Ebenezer Scrooge woke up. It was very dark in his room. He heard the church bell nearby. The bell struck twelve times and then stopped. Twelve! Ebenezer Scrooge went to bed after two in the morning. He thought the clock was wrong. Perhaps an icicle (a pointed piece of ice) was inside the clock.
He looked at his own watch. It also said twelve. "It is not possible," Ebenezer Scrooge said. "I did not sleep for a whole day." He went to the window and rubbed the frost away. It was still foggy and very cold. No people were in the street. Ebenezer Scrooge went back to bed.
He thought about the Ghost of Jacob Marley. Was it a dream? Ebenezer Scrooge did not know. He decided to stay awake until one o’clock. The time passed very slowly. Finally, the bell made a deep and sad sound. It was one o'clock!
Suddenly, a bright light filled the room. Someone pulled the curtains of his bed. Ebenezer Scrooge sat up. He saw a strange visitor near him. It was a small figure like a child. But it also looked like an old man. Its hair was white, but its face was smooth.
The figure had long, strong arms. It wore a tunic (a long, white shirt) of the purest white. It had a beautiful belt. The visitor held a branch of green holly. Its dress had summer flowers on it. But the strangest thing was the light. A bright light came from the top of its head.
The figure had an extinguisher-cap (a metal cap used to put out the light of a candle). It held this cap under its arm. The figure also changed shape often. Sometimes it had one leg, then twenty legs. Then it was clear again.
"Are you the Spirit?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"I am!" the Spirit said in a soft, gentle voice.
"Who are you?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past," the Spirit said.
"Whose past?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"Your past," the Spirit replied.
The Spirit put out a strong hand. It took Ebenezer Scrooge by the arm. "Rise and walk with me!" the Spirit said. Ebenezer Scrooge was afraid. He was only wearing his dressing-gown and slippers. It was very cold outside. He was also afraid of falling.
"I am a mortal (a human who can die)," Ebenezer Scrooge said. "I will fall."
The Spirit put a hand on the heart of Ebenezer Scrooge. "I will hold you," the Spirit said. They walked through the wall of the house.
Suddenly, they stood on an open country road. The city was gone. The fog was gone too. It was a clear, cold winter day with snow. Ebenezer Scrooge looked around him. He began to cry. "I was a boy here!" he cried.
Ebenezer Scrooge smelled the air. He remembered many old thoughts and joys. "Your lip is trembling," the Spirit said. "What is on your cheek?" Ebenezer Scrooge said it was a pimple. He asked the Spirit to lead him.
They walked along the road. Ebenezer Scrooge knew every tree and gate. They saw a small town with a church and a river. Some boys on ponies rode toward them. They shouted to other boys in carts. All the boys were very happy. They shouted "Merry Christmas" to each other.
"These are only shadows of the past," the Spirit said. "They cannot see us."
Ebenezer Scrooge was very happy to see them. His heart jumped. But then the Spirit spoke again. "The school is not empty," the Spirit said. "One lonely child is still there." Ebenezer Scrooge knew the boy and he cried.
They went to a large, old house made of red brick. It was the school. Inside, the walls were damp and cold. They went into a long, empty room. A lonely boy sat at a desk near a small fire. He was reading a book. Ebenezer Scrooge sat down and wept. He saw his younger self.
The boy was reading about Ali Baba and Robinson Crusoe. Ebenezer Scrooge remembered his imaginary friends. He was excited to see them. But then he felt sad again. He thought about the boy who sang a carol at his door. "I wish I gave him something," Ebenezer Scrooge said.
The Spirit smiled and said, "Let us see another Christmas!"
The room became older and dirtier. The boy grew a little larger. He was alone again because the other boys went home. Then the door opened. A little girl named Fan ran into the room. She was much younger than the boy.
Fan put her arms around his neck. "I have come to bring you home!" she cried. She told him that their father was much kinder now. The father sent a carriage to get him. "We will be together all Christmas!" Fan said happily.
"You are a woman now, little Fan!" the boy said.
They left the school happily. "Fan was a delicate creature," the Spirit said. "But she had a big heart."
"She did," Ebenezer Scrooge said. "You are right."
"She died as a woman," the Spirit said. "She had a child."
"Yes," Ebenezer Scrooge said. "My nephew, Fred."
Then they were in a busy city. It was evening and there were many shops. The Spirit stopped at a warehouse (a large building for keeping goods).
"Do you know this place?" the Spirit asked.
"I worked here!" Ebenezer Scrooge cried.
They went inside. An old man in a wig sat at a high desk.
"It is old Fezziwig!" Ebenezer Scrooge said. "He is alive again!"
Old Fezziwig looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock.
"No more work to-night!" Fezziwig shouted. "It is Christmas Eve!"
Young Ebenezer Scrooge and his friend Dick Wilkins cleared the floor. They made the room warm and bright. A fiddler came and played music. Mrs. Fezziwig and her daughters came in. Many other people came to the party too.
They danced and played games. There was cake and meat and beer. Everyone was very happy. At eleven o'clock, the party ended. Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig said "Merry Christmas" to everyone. Young Ebenezer Scrooge and Dick went to their beds.
The Spirit looked at Ebenezer Scrooge. "Fezziwig only spent a little money," the Spirit said. "Why do these people thank him so much?"
"It is not about money!" Ebenezer Scrooge said. "He had the power to make us happy. A kind word or a look can be very important."
Then Ebenezer Scrooge thought about his own clerk, Bob Cratchit. "I want to say a word to my clerk now," he said. But the vision changed.
Ebenezer Scrooge saw himself again. He was older now. He was a man in his prime. But his face looked greedy. He was sitting next to a young woman named Belle. She was crying.
"You love something else more than me," Belle said.
"What do I love more?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"A golden idol (an object that people love or worship too much)," she said. "You only care about money now."
Belle said they were different people now. She decided to leave him. "I release you from our promise," she said. She was very sad. "May you be happy in the life you have chosen." She walked away.
"Spirit! Show me no more!" Ebenezer Scrooge cried.
"One more shadow!" said the Spirit.
"No! I do not want to see it!" Ebenezer Scrooge shouted.
But the Spirit held him. They were in a room full of comfort. A beautiful girl was there. She looked like Belle. Then Ebenezer Scrooge saw Belle. She was an older mother now. The room was full of children. They were very noisy and happy.
The father came home with many Christmas gifts. The children shouted with joy. Ebenezer Scrooge watched them. He thought, "I could be a father too. This could be my life." He felt very sad.
Then the father spoke to Belle. "I saw an old friend of yours today," the father said.
"Who was it?" Belle asked.
"Mr. Scrooge," the husband said. "He was alone in his office. His partner, Jacob Marley, is dying. Mr. Scrooge is quite alone in the world."
"Spirit! Remove me from this place!" Ebenezer Scrooge cried. He could not bear the pain. He turned toward the Ghost. He saw all the faces of the people from the past in the Ghost's face.
Ebenezer Scrooge saw the light on the Ghost's head. It was very bright. He grabbed the extinguisher-cap. He pressed the cap down hard on the Ghost’s head. The Ghost disappeared under the cap. But the light stayed on the ground like a flood of water.
Ebenezer Scrooge felt very tired. He was back in his own bedroom. He climbed into his bed and fell into a deep sleep.