The Monkey's Paw (Adapted)

By Dorothy Zemach

Mr and Mrs White and their son Herbert are perfectly happy. They live a quiet, modest life, and there’s nothing they want. But when an old friend arrives one windy night with a fantastic story of a magical charm that can grant wishes... well, it probably isn’t true anyway. So why not make a wish?
This adaptation of the classic horror story by W.W. Jacobs is suitable for readers at the high intermediate level (CEFR B2), and includes discussion questions and notes on the story’s vocabulary and style. In addition, the original, unchanged story is included at the back of the book for those learners who want an extra challenge.
Improve your reading speed, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary in an easy and enjoyable way.The Great Stories readers feed your imagination while you learn English.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayzgoose Press
• Release date: Aug 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005073220

Book preview

The Monkey’s Paw

The Monkey’s Paw

adapted from the short story by W.W. Jacobs

Dorothy Zemach

Wayzgoose Press

Copyright © 2020 by Wayzgoose Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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Cover design by DJ Rogers for bookbranders.com

Contents

A Note about the Adaptation

The Monkey’s Paw

Before You Read

The Monkey’s Paw

After You Read

The Original, Unchanged Story

About This Story’s Creators

A Note about the Adaptation

This story is a classic of British literature. Written over a hundred years ago, it is still read in schools and living rooms around the world by people who enjoy good stories. You may find, in fact, that once you know this story too, that you notice references to it in popular culture or people’s conversations.

I can still remember the first time I read this story, when I was in high school. It had been assigned as homework, and I read it at night, alone. I think it was the first time I had ever been genuinely scared by a book; I’ve never forgotten that feeling.

I decided to adapt this short story for people who are learning English or improving their reading ability in English because it had such an impact on me. I changed some vocabulary to simpler or more common words, and sometimes I changed the structure of a sentence to something easier to figure out, or divided one long sentence into two shorter ones.

However, I also left some of the more ‘difficult’ vocabulary so that the story would keep its original atmosphere and mood. These days, it is easy to check a dictionary while reading an ebook. The story has been simplified; yet it is not simple. Note that the language is British English.

I encourage you to read the story all the way through, the first time, without stopping to check unknown words. In this way, you will develop your ability to ‘feel’ the meaning of a word, even when you can’t explain it exactly. Then if you do check the definition in a dictionary later, you will be more likely to remember it.

The second or third time you read the story, when you can concentrate more fully on language, because you already know the plot, you might want to stop and check the meaning of particularly interesting words. Yes—I do expect that you will want to read it again. I have read it many, many times.

For teachers, or those who wish to think how teachers think, I have included before and after the story some discussion questions. You may use these questions to share your ideas with other