The Monkeyʼs Paw by W.W. Jacobs Adapted for stage by Jeanette Jaquish

[Pages:14]The Monkeys Paw by W.W. Jacobs

Adapted for stage by Jeanette Jaquish

CHARACTERS FATHER ? Randall White, an old man in the original MOTHER ? Eliza White, an old woman in the original SAMMY WHITE ? their son or daughter, age 15 to 30 MORRIS ? Visiting retired military, age 40+- younger than the Father

VISITOR ? From Sammy's company NARRATOR

Scene 1: The Night It Came

(Middle class cottage: fireplace, armchairs in one place, kitchen table and chairs another place, bedroom with bed and chair another.)

NARRATOR Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Mr. and Mrs. White, the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son / daughter/daughter were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the whitehaired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

FATHER Hark at the wind,

NARRATOR said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son / daughter from seeing it.

SAMMY I'm listening... Check.

FATHER I should hardly think that he'd come to-night. (his hand poised over the board.)

SAMMY Mate.

FATHER That's the worst of living so far out, (with sudden and unlooked-for violence) Of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter.

MOTHER Never mind, dear (soothingly) Perhaps you'll win the next one

(Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son / daughter. The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard. )

KNOCK KNOCK

SAMMY There he is!

FATHER (opening the door) Charlie! You old, scalliwag!

MORRIS Guilty as charged. You're looking no worse for wear Randall.

FATHER (introducing him) Sergeant-Major Charles Morris, this is my dear wife, Eliza, and my son / daughter Samuel / Samantha. (Hand shaking and greetings. Sammy hangs his coat & hat. The Father pours whiskey into two tumblers.)

MOTHER Sit here by the fire, Sergeant Major Morris, and warm up.

MORRIS Thank you.

MOTHER Was the walk from the train station terribly wet?

MORRIS Not too bad. I've certainly seen worse.

MOTHER I'm, sure you have.

MORRIS (taking the tumbler of whiskey from the Father) Ah, thank you. That will take the chill off.

SAMMY (sitting near) My father has told many stories of your adventures.

MORRIS Has he? I'm sure they've gotten better with time.

FATHER Is it my fault you've given us so much time to tell `em without coming to tell `em yourself? Twenty-one years Charley's been off in the military witnessing wars and plagues and strange peoples. When he went away he was just a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him.

MOTHER He don't look to have taken much harm. FATHER I'd like to go to India myself, just to look round a bit, you know.

MORRIS Better where you are. (Shakes his head. He put down the empty glass, and sighing softly, shook it again.)

FATHER I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and jugglers. What was that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?

MORRIS Nothing, ( hastily) Leastways nothing worth hearing.

MOTHER Monkey's paw?

MORRIS Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps.

(His three listeners leaned forward eagerly. The visitor absent-mindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again. His host filled it for him.)

MORRIS To look at, ( fumbling in his pocket) it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy. (holds it out The Mother drew back with a grimace, but Sammy, taking it, examined it curiously.)

FATHER And what is there special about it? (as he took it from Sammy, and having examined it, placed it upon the table.)

MORRIS It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.

(Light laughter.) SAMMY (cleverly) Well, why don't you have three, sir?

(The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth.)

MORRIS (quietly) I have.

MOTHER And did you really have the three wishes granted?

MORRIS I did. (and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.)

SAMMY And has anybody else wished?

MORRIS The first man had his three wishes. Yes. I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. (pause) That's how I got the paw.

(His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group.)

FATHER If you've had your three wishes, it's no good to you now, then, Morris. What do you keep it for?

MORRIS (shaking his head) Fancy, I suppose ( slowly) I did have some idea of selling it, but I don't think I will. It has caused enough mischief already. Besides, people won't buy. They think it's a fairy tale; some of them, and those who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward.

SAMMY If you could have another three wishes, (eyeing him keenly) would you have them?

MORRIS I don't know. I don't know.

(He took the paw, and dangling it between his forefinger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. The Father, with a slight cry, snatched it off.)

MORRIS ( solemnly) Better let it burn.

FATHER If you don't want it, Morris, give it to me.

MORRIS (doggedly) I won't. I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again like a sensible man.

(The Father shook his head and examined his new possession closely.)

FATHER How do you do it?

MORRIS Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud. But I warn you of the consequences.

MOTHER Sounds like the Arabian Nights. (as she rose and began to set the supper.) Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?

(Her FATHER drew the talisman from pocket, the Sergeant-Major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm. The family bursts into laughter.)

MORRIS If you must wish, ( gruffly) wish for something sensible.

(The FAMILY laughs.)

MOTHER Ha ha! Well, what could be more sensible than supper?

SAMMY Just what I was wishing! Come on Sergeant Major. My mother is a great cook!

MORRIS A good home cooked meal is just what I am in need of. It looks delicious!

(They will all sit down to dinner pantomiming eating and talking, then rising, good-byes and MORRIS EXITS.)

NARRATOR In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat listening in an enthralled fashion to a second installment of the soldier's adventures in India.

MORRIS ...and when I looked in the knapsack guess what I had forgotten?

THE FAMILY The map? The letter? Your flint?

MORRIS No! The buttons!

FATHER Morris! Look at the clock!

NARRATOR Sergeant-Colonel Morris made his good-byes with just enough time to catch the last train.

(Ad lib goodbyes as MORRIS is helped with his coat and EXITS.)

MOTHER What an interesting man. He certainly has plenty of stories.

SAMMY If the tale about the monkey's paw is not more truthful than those others he has been telling us, we sha'nt make much out of it.

MOTHER Did you give him anything for it, dear?

