The next morning the winter sun came¹ through the window and the house felt nice and warm again． Mr White felt better and he smiled at his wife² and son． The family sat³ down to have breakfast and they began to talk about the day．The monkey's paw⁴ was⁵ on a little table near the window， but nobody⁶ looked at it and nobody thought⁷ about it．

'I'm going⁸ to the shops this morning，' Mrs White said． 'I want to get something nice for dinner．Are you going to come with me？' she asked her husband．

'No， I'm going to have a quiet morning． I'm going to read，' her husband¹⁰ answered．

'Well， I'm not going to go out this evening，'Herbert said，'so we can go to bed early tonight．We were very late last night．'

'And we aren't going to have stories about monkey's paws！'Mrs White said． She was angry．'Why did¹² we listen to your friend？' she asked her husband．'A monkey's paw can't give you things！'she stopped but the two men did not answer her．'Thirty thousand pounds！' she said⁹ quietly．'We needed that money．'

Just then Herbert looked at the clock and stood¹⁵ up．'I'm going to work，' he said．'Perhaps¹⁶ the postman has got¹⁷ the money for you in a letter．Remember， I want some of it too！'Herbert laughed and his mother laughed too．

'Don't laugh， son，' Mr White said．'Tom Morris is an old friend and he thinks the story is true． Perhaps it is．'

'Well，leave some of the money for me， 'Herbert laughed again．

His mother laughed too and she went to the door with him．

'Goodbye， Mother，' Herbert said happily．'Get some thing nice for dinner this evening at the shops．I'm always hungry after a day at work．'

'I know you are！' Mrs White answered．

Herbert left the house and walked quickly down the road． His mother stood at the door for some time and watched him． The winter sun was warm， but suddenly²⁰ she felt very cold．

第二天早晨，冬日的阳光穿过窗户，房子里重新变得温暖。怀特先生感觉很好，他对着妻子和儿子微笑。一家子坐下来共进早餐，他们讨论着白天要干的事。猴爪放在窗子边的小桌上，但没有人去看它，也没有人想到它。

“上午我想去商店，”怀特太太说，“我想买一点好东西做晚餐，你愿意和我一块去吗？”她问丈夫。

“不，我想享受一个安静的上午。我想看书，”她丈夫回答说。

“今天晚上我不想出门，”赫伯特说，“我们就能早一点上床睡觉，昨晚我们睡得太迟了。”

“我们再也不相信有关猴爪的故事！”怀特太太说。她发火了。“为什么我们要相信你的朋友？”她问丈夫，“一个猴爪不会给你任何东西的！”她停了下来，但两个男人并没有回答她。“30 000英磅！”她平静地说，“我们需要那些钱。”

就在这时，赫伯特看看时间并站了起来。“我要去工作了，”他说，“也许邮差在一封信里把钱寄给你，记住，我也想要一些！”赫伯特笑了，她母亲也笑了。

“别笑了，孩子，”怀特先生说，“汤姆•莫里斯是我的老朋友了，既然他认为这个故事是真实的，也许就是真的。”

“好吧，给我也留下一些钱，”赫伯特又笑了起来。

他母亲也笑了起来并起身送儿子出门。

“再见，妈妈。”赫伯特高兴地说，“到商店买点好吃的晚餐，工作一天后我总觉得饿。”

“我知道！”怀特太太答道。

赫伯特离开了家，沿着马路快步地走。他母亲站在门边目送他远去。冬日的阳光很暧和，但怀特太太却突然觉得冷极了。