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Chapter 3 The Spirit of Christmas Present

Scrooge wakes up in the middle of the night. The church bell is striking one o 'clock, but

there is no ghost in the room. He gets up and puts on his slippers. Then he sees a light

coming from under the door. He begins to shake in fear. He goes toward the door. Suddenly,

a voice calls his name. Ebenezer Scrooge, come here. The voice says. Scrooge opens the

door and finds himself in a room with many flowers and green plants in it. On the floor,

there is a lot of food—turkey, ham, geese, and lots of fruit. And a huge ghost is standing

in the middle of the room. This giant ghost is wearing a long green robe. His feet are bare.

His hair is long and dark with curls. He has a wreath of flowers on his head. He has a happy

face, and his eyes are sparkling with joy.

I am the Spirit of Christmas Present. Look at me, Ebenezer Scrooge. He says cheerfully.

I am ready to come with you, Spirit. I can learn new things from you, I suppose. Then hold my

robe, Ebenezer, and let's go. Scrooge quickly holds the Spirit's robe. He is not afraid of

this ghost because he is very friendly. In a moment, the room, the flowers, the plants,

and the food all disappear. Scrooge and the ghost become invisible. Suddenly,

they are outside the city, in the suburbs. It is a lovely Christmas day. Scrooge watches the

people around. He is surprised. They are not rich, but they are still happy. The Spirit shows

Scrooge a small old house. Oh, that is Bob Cratchett's house. He is my clerk.

Come, let's go inside, says the Spirit. Inside, they see Bob's wife and children.

They are preparing Christmas dinner. The children are happy because they will have roast goose,

with potatoes and some pudding for dinner. Then, Bob arrives home with his youngest son,

Tiny Tim. Tim is sitting on Bob's shoulders. He has a crippled leg, and he can only walk with a

crutch. Tiny Tim seems very happy. His sisters and brothers are very helpful and kind to him.

He tries to play with them. Scrooge watches Tiny Tim for a long time.

He feels very sorry for him. He is worried about this little boy.

Spirit, look at that poor little boy. He says very sadly.

He cannot live very long, says the ghost. Bob must take him to the doctor,

but he doesn't have enough money for it. Oh, no! The boy must be healthy and live,

says Scrooge. Then the family sits around the table.

Before they eat their Christmas dinner, Bob says,

A merry Christmas to us all, my dears. We must be thankful for this food,

and let us thank Mr. Scrooge for it. He pays me money, and I can buy food for us.

Scrooge is surprised to hear this, but he feels very bad when he hears Mrs. Cratchett's words about

him. Bob, I am sorry, but I can't be thankful to Scrooge. He is a very cruel and stingy man.

He makes you work very hard and late, but he doesn't pay you enough money,

says Bob's wife. My dear, it's Christmas day. Don't speak like that, please, says Bob.

Then they happily eat their dinner. After dinner, they sit before the fireplace,

and eat roasted chestnuts and some fruit. They tell jokes, sing songs, and play some games.

Scrooge does not understand these people. How can they be so happy? They are poor. They don't

have much food. They don't have good clothes or shoes, but they are so happy together. They are

taking his eyes away from the poor boy. His eyes fill with tears when Tiny Tim says,

Merry Christmas with a big smile on his face.

Suddenly Scrooge finds himself out in the streets again. People are going to Christmas parties

or coming back from parties. The spirit takes Scrooge to a small village. They watch a Christmas

party in one of the houses there. After that, they go to the seaside and watch two lighthouse men

celebrating Christmas. Then they watch a party on a ship in the middle of the sea. Sailors are

singing Christmas songs around a fire. All the people in these places are happy because it is Christmas.

Finally, Scrooge and the spirit are back in the dark streets of the city.

Now it is snowing heavily, and the wind is blowing the snow off the rooftops.

They stop in front of a house. It is Scrooge's nephew Fred's house. Fred and his wife are having

a party with some friends. It is after dinner now, and they are talking and laughing. Scrooge

listens to Fred. He is telling the guests about his visit to his uncle that morning.

Ha ha. My uncle calls Christmas Humbag, and he believes it too. Isn't it funny?

Everyone laughs. But Fred's wife says, it is not funny, Fred. It is sad. Your uncle has no

goodness in his heart. He has a lot of money, but he never shares it, and he never helps anyone.

I feel sorry for Uncle Scrooge. He is very unhappy. He cannot spend his money.

He has no friends. Every Christmas I invite him to dinner, but he refuses my invitation.

Fred's wife says, he doesn't like us. He doesn't like anybody.

That's true. That's why he is lonely and miserable all the time. He never has any fun

or happy moments, adds Fred. Then they stop talking about Scrooge. One of the guests

begins to play the harp. They all dance and sing songs.

Afterwards, they tell jokes and play games. Scrooge is enjoying all this. He sings and laughs too.

He wants to stay there until the end of the party, but they must leave immediately,

because the spirit's life is ending at midnight.

Oh look, they are starting the new game. Let's see this game. Please. Scrooge begs the spirit.

So they stay a little longer.

This is a yes -no game. In this game, Fred thinks of something, and the others ask him questions

about that thing. They must know what it is. Fred only answers with a yes or no. Fred thinks of his

uncle. Everyone asks Fred a short question. They understand from Fred's answers that he is thinking

of an animal, an unfriendly cruel animal. It sometimes moans and talks. It lives in London

and often walks in the streets. It is not a horse, a cow or a dog.

After each question, Fred begins to laugh. Finally, somebody says, I know, I know, it is your uncle.

Fred says yes, and they all laugh.

When they stop laughing, Fred raises his glass and says, to my poor lonely uncle,

Uncle, you are not here, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

Scrooge feels very happy when he hears Fred's words.

My nephew loves me, he thinks. He wants to thank Fred and wish everyone a Merry Christmas,

but the spirit takes him outside, and they travel again. They go to the homes of the poor and the

sick. They also visit a prison and a hospital. After these visits, the bell strikes twelve,

and the spirit disappears in one of the dark streets.