Ebenezer Scrooge woke up with a loud snore. He sat up in bed to collect his thoughts. He knew the church bell was almost at one o’clock. He wanted to be ready for the second spirit. He did not want the ghost to surprise him. He pulled back all the curtains of his bed and waited.
When the bell struck one, nothing happened. No ghost appeared. Ebenezer Scrooge began to tremble. A strange red light shone on his bed. This light was more frightening than a ghost because Ebenezer Scrooge did not know what it was. Finally, he thought the light came from the next room. He got up and walked slowly to the door.
A strange voice called his name and told him to enter. Ebenezer Scrooge obeyed. The room was his own room, but it looked very different. The walls and ceiling were covered with green leaves and bright berries. A very big fire was burning in the fireplace.
The floor was covered with a lot of food. There were turkeys, geese, meat, pigs, and long sausages. There were also cakes, apples, oranges, and pears. A happy Giant sat on a throne of this food. He held a glowing torch (a stick with a flame at the end).
"Come in!" the Ghost cried. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look at me!"
Ebenezer Scrooge looked at the Spirit. The Ghost wore a simple green robe with white fur. His feet were bare. He had a holly wreath on his head with shining icicles. He had a kind face and a happy voice. At his side, he had an old scabbard (a cover for a sword), but there was no sword in it. The scabbard was very rusty.
"You have never seen anyone like me," the Spirit said.
"Never," Ebenezer Scrooge answered.
The Spirit said he had more than eighteen hundred brothers. He meant the Christmas days of the past.
"Spirit," Ebenezer Scrooge said quietly. "Take me where you want. Last night I learned a lesson. Tonight I want to learn more."
"Touch my robe!" the Ghost said.
Ebenezer Scrooge held the Ghost's robe. Suddenly, the room and the food vanished. They stood in the city streets on Christmas morning. It was cold, but the people were happy. They were clearing snow from their houses. The sky was gray, but the town felt cheerful.
The shops were full of beautiful fruits and food. There were big baskets of chestnuts and bright Spanish onions. There were pyramids of apples and pears. The grocers were very busy. People were running and bumping into each other, but everyone was in a good mood.
Then the church bells rang. Many people walked to church in their best clothes. Many poor people carried their dinners to the baker's shop (poor people used the baker's oven to cook their meat). The Ghost and Ebenezer Scrooge stood in a doorway. The Ghost used his torch to sprinkle incense on the people's dinners.
When people argued in the street, the Ghost dropped a little water from his torch on them. Then the people became kind again. They said it was a shame to quarrel on Christmas Day.
"Is there a special taste in your torch?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"Yes. It is my own taste," the Ghost said.
"Is it for every dinner today?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"It is for any dinner given with kindness. It is for a poor dinner most of all," the Ghost said.
Then they went to the suburbs of the town. The Ghost went to the house of Bob Cratchit. The Spirit blessed the small house with his torch. Mrs. Cratchit, the wife of Bob Cratchit, was preparing dinner. She wore a poor dress, but she had pretty ribbons on it. Her daughter Belinda helped her. Her son Peter was cooking the potatoes.
Two smaller Cratchit children ran into the room. They shouted because they smelled the Christmas goose. Then Martha, the oldest daughter, came home. She worked for a person who made hats. She was very tired because she worked many hours.
"Where is your father?" Mrs. Cratchit asked. "And where is Tiny Tim?"
"Here is Father!" the children cried.
Bob Cratchit came in. He wore a very long white scarf. Tiny Tim sat on his shoulder. Tiny Tim was a cripple (a person who cannot walk well). He used a small crutch and had iron frames on his legs.
Martha hid behind the door to surprise her father. When Bob Cratchit did not see her, he was sad. Then Martha ran out and hugged him. Tiny Tim went to the wash-house to hear the Christmas pudding (a sweet, heavy cake) singing in the pot.
"How did Tiny Tim behave at church?" Mrs. Cratchit asked.
"He was as good as gold," Bob Cratchit said. "He told me he hoped people saw him. He wanted people to remember the stories of Jesus making the lame walk and the blind see." Bob Cratchit’s voice trembled because he loved his son very much.
Then the family prepared the dinner. Peter mashed the potatoes. Belinda sweetened the apple sauce. Martha dusted the plates. Finally, they put the goose on the table. It was a very small goose, but the family thought it was wonderful. They ate every bit of it.
