the 4 story

CHRISTMAS STORY 1

It`s the morning of Christmas Day. Mr. Bull, a lonely, rich, old man is looking at the big Christmas

tree in one of the corners of his huge dining room. There are no presents under the tree that one of the house servants has decorated. The old man sits down and dozes off: he dreams of other Christmas Days during his childhood, when he was poor but happy. He wakes up and begins to accept that once again he will spend Christmas Day all alone. The door bell rings: it`s a totally unexpected visit that cheers up his spirit and somehow changes him forever.

(Dialogue between Mr Bull and The Visitor)

CHRISTMAS STORY 2

Ana and David are a middle­aged couple with two grown up children. They are sitting in their kitchen on Christmas Eve. They have just had another bitter argument. David has just told Ana that maybe they should separate since their relationship seems to be deteriorating so badly. Ana starts crying.

After a while she opens an envelope sent by her doctor. It says she is pregnant. Ana looks at David.

…... She doesnt know what to say.

(Dialogue between Ana and David)

CHRISTMAS STORY 3

Martín, an unemployed father of three children has been looking for a job for over a year with little

success. His situation is really desperate: he has no money to pay for his rent, or his children`s school books and clothes. If they don`t go hungry it`s thanks to some help from relatives.

One day, Martín goes to the toilet at the railway station. He then notices a briefcase propping against the wall. He picks it up and opens it. He can`t believe his eyes: the briefcase contains a lot of money. At first he thinks he is a lucky man. He thinks that all that money will solve his problems but after a few minutes he is not so sure about it all. There`s a big doubt in his head. Should he keep it?

(Dialogue between Martín and Martin´s wife)

CHRISTMAS STORY 4

Mario, a young drug addict, desperately needs money to pay fo his daily fix. He`s determined to rob a supermarket. When he goes into the shop a Christmas carol is playing on the loudspeakers. It`s a carol his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. He stops for a while and suddenly he can`t help starting to sob and feeling really bitter when the memories filled his mind. Rosa, one of the supermarket girls sees Mario and asks him if he is all

righ. Mario looks at Rosa. His right hand is in his pocket and he is still holding a knife.

chiristmas

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A mean old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his office on a freezing Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the next room because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating. 

Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!" 

Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy  life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth loaded with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. 

After the ghost disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep. He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit takes Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from his earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed. 

The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant wearing a  green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its poor  home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then takes Scrooge to his nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the happy gathering delightful and asks the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. 

 As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming much older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. 

He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him. The Ghost of Christmas Future leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After asking the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a cemetery, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. 

Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed. Scrooge is really happy to have the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day. He runs onto the street hoping to share his new Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.

Find 3 interesting websites about animals. Copy the addresses on your blog

http://topdiex.blogspot.com.es/2009/08/10-animales-extintos-recientemente.html

http://marcianosmx.com/15-animales-extintos-en-los-ultimos-250-anos/

http://www.cookingideas.es/animales-extintos-20120626.html

                                risas;D
                         

los animales extinguido

Málaga port
It was a fun, interesting and mysterious adventure but it was a bit much as aburrido.Aprendimos seaport and all ancestors went to the classroom after the sea we touch an object like a TableD but is much bigger I was a escursion funny

Death and Money

This is a very old story. There were three young men. They liked to eat, and they liked to drink a lot.  One day they were in the bar of the Grand Hotel. Through the window, they saw some men. They had the body of a dead man.

 "What's that?" said the 1st young man. He said to a child, "Boy, come here!" The boy came. The young man said, "Who is dead? Go and ask." The boy went, and came back. "That was one of your old friends," he said. "He was often here at the Grand Hotel with you."

"Why is he dead?"

"I don't know," said the boy. "Death takes all lives."

"The boy is right," said the barman. "Death is going to take your life some day. Perhaps today. Perhaps tomorrow."

 "Oh no," said the 1st young man. "Death is not going to take my life."

"You must be ready for Death," said the barman.

The 1st young man said, "Where is Death? I am going to find  him and kill him. Are you coming with me?"

"Yes," said his friends.

The three young men walked up the road. An old man came along the road. He knocked

the ground with his stick. "Open for me, Mother," he said to the ground. "Old man," said the 1st young man. "Why do you knock the ground with your stick?"

"I am old. I don't want to live. But Death is never going to take me. The ground is not going to open for me. I walk along the road and I say, 'Mother, I want to die. But I can't die."'

"Where is Death?"

