This story revolves around a mystical talisman, a monkey's paw that is said to grant three wishes to its holder, with a heavy price for tampering with fate. A family comes into possession of the paw and, despite warnings about the dire consequences of using it, they wish for money to pay off their home. The wish leads to a tragic outcome when their son dies in an industrial accident, and they receive the exact sum they wished for as compensation. In a desperate attempt to reverse the tragedy, they make a second wish, which only compounds their misery. The tale serves as a cautionary narrative about the dangers of greed and the folly of trying to control one's destiny.

The 6136th greatest book of all time