The Monkey's Paw BY W.W. Jacobs (1902)| Full Audiobook With Text | Read Aloud | Short Story
Xseed English・20 minutes read
A family receives a magical monkey's paw that grants three wishes but comes with severe consequences, leading to tragedy and sorrow. Despite warnings, the family's desperate wish for their deceased son to return results in a chilling and unsettling end to the story.
Insights
- The monkey's paw, a talisman with the power to grant three wishes, serves as the central element of the story, leading to a sequence of tragic events after each wish is made.
- The narrative explores themes of grief, desperation, and the consequences of tampering with fate, emphasizing the destructive nature of unchecked desires and the haunting aftermath of ill-considered wishes.
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Recent questions
What did Sergeant Major Morris bring?
Monkey's paw with three wishes spell
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Summary
00:00
"The Monkey's Paw: A Fatal Wish"
- The night was cold and wet, but in Luburnum Villa, the father and son played chess while the old lady knitted placidly by the fire.
- Mr. White made a fatal mistake in chess, and his son, Herbert, grimly surveyed the board.
- The Whites lived in a remote, unpleasant area with boggy pathways and torrential roads.
- Sergeant Major Morris arrived, telling tales of wars and plagues, and showed a monkey's paw with a spell for three wishes.
- The first man who used the paw wished for death, leading to the sergeant major possessing it.
- Morris warned of the consequences of using the paw and shared his own experience of the wishes.
- Mr. White wished for 200 pounds, and the paw twisted in his hand, but no money appeared.
- Herbert teased his father about the wish, and the family laughed off the incident.
- Herbert left, joking about the wish, while Mr. White remained uneasy about the paw's movements.
- A stranger arrived, bringing news that Herbert was caught in machinery and badly hurt, leading to his death. The Whites were offered 200 pounds as compensation.
16:52
Desperate wish brings sorrow and disappointment.
- The old couple, grieving the loss of their son, are consumed by sorrow and hopelessness, with days passing in resignation and silence.
- The old woman, in a moment of hysteria, demands the old man to use the talisman to wish their son back to life, despite him being dead for ten days.
- The old man reluctantly makes the wish, fearing the consequences, and the talisman falls to the floor as he trembles in fear.
- A series of eerie knocks on the door terrify the couple, with the old woman convinced it's their son returned, while the old man frantically searches for the talisman to undo the wish.
- The old man finally finds the talisman, makes his final wish, and the knocking stops, leaving a sense of disappointment and misery in the air as the story concludes.