"I saw him under a tree, up on the mountain there," said the old man. "Go there, find the

tree, and Death too."

The three young men walked up the mountain. They came to the tree. Under the tree was money, a lot of money. The 1st young man said, "Now my friends, are we going to take this money? Or are we going to find Death and kill him?"

"The money," said his friends.

"Where are we going to take it?"

"To my house," said the 2nd young man.

"Not in daylight," said the 3rd young man.

"People mustn't see us."

"No," said the 1st young man. "We must take it home by night. We want some beer now, beer and food. Who is going to the town, to buy beer and food?"

"I am," said the 2nd young man. "Give me some money."

He went down the road to the town. The 1st young man said to the 3rd young man, "Are we going to give him some of this money?" "No," said the 3rd young man. "How can we kill him?"

"I have a knife. And you have a knife."

The 2nd young man walked to the town and he said, "I want all the money. Why not? But how can I get it? They are two and I am one."

Then he said, "I'm going to kill them." He went to a shop. He asked for poison. "I want something to kill the rats in my house," he said to the man in the shop. "They eat all my

food."

"I have some very good rat-poison," said the man .

The young man went away with the rat-poison.

He went to the Grand Hotel. "Three bottles of beer, please," he said.

He put poison in two of the bottles. Then he went back to his friends. His friends put their arms round him. They killed him with their knives.

"Now," said the 1st young man. "Have some beer. "

They opened all the bottles of beer. Before night, they were dead. The old man was right. Death was under the tree.

Tobermory the Cat

One August afternoon, Lady Blemley was in her sitting room. Some of her friends were with her. She liked to have her friends for the weekend. Their names were Miss Resker, Miss Pellington, Mrs Cornett, and Mr Cornelius Appin. Mr Appin was a young man.

He said, "I can teach English to animals."

"Can you?" said Lady Blemley.

"Yes. Your cat, Tobermory, can speak English now."

"No," they all said. "It's not true."

"Yes it is," said Mr Appin.

Lady Blemley said to her husband, "Wilfrid, get Tobermory, please."

Sir Wilfrid went out. He came back without Tobermory .

"It's true!" he said. "Tobermory was on my bed. I said, 'Tobermory, come with me!' And he answered me!"

"He didn't!" they all said.

"He did," said Sir Wilfrid. "He said, 'I'm not ready. Is my milk in the sitting room?' "

Then a girl came into the room with tea. Tobermory came too.

"Good afternoon, Tobermory," said Lady Blemley .

"Where's my milk?" said Tobermory.

Lady Blemley put some milk on the floor for him .

They all looked at him.

"Must you look at me?" he said. "More milk."

Lady Blemley put down some more milk.

Miss Resker said, "Tobermory, can I ask you a question?"

"Must you?"

" Tobermory, do you like me?" said Miss Resker.

"I don't think about you much," said Tobermory. "Sir Wilfrid likes you. I saw you two in the garden this morning."

Miss Resker's face was red. Sir Wilfrid's was, too.

"But you like me, Tobermory," said Miss Pellington .

"Lady Blemley doesn't like you," said Tobermory.

'Tobermory ¡' said Lady Blemley. "She's my old friend!"

"Perhaps," said Tobermory "She's going to buy your car, isn't she? It's no good. Too old, like her."

Lady Blemley's face was red. Miss Pellington's was, too.

"Tobermory," said Mrs Cornett. "Lady Blemley and Sir Wilfrid are buying your food."

"They're buying yours, too," said Tobermory.

"You said, 'I don't like the Blemleys much, but  the food is good.' "

Mrs Cornett's face was red.

"Tobermory," said Sir Wilfrid, "out."

Tobermory looked out of the window.

"Out now," said Sir Wilfrid.

Tobermory went out of the room.

"Mr Appin," said Lady Blemley, "can Tobermory teach how English to all his cat friends?"

"Yes," said Mr Appin.

"Then, Wilfrid, we must...."

"Yes," said Sir Wilfrid. "Tonight."

But Tobermory listened at the door. He went away and didn't come back again. Where is Tobermory now? They don't know. Is he in your house?

You Can't Have Everything You Want

This is a story from India. Gopal lived with his wife, Nataki, in a small house near a river. They were very poor. Every day Gopal went to the river to get fish. He had a net. Sometimes there were two or three fish in the net. Then he went home to Nataki and said, "We can eat today." Sometimes there were no fish in the net. Then Gopal didn't eat.