FATHER (a bit embarrassed) A trifle. He didn't want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away.

SAMMY (with mock horror) Throw it away??? Why, we're going to be rich, and famous and happy. To begin with, wish to be an emperor, father; then you can't be henpecked. (He darted round the table, pursued by the maligned Mrs. White armed with an antimacassar (armchair doily). Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously.)

FATHER I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact. It seems to me I've got all I want.

SAMMY If you only paid off the house, you'd be quite happy, wouldn't you? Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that'll just do it.

(The Father, slightly embarrassed held up the talisman, as Sammy, with a solemn face, somewhat marred by a wink at his mother, sat down at the piano and struck a few impressive chords. Or sings a few ominous notes. )

FATHER I wish for two hundred pounds.

( A fine crashing chord from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man.)

FATHER It moved! As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake.

SAMMY Well, I don't see the money, ( as he picked it up and placed it on a table near the fireplace) and I bet I never shall.

MOTHER It must have been your fancy, dear.

FATHER (shaking his head) Never mind, though; there's no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same.

(Mother begins clearing the table. Sammy stretches and sits near fire. Father stands and looks at hand, sits and broods, glancing at the paw nearby.)

NARRATOR They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously at the sound of a shutter banging upstairs. A silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night.

MOTHER It's late. Come to bed, dear. Good-night dear Sammy. (kisses his head)

SAMMY Good-night, Mother. I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed upstairs. And something horrible squatting up on top of the wardrobe watching you as you pocket your ill-gotten gains. I'll stay up just a little longer.

(MOTHER & FATHER EXIT, SAMMY acts out narration. )

NARRATOR Sammy sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in the embers. The last face was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt for his glass of water to throw over it. His hand grasped the monkey's paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed.

(In reaching for his glass of water, SAMMY grabs the monkey paw and flinches and drops it on the floor. EXITS wiping and smelling his hand. EXITS.)

(CURTAIN CLOSES)

(SAMMY walks across stage apron, sniffs his hand and wipes it on his coat again. EXITS.)

(CURTAIN OPENS)

SCENE 2: NEXT MORNING ? OFF TO WORK Same room arrangement. Day Lighting. (Mother wears a bright apron, carries breakfast things to the table. Father is at breakfast.)

NARRATOR In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the breakfast table they laughed at their fears of the night before.

MOTHER Sammy! Your breakfast is getting cold!

SAMMY (ENTERING happily) Morning, Father! Morning, Mother! (kisses her cheek)

MOTHER Good morning, sleepyhead. Hurry and eat your breakfast or you'll be late for work. (scraping food from a fry pan onto his plate. A sausage falls to the floor.) Ooops! Dropped your sausage. (She reaches down to pick up what fell. She lifts the object up and discovers she has accidentally picked up the monkey paw.) Eeeek! (She screams and jerks her hand away in midair. It flies off a little ways.)

SAMMY You trying to feed me that old monkey hand? (picks it up)

FATHER At least she was cooking it first.

MOTHER I was not. Now where did that sausage roll to? (searching under the table, finds it and throws it away)

SAMMY You mean you were feeding it to me raw?

MOTHER Oh, put it over there. (towards the fireplace) Away from the table.

(SAMMY puts it on the mantle and goes to eat.)

SAMMY Sorry Mr. Monkey Hand. If you were a monkey mouth maybe you could join us. (walks to table) How'd it get under the table? I wonder. (sits) Mmmm. Thank you for the good breakfast, Mother.

MOTHER You are welcome, dear. Oh, I wish you'd wash your hands, dear.

SAMMY I'm using a fork.

FATHER I hope ol' Morris didn't get too wet on his walk back to the train. Oh, well, like he said: he's seen worse.

MOTHER I suppose all old soldiers are the same. The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, Randall?

SAMMY Might drop on his head from the sky.

FATHER Morris said the things happened so naturally that you might, if you wished, attribute it to coincidence.

SAMMY Well, don't break into the money before I come back. I'm afraid it'll turn you into a mean, avaricious skinflint, and we shall have to disown you.

MOTHER Oh, get on with you, or you'll be late. Here's your coat and your lunch box.

(MOTHER hurries him out the door, goodbyes, watching fondly as he departs.)

FATHER Come have some breakfast before it gets cold. I like how you fried up the onions with the eggs. Very tasty. Is there more sausage? Or is the one you threw away the last of it?

(MOTHER serves herself breakfast and sits.)

MOTHER Wishing on a monkey's paw. I can't believe you'd believe in such things.

FATHER Me??

(CURTAIN CLOSES- remove breakfast things.)

KNOCK KNOCK (in a "postman's pattern")

MOTHER Oh! The mail.

(MOTHER ENTERS, scurries across the stage apron before the closed curtain to EXIT other side, returning immediately with an envelope) An envelope!

FATHER (voice offstage) Isn't that what the postman usually brings?

MOTHER (opens it, disappointed) A bill from the tailor.

FATHER (voice offstage) Maybe he has to make a second trip for the bag of gold. They're pretty heavy I hear.

MOTHER Oh you! (EXITS)

(CURTAIN OPENS Afternoon lighting Afternoon activity: reading the paper, dusting, etc.)

MOTHER Well, 4pm, and no sign of wealth. (lovingly) Sammy will have some more funny remarks, I expect, at dinnertime. I expect we'll be hearing about that old monkey paw wish for a long time. (she glances out the window at something of interest)

FATHER I dare say, but for all that, the thing moved in my hand; that I'll swear to.

MOTHER You thought it did. (continues to look)

FATHER I say it did. There was no thought about it; I had just-- What's the matter?

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