Chapter 10: Christmas Spirit

Scrooge woke up screaming.

"No! No! I won't let it happen!"

He looked around him. Everything was back to normal. The fire in the fireplace was out. The chairs next to it were empty. He got up and opened the window and the sound of church bells filled the room. He saw people in the streets walking quickly, talking and laughing. Scrooge was not sure if it was still Christmas Day or not. Christmas Eve seemed like a long time ago. He called down to a young boy in the street.

"Hey! You boy! What day is it today?"

The boy looked at him strangely.

"Why, it's Christmas Day, sir!"

"Then I still have a chance! But I must hurry! I've got lots of things to do! Yes, lots of things."

Quickly, Scrooge washed and got dressed. He ran out into the streets, and he said a loud "Merry Christmas" to everyone he passed. His neighbours were surprised, but they all smiled and wished him "Merry Christmas".

Scrooge went to the butcher's and bought the biggest turkey they had. Then he got into a carriage and told the driver to take him to the address of someone he wanted to see very badly. The horse wore bells which tinkled as it trotted through the streets of London. Scrooge put his head out of the window and wished everyone he saw a Merry Christmas. Then he saw the man who came to his shop on Christmas Eve asking for money for the poor.

"Stop! Stop!"

The driver stopped the carriage.

"Sir, it's me! Ebenezer Scrooge! I want to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. Please call at my office tomorrow. I want to give you a very large gift."

The man's eyes brightened.

"Thank you very much, sir. You are a very good man."

The horse trotted on and this time it didn't stop until they came to Bob Cratchit's house. Scrooge knocked on the door and waited. Bob opened the door and Scrooge found the family sitting together, just as they were when he was with the Ghost of Christmas Present. The Cratchits were shocked to see Scrooge.

"Merry Christmas, Bob. This turkey is for you and your family. I want you to have the best Christmas you have ever had."

All the Cratchits opened their eyes wide at the size of the turkey, which was bigger than Tiny Tim, and didn't know what to say. At last, Bob said,

"That's very kind of you, sir. Thank ... "

"Don't thank me! I owe you much more than that. You're a good worker, Bob. Don't come in tomorrow. You can have the day off. And when you return, I'm increasing your salary to three times what it is now."

Scrooge looked at Tiny Tim.

"One more thing! I'm going to get my doctor to see Tim on Monday morning. The sooner he gets help, the better."

Mrs Cratchit put her hand over her heart and tears came into her eyes. Tiny Tim went over to Scrooge and hugged him.

"I knew you were a good man, Mr Scrooge."

Scrooge almost cried.

"Well, I must go now. I have one more visit to make. Merry Christmas everyone!"

"Merry Christmas, Mr Scrooge!"

Scrooge's last stop was his nephew's house. Fred, his wife and their guests were as shocked as the Cratchits to see Scrooge on their doorstep.

"Fred, I would like to spend Christmas with you and your wife if your invitation is still open."

Fred was very surprised and happy. He smiled at his uncle.

"Of course it is, Uncle! I knew that you couldn't really believe that Christmas was humbug."

Scrooge sat with his family and their friends and had a lovely dinner. They ate, they drank, they sang and they laughed. When it was time to play the Yes-No game, Scrooge was the one who mimed himself! Everyone laughed and had lots of fun. Nobody could believe that Scrooge was the same man they knew before.

"Uncle, I must say that I'm surprised by your behaviour."

Scrooge looked at Fred's smiling face for a long time.

"Yes, my dear nephew, I know it is. I was not a good uncle to you or your wife. In fact, I was not good at anything except making people miserable. But I saw something last night that changed my life, and I'm so happy I did."

Scrooge thought of Tiny Tim's words and said,

"Merry Christmas, everyone!"

The End.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 978