In a big city where I lived with my wife and my son, there have been

many tragic events that occured over the past few years. During
these events I lost the being who was dearest to me, and that
following the biggest mistake that I could commit and that I always
regret.

It all started on a dark and stormy night when I and my son Herbert
were playing a game of chess while my wife was knitting near the
fire. After Herbert won, my wife talked about the road with almost no
cars we lived near and the terrible weather outside someone
knocked at the door, when I opened I saw a tall, heavy built, strong-
looking man. He was an old friend of mine, I introduced him to my
wife and my son as the “Sergeant-Major Morris.” After having
whisky, he tells us stories of his exploits abroad. I also talked about
how I, myself would like to visit India someday , but the sergeant-
major said it would be better for me to stay home. At I and my wife’s
longing, Sergeant-Major Morris took a small, mummified paw out of
his pocket. He explained that a fakir placed a spell on the paw to
prove that people’s lives are controlled by fate and that it is
dangerous to meddle with fate. According to the sergeant-major,
three men can wish on the paw three times each. He himself has
already had his three wishes , and also talked about the first man
who used it, he knew nothing about the two first wishes but knew
that his third wish was asking for death. The sergeant-major has
considered selling the paw, but he doesn’t want it to cause any more
trouble than it already has. Moreover, no one will buy the paw
without first seeing proof of its effect. Said the sergeant-major as he
threw the paw into the fire, and I quickly bent down and took it. He
didn’t want me to keep it but then warned me of the consequences
that would happen if I keep it, and shouldn’t take him for responsible
of what would happen next. My wife said the story reminded her of
the Arabian Nights and jokingly suggested me to wish her a pair of
extra hands to help her with all her work. The sergeant-major didn’t
find this joke funny, however, and lusted me to use common sense if
I insisted on wishing. After supper and more tales of India, the
sergeant-major leaved. Herbert said he thinks the sergeant-major is
full of nonsense and jokes that I should make myself an emperor so
that he doesn’t have to listen to his mother’s nagging. In a mocking
anger, my wife playfully chased Herbert. I knew I already had all I
needed and wasn’t sure of what to wish for. Herbert said that two
hundred pounds would enable us to pay off the money we owed for
the house. I wished aloud for two hundred pounds as Herbert
accompanied me with melodramatic chords played on the piano. I
suddenly cried out horrified by what I saw and told them that the
paw moved like a snake in my hand. After I and my wife went to bed,
Herbert sat by the fire and saw a vividly realistic monkey face in the
fire. He put out the fire, took the monkey’s paw, and went to bed. On
the next morning, a sunny winter day. The room seemed cheerful
and normal in contrast to the last evening’s atmosphere and the
mummified paw now looked harmless. My wife talked on how
ridiculous the sergeant-major’s story was but remarked that two
hundred pounds couldn’t do any harm. They could, Herbert answers,
if the money fell out of the sky onto my head. I answered by saying
that people often mistake coincidence for granted wishes. Herbert
then start leaving for work. Later that day, my wife saw a stranger
outside dressed in nice clothes. The stranger hesitantly approached
the gate three times before opening it and came up to the door. My
wife ushered him in. He nervously said that he was a representative
of Maw and Meggins, Herbert’s employer. My wife asked whether
Herbert was all right, and the representative said he was hurt, but in
no pain. For a moment, my wife felt relieved, until she realized that
Herbert felt no pain because he was dead. The representative said
that Herbert was “caught in the machinery.” After a pause, I said
that Herbert was the only child they had left. Embarrassed, the
representative stressed that he is simply obeying Maw and Meggins’s
orders. He then explained that the company will not take any
responsibility for the death of Herbert but will give the us two
hundred pounds. My wife shrieked, and shocked I fainted without
realizing it. We buried Herbert. Several days passed,without us
thinking of our son, we felt so exhausted and hopeless. A week after
the burial, I woke up and heard my wife crying by the window. I
gently urged her to come back to bed, but she refused. I dozed off
again until my wife suddenly cries out that she wants the monkey’s
paw. In hysterics, she told me to go downstairs and wish Herbert
back to life. Even though I also wanted my son back, I still resisted
and told her that Herbert’s death and the two hundred pounds we
received had nothing to do with my wish the previous night. I told her
there was something I didn’t wanted to tell her, but when I was
identifying the body, Herbert was so mangled that I had to identify
the body by looking at the clothes, at the same time I was worried
about Herbert's condition if I ever made this wish. My wife didn’t
listen, however, and continued to insist on wishing Herbert back to
life with the monkey’s paw. I went down stairs hesitantly and took
the paw from its place. My wife asked me to make the wish two more
times until I finally agree to. I reluctantly made the wish, and as we
waited, the candles went out. We heard the clock, the creak of a
stair, and the sound of a mouse. At last, I got downstairs. My match
went out and before I could strike another, I heard a knock on the
door. Another knock sounded, my heart pounded as I dashed upstairs
wondering if my son was really there. My wife heard the third knock
and said it’s Herbert. She realized he hadn’t returned right after the
wish had been made because he will have to walk two miles from the
graveyard to their house. I begged her not to open the door, but she
broke free and ran downstairs. As she struggled to reach the bolt, the
knocking became more insistent. I frantically searched for the paw,
which had dropped to the floor. As my wife pulled back the bolt, I
found the paw and desperately made a final wish. The knocking
stoped, and my wife cried out. After that, I dashed downstairs and
saw that beyond the door, the street was empty. That was when I
realized that Herbert my only son was gone, and this time forever.