Then Mrs. Cratchit brought in the pudding. It looked like a speckled cannon-ball. It was small for a large family, but no one said that. Every Cratchit was happy and grateful.
After dinner, the family sat around the fire. They ate apples and oranges and hot chestnuts. Bob Cratchit poured some hot drink for everyone.
"A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!" Bob Cratchit said.
"God bless us every one!" Tiny Tim said.
Tiny Tim sat very close to his father. Bob Cratchit held the boy’s thin hand. He wanted to keep Tim near him. He was afraid the boy would die.
"Spirit," Ebenezer Scrooge said. "Tell me if Tiny Tim will live."
"I see an empty chair," the Ghost said. "I see a crutch without an owner. If the future does not change, the child will die."
"No, no!" Ebenezer Scrooge said. "Kind Spirit, say he will live!"
"If he is going to die, he should do it," the Ghost said. "Then there will be fewer people in the world."
Ebenezer Scrooge hung his head. He was very sad to hear his own mean words.
"Mr. Scrooge!" Bob Cratchit said. "I want to drink to Mr. Scrooge. He is the owner of this feast!"
"The owner!" Mrs. Cratchit cried. She was angry. "He is a stingy and hard man. I drink to him only because it is Christmas."
The children drank the toast, but they were not happy to hear the name of Ebenezer Scrooge. He was like an ogre (a scary monster) to them.
But soon they were happy again. They talked about jobs for Peter and Martha. Tiny Tim sang a song in a sweet, sad voice. The Cratchits were not rich. Their clothes were old and their shoes had holes. But they were happy and loved each other.
It became dark and it started to snow. The Ghost and Ebenezer Scrooge walked through the streets. They saw many happy families. The Ghost was very happy to see people being kind.
They went to a cold and lonely moor (a large area of open land with no trees). Miners lived there in small huts. But even the miners were singing Christmas songs around a fire.
Then they went to a lighthouse in the middle of the sea. Two men lived there to watch the light. They joined their hard hands and wished each other "Merry Christmas."
Then they went to a ship on the dark ocean. Every sailor was humming a Christmas tune. Every man thought about his family. Everyone was kinder to each other on that day.
Suddenly, Ebenezer Scrooge heard a loud laugh. He was in the bright room of his nephew, Fred. Fred was laughing loudly. His wife and friends were laughing with him.
"He said Christmas was a humbug!" Fred cried.
"He is a funny old man," Fred said. "He is rich, but his money is no use to him. He does not help anyone. He is the only person who suffers."
Fred said he was sorry for his uncle. He wanted to invite him every year.
After tea, they played music. Fred’s wife played the harp. She played a song that Ebenezer Scrooge remembered from his childhood. He became very soft and sad. He thought that if he listened to that music more often, he might be a better man.
Then they played games. They played blind-man's buff (a game where one person has a cloth over their eyes and tries to catch others). A man named Topper tried to catch Fred’s sister. It was a very funny game.
They also played a game called "Yes and No." Fred thought of an animal. The others had to ask questions.
"Is it a savage animal?" someone asked.
"Yes," Fred said.
"Does it live in London?"
"Yes."
"Does it growl and grunt?"
"Yes."
Finally, Fred’s sister cried out, "I know what it is! It is your Uncle Scrooge!"
Everyone laughed. Fred said they should drink to Uncle Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge was very happy. He wanted to stay and play the games. But the Ghost said they must go. They visited many other homes. The Ghost stayed by sick beds and in prisons. He brought happiness everywhere.
The night was long. Ebenezer Scrooge noticed that the Ghost was growing older. His hair was now gray.
"Are spirits' lives so short?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"My life ends tonight at midnight," the Ghost said.
Ebenezer Scrooge saw something strange under the Ghost's robe. "Is that a foot or a claw?" he asked.
The Ghost opened his robe. There were two children. They were thin, hungry, and very ugly. They looked like monsters. They knelt at the Ghost's feet.
"Look at these children!" the Ghost cried.
"Are they yours?" Ebenezer Scrooge asked.
"They belong to Man," the Ghost said. "The boy is Ignorance (not knowing things). The girl is Want (being very poor). Beware of them both. But beware of the boy most of all."
"Do they have no help?" Ebenezer Scrooge cried.
"Are there no prisons?" the Ghost said. "Are there no workhouses?" He used the words of Ebenezer Scrooge again.
The bell struck twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present disappeared. Ebenezer Scrooge looked up. He saw a dark, quiet phantom coming toward him like a mist.