Gopal was always happy, because he liked the river. But Nataki was not happy. One day Gopal saw a very big fish in his net. "Good," he said. "We're going to eat today, and tomorrow too." But the fish opened its mouth and said, "Don't kill me. Put me back in the water. I want to live."

"But...." said Gopal.

"Please," said the fish.

"My wife isn't going to be happy about this," said Gopal.

"Then tell her about me," said the fish, "but please, put me back in the water." So Gopal put it back. He went home without any fish.

"No fish today?" said Nataki. "Oh Gopal."

"There was one very big fish," said Gopal, "but I put it back in the water."

"You what?"

"I put it back in the river."

"You had a big fish and you put it back in the water? But we have no food."

"The fish talked," said Gopal.

"What?"

"It talked. It said, 'Tell your wife

"Oh," said Nataki.

Then she said, "Tomorrow morning, Gopal, go to the river. Get the big fish in your net

again. Then ask for something."

"Ask for what?"

"Some food," said Nataki. "And a new red dress for me."

So Gopal went to the river in the morning and the big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said.

"Nataki wants some food for us, and a new red dress."

"Then put me in the water, and go home, Gopal."

Gopal went home. There was food on the table, and Nataki had a new red dress.

"Beautiful," said Gopal. "Are you happy now?"

"No, I want a good dinner and a new dress every day. Ask the fish tomorrow."

So in the morning Gopal went to the river. The big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said.

"Nataki wants a good dinner and a new dress every day."

"She can't have everything she wants," said the fish.

"I know," said Gopal.

"Then put me in the water, and go home."

Gopal went home. There was a good dinner on the table, and Nataki had a new blue dress.

"Beautiful," said Gopal. "Are you happy now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I want a big house," said Nataki, "and some new tables and chairs. Ask the fish."

So in the morning Gopal went to the river, and the big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said.

"Nataki wants a big house and some new tables and chairs."

"She can't have everything she wants."

"I know," said Gopal.

"Put me in the water and go home," said the fish. Gopal went home. Nataki, in a new white dress, was in a new armchair.

"Happy now?" said Gopal.

"No."

"You can't have everything you want."

"Can't I? This is a big house now. I want two girls and a man—three servants for the work in the house. I can't do it all."

Gopal went back to the river in the morning and the big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said.

"She wants servants."

"How many?"

"Two girls and a man," said Gopal.

"Put me in the water and go home."

Gopal went home. Nataki had three servants.

"Aren't you happy now?" said Gopal.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I want some money," said Nataki. "I want money for the servants. And I want some rings for my ears."

In the morning Gopal went to the river, and the big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said.

"She wants money for the servants, and some earrings. "

"She can't have all the things she wants."

"I know," said Gopal.

"Put me in the water and go home."

Gopal went home. There was a lot of money on the table, and Nataki had some new earrings.

"Beautiful," said Gopal. "Now you must be happy. You have all the things you want."

"No," said Nataki.

"What?"

"I want this country. It must all be mine. I want to be Queen of this country."

"You're my Queen."

"I want to be Queen of this country. Tell the fish tomorrow."

In the morning Gopal went to the river and the big fish jumped into his net.

"Yes?" it said

"She wants to be Queen of this country."

The fish said nothing.

"I know," said Gopal. "She can't have everything she wants."

"That's right," said the fish. "Put me back in the water and go home. Oh, and Gopal...."

"Yes?"

"Goodbye" said the fish.

Gopal went home. Nataki was in the old house. She had no food, no new dresses, no new tables and chairs, no servants, no earrings, nothing.

She looked at Gopal. "Go back to the river now!" she said.

Gopal went to the river. But the big fish wasn't there. It never jumped into his net again.

