Excerpt from The Monkey’s Paw
W. W. Jacobs

13 At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of wild scenes and doughty deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples.

14 "Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son. "When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him."

15 "He don't look to have taken much harm." said Mrs. White politely.

16 "I'd like to go to India myself," said the old man, just to look around a bit, you know."

17 "Better where you are," said the Sergeant-Major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass and sighing softly, shook it again.

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

19 "Nothing." said the soldier hastily. "Leastways, nothing worth hearing"

20 "Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White curiously.

21 "Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps." said the Sergeant-Major off-handedly.

22 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 again.

23 "To look at," said the Sergeant-Major, fumbling in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."

24 He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously.

25 "And what is there special about it?" inquired Mr. White as he took it from his son, and having examined it, placed it upon the table.

26 "It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir," said the Sergeant-Major, "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."
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Why did the Fakir put a spell on the monkey's paw?

A) The Fakir wanted to score people into giving him money.
B) The Fakir was a genie and he wanted to grant someone three wishes.
C) He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives and when you play with fate bad things can happen.
D) The Fakir wanted to play a trick on people. He thought it would be funny to watch people wish upon a dead monkey paw.