In W. W. Jacobs' horror short story "The Monkey's Paw," Sergeant-Major Morris arrives at the White's home at Laburnam Villa with an object of perverse interest to his guests: It is a shriveled monkey's paw, said to have the power to grant three wishes to its first three owners. Morris, the second owner of the paw, received it after its first owner wished for and received death as his third wish. Morris's wishes have already come true, and he warns his hosts to "let it burn." According to the sergeant-major, the old fakir who put the spell on the paw "wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow." As all three owners of the paw eventually discovered, misery soon followed.
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