A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A Ghost Story of Christmas

by Charles Dickens

Preface

This is a little ghost story.
I hope it makes you smile.
I hope it makes you feel warm.
I hope you like this ghost.

Your friend,
C. D.
December, 1843.

Stave I: Marley's Ghost

Marley was dead.
This is very true.
The papers said so.
The priest signed the papers.
The clerk signed too.
So did Scrooge.
Scrooge was Marley's friend at work.
Old Marley was very dead.

Scrooge knew Marley was dead.
Of course he knew.
They worked together for many years.
Scrooge took care of everything after Marley died.
Even so, Scrooge went back to work that same day.
He made a good deal on the day of the funeral.

This is important to remember.
Marley was dead.
If we forget this, the story will not make sense.

Scrooge never changed the sign.
It still said "Scrooge and Marley."
People called Scrooge by both names.
He did not mind.

Scrooge was not a nice man.
He was mean with money.
He was hard, like a rock.
He never gave warmth to anyone.
He was cold, even in summer.
He did not get warmer at Christmas.

No weather bothered Scrooge.
He was colder than snow.
He was harder than ice.

No one stopped to say hello to him.
No children asked him for the time.
Even dogs stayed away from him.

But Scrooge did not care.
He liked being alone.
He liked keeping people away.

One Christmas Eve, Scrooge sat in his office.
It was cold outside.
It was foggy too.
People walked by, stamping their feet to stay warm.
It was dark, even though it was still afternoon.

Scrooge's clerk worked in a small, cold room nearby.
His fire was tiny.
Scrooge kept all the coal in his own room.
The clerk tried to warm his hands on a candle.
It did not work very well.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle!" said a happy voice.
It was Scrooge's nephew.
His cheeks were red from the cold.
He was smiling.

"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!"

"Christmas is not humbug, Uncle," said the nephew.

"Yes, it is," said Scrooge.
"Why should you be merry? You are poor."

"Why should you be gloomy?" said the nephew.
"You are rich."

Scrooge just said, "Bah! Humbug!" again.

"Don't be cross, Uncle," said the nephew.

"How can I not be cross," said Scrooge,
"in a world full of silly people?
Christmas is just a time for spending money you don't have.
If I had my way, every person who said 'Merry Christmas'
would learn a hard lesson!"

"Please, Uncle," said the nephew.

"Keep Christmas your way," said Scrooge.
"I will keep it my way."

"But you don't keep it at all," said the nephew.

The nephew said Christmas was a good time.
It was a time for kindness.
It was a time when people were nice to each other.
He said Christmas never gave him money.
But it made him happy.
He said, "God bless Christmas!"

The clerk in the next room clapped quietly.
Then he felt embarrassed.
He poked the fire instead.

"Say one more word," Scrooge told the clerk,
"and you will lose your job!"

Scrooge's nephew invited him to dinner.
"Come eat with us tomorrow," he said.

Scrooge said no.
He said no in a very rude way.

"Why won't you come?" asked the nephew.

"Why did you get married?" asked Scrooge.

"Because I fell in love," said the nephew.

"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Good afternoon."

The nephew tried again.
"We never argued before," he said.
"I only wanted to be friends.
Merry Christmas, Uncle!"

"Good afternoon," said Scrooge.

"And Happy New Year!"

"Good afternoon," said Scrooge.

The nephew left without getting angry.
On his way out, he wished the clerk a merry Christmas too.
The clerk was cold, but he was warmer than Scrooge.
He wished the nephew a merry Christmas back.

"There's another one," Scrooge grumbled.
"My clerk has hardly any money.
He has a wife and children.
And he still talks about a merry Christmas."

As the nephew left, two other men came in.
They were kind-looking gentlemen.
They carried books and papers.
They bowed to Scrooge.

"Is this Scrooge and Marley's?" one man asked.

"Marley died seven years ago," said Scrooge.
"He died on this very night."

"We are collecting money for poor people," said the man.
"Many people do not have food or warm homes."

"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.

"Yes, there are prisons," said the man.

"And workhouses?" asked Scrooge.
"Are th—"