     hatchet man
There were warnings all over campus about a Hatchet Man who was supposedly abused and killed a woman in Bloomington.  All the girls were warned to walk in pairs and to stay in brightly lit areas if they had to go out at night.        The sophomore and her roommate were staying in the empty dorm over Thanksgiving break, since both their families were out of the country.  They grown very bored as day followed boring day and night followed boring night.  Tired of staying inside every night for fear of the Hatchet Man, her roommate suggested they have dinner at the local bar, and the sophomore agreed.        The two women had lingered longer than anticipated, and it was almost midnight when the sophomore, more than a little drunk, decided to walk back to the dorm.  Her roommate was busy flirting with the bartender, so she headed into the dark, silent streets alone.  The sophomore had forgotten all about the Hatchet Man warnings.  It wasn’t until she took a shortcut through a dark, creepy alley that she remembered there was a desperate murderer on the loose.         The sophomore shivered, feeling suddenly sober and very much alone.  She felt as if hostile eyes were peering out at her from every menacing shadow and darkened doorway.    She quickened her pace.   Was that heavy breathing she heard behind her?  Were those footsteps walking in time with her own?        The sophomore broke into a run; heart pounding fiercely, sure that someone was following her.   She darted onto the college campus, zigzagged through the buildings and flung herself panting into the dorm.  She pounded up three flights of stairs, down the hall and slammed into her room, locking the door behind her.  It was only then, leaning against the door with her heart racing, that she started to feel foolish.  There was no sound from the hallway.  No footsteps, no heavy breathing.  No hatchet breaking through the wood of the door.  She'd been a fool.        The sophomore staggered to the bathroom to wash up for the night, leaving the door locked behind her.  She kept glancing in the mirror to make sure that everything was secure.  The scene in the mirror was normal.  And there was no sound in the empty dormitory.  Everything was just fine, she told herself.        Then she remembered that her roommate was still at the bar.  She didn't want her roommate to walk home alone, so she called the bar and asked the manager if he would arrange for her roommate to be brought home in a taxi.  The music in the background was loud, and she wasn't sure if the manager understood her request.  But at least she'd tried.        The sophomore curled up in bed with the reading lamp on, determined to wait up for her roommate.  But the combination of heavy drinking and her earlier fright sent her into a deep sleep almost at once, and she did not awaken until the sun came pouring in the window, early the next morning.        She woke with a hangover and rolled over, trying not to be sick in the bed.  When she looked across the room, she realized that her roommate wasn't in the bed on the far wall.  In fact, it looked as if her bed had not been slept in at all!          She rolled to her feet, heart pounding with dread.  Maybe her roommate had spent the night in the lobby?  Her roommate had done that once before when out partying until the wee hours of the morning, saying it was too much trouble to climb three flights of stairs.        With trembling hands, the sophomore unlocked the door and wrenched it open in search of her roommate.  The unmistakable, faintly metallic scent of blood smashed into her nostrils as the door swung open.  That was her only warning before her shocked eyes saw blood spattered all over the walls and floor of the third-floor hallway.  She screamed in terror, leaping backward away from the partially decapitated body of her roommate, which lay dead at her feet.  Her throat was slit from end to end and blood pooled under her dead body.  The nails on her outstretched hand were torn and splintered where they had scratched desperately at the wooden door.          A black shadow lay across her roommate’s body.  She looked up in a daze, her gaze following the black shadow to its source.  Embedded in the window frame near the entrance to the staircase was a bloodstained hatchet, outlined in the light of the rising sun.

 dont turn on the light
She commandeered the room in the basement of her dorm as soon as she realized she would have to pull an all-nighter in order to prepare for tomorrow’s final exam. Her roommate, Jenna, liked to get to bed early, so she packed up everything she thought she would need and went downstairs to study . . . and study . . . and study some more.
It was two o’clock, when she realized that she’d left one of the textbooks upstairs on her bed. With a dramatic sigh, she rose, and climbed the stairs slowly to her third-floor dorm room. The lights were dim in the long hallway, and the old boards creaked under her weary tread. She reached her room and turned the handle as softly as she could, pushing the door open just enough to slip inside, so that the hall lights wouldn’t wake her roommate.
The room was filled with a strange, metallic smell. She frowned a bit, her arms breaking out into chills. There was a strange feeling of malice in the room, as if a malevolent gaze were fixed upon her.  It was a mind trick; the all-nighter was catching up with her.
 She could hear Jenna breathing on the far side of the room—a heavy sound, almost as if she had been running. Jenna must have picked up a cold during the last tense week before finals.
She crept along the wall until she reached her bed, groping among the covers for the stray history textbook. In the silence, she could hear a steady drip-drip-drip sound. She sighed silently. Facilities would have to come to fix the sink in the bathroom…again.
 Her fingers closed on the textbook. She picked it up softly and withdrew from the room as silently as she could.
Relieved to be out of the room, she hurried back downstairs, collapsed into an overstuffed chair and studied until six o’clock.  She finally decided that enough was enough. If she slipped upstairs now, she could get a couple hours’ sleep before her nine o’clock exam.
The first of the sun’s rays were beaming through the windows as she slowly slid the door open, hoping not to awaken Jenna. Her nose was met by an earthy, metallic smell a second before her eyes registered the scene in her dorm room. Jenna was spread-eagled on top of her bed against the far wall, her throat cut from ear to ear and her nightdress stained with blood. Two drops of blood fell from the saturated blanket with a drip-drip noise that sounded like a leaky faucet.
Scream after scream poured from her mouth, but she couldn’t stop herself any more than she could cease wringing her hands. All along the hallway, doors slammed and footsteps came running down the passage.
Within moments other students had gathered in her doorway, and one of her friends gripped her arm with a shaking hand and pointed a trembling finger toward the wall. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Then she fainted into her friend’s arms.
On the wall above her bed, written in her roommate’s blood, were the words: “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?”

