made the second wish.

Soon, they heard a knock at the door. It was slow and heavy. Mrs. White ran down to open the door. Mr. White was very scared. He knew what could be outside. He took the paw and made his third wish.

The knocking stopped right away. Then Mrs. White opened the door. The road outside was empty. It was dark and quiet.

The Monkey's Paw is a short story written by W.W. Jacobs in 1902. It is one of the best-known horror stories in English literature.

The story is about the Whites, a family of three: a father, a mother, and their son, Herbert. They live in a small, quiet house. One stormy evening, an old friend comes to see them. He is Sergeant-Major Morris, a soldier who has just returned from India, and he has brought something very unusual with him: a small, dried-up monkey's paw.

According to Morris, a spell has been put on the paw. Three different men can each make three wishes with it. However, Morris looks scared and seems unwilling to say more. Suddenly, he throws the paw into the fire in an attempt to destroy it.

Mr. White, however, reaches into the flames and pulls it out.

He has decided to keep it.

That night, Mr. White makes his first wish. He asks for two hundred pounds, which is just enough to pay off the money he still owes on his house.

When nothing happens, the family laughs about it and goes to bed.

The following morning, a man appears at the door. He comes from the company where Herbert works. Choosing his words slowly and carefully, he explains that Herbert has been killed after being caught in a machine at work.

Then he says something strange.

The company is sorry, although it does not accept any responsibility. Even so, it wants to give the family some money as a gift, out of kindness.

The amount is two hundred pounds.

Mr. White realizes the truth at once. His wish has come true, but not in the way he hoped. He asked for money, and the money did come — because his son died.

This is the terrible lesson of the monkey's paw. You receive what you ask for, but in return, you lose something you love.

As the weeks go by, the house is silent, and the Whites hardly speak to each other. Their son is gone, and nothing seems real anymore.

Then, one night, Mrs. White suddenly has an idea.

"We still have two wishes left," she says.

She wants to bring Herbert back to life. Mr. White refuses. He knows something that she does not want to hear: Herbert's body was terribly injured in the accident. Bringing him back would be wrong and dangerous. In fact, it might be something worse than death.

Still, she keeps asking, crying and begging him again and again.

In the end, Mr. White makes the wish.

Soon, something comes to the door and knocks. The knocks are slow, and they go on and on.

Mrs. White rushes to open the door. Just before she reaches it, however, Mr. White makes his third and final wish.

The knocking stops, and the door swings open.

There is no one in the street.

The monkey's paw teaches us an important lesson: some things are better left as they are.

Mr. White made his first wish, asking for two hundred pounds. At first, nothing happened. The next day, however, a man came to the house with terrible news. Their son, Herbert, had been killed in an accident at work. The company said it was very sorry and gave the family two hundred pounds.

After that, the house was filled with silence and sadness. A week later, Mrs. White suddenly remembered the paw. "We still have two wishes," she said. "Wish for Herbert to come back to us!" Although Mr. White did not want to, he was too frightened to refuse her. So he made the second wish.

Before long, they heard a slow, heavy knock at the door. Mrs. White hurried downstairs to open it. Mr. White was terrified, because he knew what might be waiting outside. He seized the paw and made his third wish.

The knocking stopped immediately. When Mrs. White finally managed to open the door, the road outside was empty, dark, and completely silent.

The Monkey's Paw, a short story penned by W.W. Jacobs in 1902, is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated works of horror in the English language.

It centres on the Whites, a modest household consisting of a father, a mother, and their son, Herbert, who reside in a small and unassuming house. On one tempestuous evening, they receive a visit from an old acquaintance, Sergeant-Major Morris, lately returned from India and bearing a decidedly uncanny souvenir: a small, shrivelled, mummified monkey's paw.

Morris divulges that the paw has been placed under an enchantment by which three separate men may each be granted three wishes. Yet he is visibly unnerved, reluctant to elaborate, and in an abrupt gesture he hurls the paw into the fire in an evident bid to destroy it.

Mr. White, however, plunges his hand towards the flames and retrieves it.

He is resolved to keep it.

That very night, Mr. White ventures his first wish, requesting two hundred pounds — a sum just sufficient to clear the outstanding debt on his house.

When nothing transpires, the family, amused by their own credulity, laugh it off and retire for the night.

The following morning, a stranger presents himself at the door, an emissary from the firm that employs Herbert. Weighing every word with painful deliberation, he discloses that Herbert has been killed, mangled in the machinery at work.

He then adds something peculiar.

While the firm expresses its sympathy, it categorically disclaims any liability. Nevertheless, in recognition of Herbert's services, it wishes to present the family with a sum of money, purely as a gesture of goodwill.

That sum is two hundred pounds.

Mr. White grasps the appalling truth instantly. His wish has indeed been granted, but in a manner he could never have foreseen. He asked for money, and money duly arrived — purchased at the price of his son's life.

Herein lies the monstrous moral of the monkey's paw: one obtains precisely what one asks for, only to forfeit something infinitely more precious.

As the weeks elapse, a deathly hush pervades the house, and the bereaved couple scarcely exchange a word. With their son gone, the world itself seems to have lost all substance.

One night, however, Mrs. White is seized by a sudden inspiration.

"We have two wishes yet remaining," she breathes.

Her design is to restore Herbert to them. Mr. White recoils from the notion, for he harbours a grim knowledge she cannot bear to confront: the accident mutilated Herbert's body almost beyond recognition. To summon him back would be not merely misguided but perilous, an invitation to something potentially more ghastly than death itself.

Undeterred, she persists, weeping and imploring him relentlessly.

At length, Mr. White relents and utters the wish.

Presently, something arrives at the door and begins to knock, slowly and insistently, again and again.

Mrs. White hurtles towards the door, but in the instant before she can unbolt it, her husband makes his third and final wish.

The knocking ceases abruptly, and the door swings open upon the night.

The street beyond lies deserted.

If the monkey's paw imparts a single lesson, it is that certain things are best left undisturbed.

Mr. White's first wish was for two hundred pounds, yet initially nothing whatsoever occurred. The following day, however, a visitor arrived bearing calamitous tidings: their son, Herbert, had perished in an accident at his place of work. Professing profound regret, the company bestowed upon the family a payment of precisely two hundred pounds.

Thereafter, a pall of silence and grief descended upon the household. A week later, Mrs. White was struck by the recollection of the paw. "We still have two wishes," she cried. "Wish for Herbert to be restored to us!" Though deeply reluctant, Mr. White dared not oppose her, and so he uttered the second wish.

Before long, a slow and ponderous knock resounded through the house. Mrs. White flew downstairs to admit their visitor, while her husband, paralysed with dread at what might be standing on the threshold, groped frantically for the paw and made his third wish.

The knocking ceased at once, and when Mrs. White at last wrenched the door open, the road beyond lay empty, shrouded in darkness and utter silence.