STAVE III: THE SECOND OF THE THREE SPIRITS

It was Scrooge’s own room. But it was very different now. Green leaves covered the walls and the ceiling. There were little red fruits on the leaves. A big fire burned in the fireplace. Scrooge never had a fire like this in his cold old fireplace.

On the floor there was a mountain of food. There were turkeys and geese. There was meat of every kind. There were big puddings, oranges, apples and cakes. There were hot drinks too. The room was warm, and it smelled wonderful.

A happy giant sat on top of the food. He had a torch in his hand. It was a big stick with a bright fire on top. He held it up high, and its light fell on Scrooge.

“Come in!” said the giant. “Come in, and know me better, man!”

Scrooge came in slowly. He did not look at the Spirit’s eyes. The Spirit’s eyes were clear and kind. But Scrooge was afraid.

“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the Spirit. “Look at me!”

“Present” means now.

Scrooge looked. The Ghost wore a long green coat. He had no shoes on his feet. On his head he had green leaves. His long brown hair was free. His face was kind, and his eyes were bright. His voice was happy.

“You never saw anything like me before!” said the Ghost.

“Never,” said Scrooge.

Scrooge was quiet and polite now. “Spirit,” he said, “take me anywhere. Last night I learned a lesson. It was a hard lesson. Tonight, please teach me something too. I want to learn it.”

“Touch my coat!” said the Ghost.

Scrooge held the coat.

Then the room was gone. The food, the fire and the night were gone too. Now they stood in the city streets. It was Christmas morning. There was snow everywhere. People cleaned the snow from the fronts of their houses. Men cleaned the snow from the roofs. The snow fell down into the street, and boys laughed. Some people threw snowballs at each other. Everyone laughed.

The day was dark. The sky was grey. The fog was thick and dirty. It was not a nice morning. But everyone in the streets was happy.

The shops were full. There were big baskets of nuts and apples. There were oranges, lemons and grapes. The shops smelled of tea and coffee. There were sweet fruits and cakes. Many people came into the shops. They walked fast, and they laughed. They bought things for their Christmas dinner. They were all happy.

Then the church bells rang. People went to church in their best clothes. They walked in the streets with happy faces.

At the same time, many poor people came out of the small streets. They carried their dinners to the bakers’ shops. The bakers cooked the dinners for them.

The Ghost and Scrooge stood at a baker’s door. The Ghost held his torch over the dinners. Drops fell from the torch onto the food.

Two men with dinners walked into each other. They got angry and shouted. The Ghost put drops of water from his torch on them. And then they were friendly again.

“It is Christmas Day,” said one man. “We must not fight on Christmas Day.”

“That’s right,” said the other man. And they smiled.

Scrooge looked at the torch. “Spirit,” he asked, “is there something special in the drops from your torch?”

“Yes,” said the Ghost. “It is something special from me.”

“Does it help every dinner today?” asked Scrooge.

“It helps a dinner when people give it with love,” said the Ghost. “But most of all it helps a poor dinner.”

“Why a poor dinner?” asked Scrooge.

“Because it needs it most,” said the Ghost.

Then they went to the house of Scrooge’s clerk. Nobody could see Scrooge. His name was Bob Cratchit. It was a very small house with only four rooms. Bob earned very little money. He got only fifteen shillings a week. Shillings were English money. Fifteen shillings was very little money for a big family. The Ghost smiled. He was very big, but he stood easily under the low roof. The Ghost held his torch over Bob’s little house. Drops fell from the torch onto the house.

Inside, Mrs. Cratchit wore an old dress with cheap ribbons. Her daughter Belinda helped her. They put the cloth on the table. Their son Peter cooked the potatoes. He wore his father’s big shirt collar.

Then two small Cratchits ran in, a boy and a girl. Their goose was at the baker’s shop. The baker cooked it for them.

“We can smell our goose at the baker’s!” they shouted. “We know it’s our goose!”

They danced around the table.

“Where is your father?” said Mrs. Cratchit. “And where is Tiny Tim? And Martha is late too!”

Then the door opened.

“Here’s Martha, mother!” said a girl.

Martha was the oldest daughter. She worked in a hat shop. She came home for Christmas.

“Martha, my dear!” said Mrs. Cratchit. She kissed her many times. “You are very late!”

“We had a lot of work last night, mother,” said Martha.

Then the children heard a sound. “Father is coming!” they cried. “Hide, Martha, hide!”

So Martha hid.

Bob came home from church. Little Tiny Tim sat on his shoulder. Tiny Tim was sick. He could not walk well. He walked with a little crutch. A crutch is a stick for walking. There was metal on his legs too.

“Where is our Martha?” asked Bob. He looked around.

“She is not coming,” said Mrs. Cratchit.

“Not coming!” said Bob. He was very sad. “Not coming on Christmas Day!”

Martha did not want to see him sad. It was only a joke. So she jumped out and hugged him.

“And how was Tiny Tim at church?” asked Mrs. Cratchit.

“As good as gold,” said Bob. “He was very good. He wanted people in church to see him. Then they can remember Jesus on Christmas Day. Jesus made sick people walk. He made blind people see.” Then Bob’s voice shook. “Tiny Tim is getting stronger every day.”

Then everyone helped with dinner. Bob put Tiny Tim next to him at the table. Then they said a prayer.

Mrs. Cratchit cut the goose. Everyone cheered. Even Tiny Tim hit the table with his knife. “Hurrah!” he cried.

The goose was small and cheap. But with apple sauce and potatoes, there was enough for everyone. There was even a little left. They were all very happy.

Then Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone. She went to get the Christmas pudding. It was a big, sweet cake for Christmas. She was a little afraid. Was the pudding good?