write wolf

    She snapped awake out of a deep sleep, screaming aloud in terror. In her nightmare, a large white wolf had been chasing her around and around the house, gaining on her with every step until it finally pounced on her and ripped out her throat.    She lay shaking for hours, unable to sleep after such a terrifying dream.          But morning finally arrived, and the day was completely normal. Celia forgot all about her dream, until the moment her parents reminded her that they would be going out that night to celebrate their anniversary. Celia turned milk-white. In her dream, the white wolf had come to kill her while her parents were out celebrating their anniversary! She started shaking and begging them not to go.   Her parents were astonished at her behavior, and finally shamed her into staying home alone that night.       Fearfully, Celia locked herself into the house as soon as her parents left, checking every door and every window. She tried to laugh it off as she got into bed, and finally she shook off her irrational fear and fell asleep.         Celia snapped awake suddenly, every muscle tense. She heard the tinkling of falling glass from a broken window, and the snuffling sound of a snout pressed to the floor. It was the sound of a hunting wolf. A werewolf. Real wolves did not break into houses when there was plenty of game outside. She could hear the click-clicking of the creature’s claws on the wooden floor. The musky, foul smell of wet animal fur combined with the meaty breath of a carnivore, drifted into the room.      She could hear the werewolf’s panting right outside her bedroom. Then her body was out of bed and she sped through the bathroom and down the back stairs. She heard a soft growl and then the sound of animal feet pursuing her as she raced down the steps and tore open the back door. A glance at the window beside her showed a reflection of the werewolf leaping down the last few steps behind her.     Celia’s  feet screamed in protest as she ran painfully across the sharp gravel driveway toward the tool shed with its shovels and baseball bats. Anything she could use as a weapon.  But the huge, red-eyed wolf was suddenly between her and the toolshed, stalking toward her. The cold wind pierced her skin as she turned and fled around the side of the house. She gasped as the white wolf howled and took off after her. She could hear the terrifying sound of the creature’s pounding feet.      Faster, faster, she commanded her legs, panting desperately against the fear choking her. She would run around the house and back down the driveway, she thought with the clarity of sheer horror. She felt the wolf snap at her back leg and felt the sting of teeth. She put on speed.      The wolf veered away from her suddenly, and she felt a rush of hope. She couldn’t hear the wolf now, couldn’t see it in the cloud-darkened night. She kept running around the house, heading back toward the tool shed. To her intense relief, she heard the sound of a car coming down the road in front of her house.  Her parents were back and would save her from the wolf!        Then her heart stopped in panic as she turned the last corner and saw the shape of the white wolf as it stood balanced on the porch railing right in front of her. It sprang upon Celia, huge teeth tearing into her flesh and ripping out her throat.  She fell under the weight of its body, hot blood spilling all over the ground, and died seconds after she hit the ground.  One minute later, her parent's car pulled into the driveway, its headlights blinding the white wolf as it pulled toward the house.  Frightened, the wolf backed away from its kill and then ran away. 

The Monkey's Foot

Mr and Mrs White lived in a nice small house. Their son Herbert lived with them. Herbert worked in a factory He worked at a big machine. Mr White worked in an office. Mrs White was a housewife.

There were not many houses near them. "I want a house near the town," said Mr White.

"But it's £400 for a house near the town, and we're not rich." "No,"said Mrs White,"but we're happy here, aren't we, Herbert?" "Yes, but Dad's right," said Herbert. "We're a long way from the shops and the train and the bus."

One day, an old friend came to dinner. His name was Mr Morris. The Whites liked to hear his stories. He talked about many countries. When Mr Morris knocked at the door, Mr White opened it.

"Come in, come in," he said. "Good to see you. How are you? Come and sit by the fire,

Whisky?"

