Chapter four: The ghost of christmas present.
Scrooge woke up and sat up in bed. He heard the church clock. It was one in the morning again, time for the second ghost.
From the next room, he saw a strong light under the door. Slowly Scrooge walked to the door and opened it.
On the couch in the center of the room sat the ghost. He was large and heavy, with a bright cheerful smile on his face. He looked different from ghosts Scrooge knew.
“I am the ghost of christmas present,” said the ghost. “Tonight you will come with me and learn from what I show you,”
“Yes,” answered Scrooge. “I want to learn. The ghost last night showed me many things. Now I want to see more. ”
The ghost grabbed Scrooge's hand, and they were gone.
Soon they were at Bob Cratchit, his clerk's house. Mrs Cratchit was setting the table for Christmas dinner with her daughters.
They were excited and happy as the delicious smell of Christmas dinner spread throughout their small, clean home.
Just then Bob Cratchit was coming back from church with the youngest son, tiny Tim. Tiny Tim was a very special young boy. He was small for his age, and he couldn't walk without the use of crutches.
“Merry christmas, everyone! ” Bob said. “What is that delicious smell? ”
“That's the Christmas goose, father! ” The younger children shouted. No one said the goose seemed very small for such a large family.
The family all sat down for their dinner as Scrooge and the ghost watched. Though it was a very simple Christmas meal, the family was loving and happy. After dinner, they all gathered around the fire. Tiny Tim sat very close to the fire. He was very sick.
“Please ghost, tell me,” asked Scrooge. “Will tiny Tim live? ”
“The future can be changed,” said the ghost, “But right now I see only an empty chair where tiny Tim is sitting. ”
Scrooge looked very sad when he heard these words.
“But why do you care? ” The ghost asked. “Didn't you say there were too many people in the world? Isn't tiny Tim dying a good thing for you? ”
Scrooge remembered what he had told the two gentlemen in his office. He felt ashamed.
Just then he heard Bob saying his name. “Let's drink to mr Scrooge,” Bob said.
“To Scrooge?! ” His wife answered angrily. “Why should we drink to that old miser? ”
“Because it is Christmas,” Bob answered. “Well, you are right,” answered his wife. “I'll drink to him. But nothing we say or do could make that mean old man feel happy or merry. ”
The ghost led him down the street. Everywhere they went, they could hear the happy shouts of people wishing each other a merry christmas. Soon they came to another home he knew.
He and the ghost entered the bright, warm room where the family was sitting. Everyone in the room was laughing at a story his nephew was telling.
“So when I told my uncle Scrooge “Merry christmas,” he just said, “Bah, humbug. ” Fred was telling about his visit to Scrooge's office. “I think he actually believes it, too,” the nephew said. “Can you imagine? Christmas a humbug. ”
“I never liked that mean old man,” Fred's wife said. “He's rich, but he helps no one. He even lives like he's poor. ”
Next they started a game. The game was called “Twenty questions. ” each person had to think of something, while the others asked them questions. They tried to guess what the person was thinking.
When it was Fred's turn, everyone asked him questions.
“Is it an animal? ” One guest asked. “Yes,” the nephew answered.
“Does it live in the city? ” Another asked. “Yes,” the nephew answered again.
The other guests asked questions and learned the animal wasn't a dog or a cat, and people didn't eat the animal. The animal could talk. Finally it was Fred's wife's turn to ask a question.
“Does anyone like it? ” she asked. “No,” the nephew answered sadly.
“I know what it is,” the wife answered.
“If it is an animal nobody likes, it must be your uncle Scrooge! ” And she was right.
“But I still hope the old man has a merry christmas and a Happy New Year,” Fred said, feeling a little bad about his game.
Scrooge wanted to say “Merry christmas,” but the scene vanished.
As the ghost took him away, Scrooge looked at the ghost. The ghost wasn't young anymore. It now looked old.
“Is your life short? ” Scrooge asked the ghost.
“Yes, very short,” the ghost answered. “It ends Christmas night at midnight. I haven't got much time, but I want to show you one more thing before I go. ”
The ghost pointed to two children. They were very thin and shook from the cold weather. When Scrooge looked at their eyes, he could see they were sad and very hungry. Their hunger made them look like little monsters.
“They have no mother and no father,” the ghost said. “They have no food and no family. They have no money for school. They know nothing and have nothing, and they will always know nothing and have nothing. ”
“But won't someone help them? ” Scrooge cried.
“Are there no orphanages? ” The ghost asked. “Ah, why should anyone help? There are too many people in the world already”
Just then the church clock struck twelve. Scrooge looked for the ghost, but it was gone