"Thank you," said Mr Morris. "How are you, Mrs White, Herbert?"

"Very well, thank you," they said.

"Dinner isn't ready," said Mrs White. "Tell us a story, Mr Morris." "A story about India," said Herbert. "I'm going to India, some day."

Mr Morris said nothing. He had something in his hand.

"What's that, Mr Morris?" said Mrs White.

"This?" said Mr Morris. "It's a monkey's foot "

"A monkey's foot?" said the Whites.

"Yes. Don't touch it."

"Why not?" said Herbert.

Mr Morris looked at the fire.

"Mr Morris, aren't you well?" asked Mrs White.

"Oh yes, thank you," said Mr Morris. "I'm not ill."

"Tell us about the monkey's foot," said Herbert.

"Yes," said Mr Morris. "I had this foot from a man in India. He said...."

"Yes?" said the Whites.

"With this foot you can ask for three things. You can have three wishes."

"How?" said Herbert.

"Take the foot in your hand and say, 'I wish for....'. Then say what you want."

"And you asked for three things?" said Mrs White.

"No." Mr Morris looked at the fire again. "I only asked for one thing," he said. "I had

one wish. I got it."

"A good thing?" asked Herbert.

"No, it was not," said Mr Morns. "No more questions, please. You always have a good big fire here. I'm going to put the monkey's foot on your fire."

"Don't," said Herbert. "Give it to us."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you are my friends."

"Dinner's ready," said Mrs White.

Mr Morris put the foot on the fire. He went to the table with Mr White. Herbert jumped up and got the foot from the fire. He put it on a little table. Mr Morris did not see it.

After dinner he went home. "Here's the foot," said Herbert. "I'm going to ask for something."

"Don't, Herbert," said Mrs White.

Herbert did not listen to her. "Dad," he said, "you want £400. Wish for £400. Here's the

foot. "

"I want £400," said Mr White. Then he said, "The foot jumped in my hand!"

"Where's the money?" said Herbert. "There's no money here. I'm going to bed."

"Put that thing on the fire," said Mrs White. "I don't like it."

But Mr White put the foot on the table. In the morning, at breakfast, Herbert said,

"No letters today. No £400 for you, Dad."

"I'm happy here without the money," said Mrs White.

Herbert went to his factory. "Back to my machine," he said. Mr White went to his office. Mrs White worked in the house.

When Mr White came home in the evening, he said, "Any money?"

"No," said Mrs White.

"Where's Herbert?" said Mr White.

"He isn't back from the factory," said Mrs White .

Seven o'clock came. Eight o'clock. Herbert wasn't back. "Where is he?" said Mrs White.

Then there was a knock at the door. "Open it," said Mrs White. Mr White opened the door. A man was there. He said, "Mr White? The father of Herbert White?"

"Yes."

"I'm from the factory," said the man.

"Come in."

"Thank you," said the man. He had something in his hand. "This is a letter for you," he said. "A letter from the factory."

"Where's Herbert?" said Mrs White. "Where's my son?"

The man said nothing.

"Is Herbert ill?" said Mr White.

"No," said the man. "Not ill."

"Is he....?"

"He is dead," said the man. "Your son is dead."

"Dead?"

"The machine," said the man. "The big machine.... "

"I want to see my son," said Mrs White.

"No," said the man again. "The machine...."

Mrs White said nothing.

"This letter," said the man. "It's from the factory. We want to give you some money."

"Money?"

"£400," said the man.

Mr and Mrs White were in bed. They were not asleep.

"Are you cold, my love?" said Mr White.

"No," she said. "But my boy Herbert is cold tonight. "

Then she said, "Where is it?"

"What?

"The foot. The monkey's foot. We have two wishes. I'm going to get the foot."

"No, no,my love."

But she went to the sitting room. "Here it is," she said. "On the little table."

"Please, please, my love, don't," said Mr White.

She said nothing. The monkey's foot was in her hand.

"I want my son back again," she said. The foot jumped in her hand.

"Come back to bed, my love. You're ill," said Mr White. But she listened. Something walked up the road to the house. Something knocked at the door. Again and again, something knocked at the door.

"Open the door!" she said.

"No," said Mr White.

"I'm going to open it," she said. "I'm coming, my boy, I'm coming!"

Mr White looked for the monkey's foot. "Here it is," he said. "I wish my son back in the cemetery”

The foot jumped in his hand. Mrs White opened the door. There was nothing there.