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Speaker 1: A Christmas carol, Stave five by Charles Dickens. The end

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of it, Yes, and the bedpost was his own, The

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bed was his own, the room was his own. Best

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and happiest of all the time before him was his

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own to make amends in. I will live in the past,

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the present, and the future, Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled

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out of bed. The spirits of all three shall strive

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within me. Oh, Jacob Marley, Heaven and the Christmas time

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be praised for this. I say it on my knees,

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Old Jacob, on my knees. He was so fluttered and

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so glowing with his good intentions that his broken voice

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would scarcely answer to his call. He had been sobbing

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violently in his conflict with the spirit, and his face

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was wet with tears. They are not torn down, cried Scrooge,

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folding one of his bed curtains in his arms. They

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are not torn down, rings and all they are here.

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I am here. The shadows of the things that would

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have been may be dispelled. They will be, I know

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they will. His hands were busy with his garments all

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this time, turning them inside out, putting them on upside down,

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tearing them, mislaying them, making them parties to every kind

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of extravagance. I don't know what to do, cried Scrooge,

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laughing and crying in the same breath, and making a

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perfect lacoon of himself with his stockings. I am as

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light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel,

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I am as merry as a schoolboy. I'm as giddy

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as a drunken man. Christmas to everybody, A Happy New

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Year to all the world. Hello here, whoop Hello. He

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had frisked into the sitting room and was now standing there,

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perfectly winded. There's the saucepan the gruel was in, cried Scrooge,

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starting off again and going round the fireplace. There's the

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door by which the ghost of Jacob Marley entered. There's

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the corner where the ghost of Christmas Present sat. There's

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the window where I saw the wandering spirits. It's all right,

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it's all true. It all happened, really for a man

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who had been out of practice for so many years.

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It was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh, the

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father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs. I

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don't know what day of the month, it is, Saidoge.

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I don't know how long I have been among the spirits.

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I don't know anything. I'm quite a baby. Oh never mind,

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I don't care. I'd rather be a baby. Hello, whoop Hello.

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Here he was checked in his transports by the churches,

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ringing out the lustiest peals he had ever heard. Clash, clash, hammer,

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ding dong, bell, bell dong, ding, hammer, clang, clash, Oh, glorious, glorious.

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Running to the window, he opened it and put out

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his head. No fog, no mist, clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold,

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cold piping for the blood to dance to golden sunlight,

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heavenly sky, sweet fresh air, merry bells. Oh, glorious, glorious.

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What's today? Cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in

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Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.

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Eh returned the boy with all his might of wonder.

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What's today, my fine fellow, said Scrooge today, replied the boy,

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why Christmas Day? It's Christmas Day, said Scrooge to himself.

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I haven't missed it. The spirits have done it all

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in one night, whom they can do anything they like.

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Of course, they can, of course they can. Hello, my

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fine fellow, Hello, returned the boy. Do you know the

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poulterers in the next street, but one at the corner,

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Scrooge inquired, I should hope I did, replied the lad.

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An intelligent boy, said Scrooge. A remarkable boy. Do you

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know whether they've sold the prize turkey that was hanging

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up there? Not the little prize turkey, the big one?

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What the one as big as me? Returned the boy.

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What a delightful boy, said Scrooge. It's a pleasure to

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talk to him. Yes, my buck, it's hanging there now,

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replied the boy, Is it, said Scrooge. Go and buy it, walker,

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exclaimed the boy. No, No, said Scrooge. I am in earnest.

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Go and buy it, and tell him to bring it

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here that I may give them the directions where to

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take it. Come back with the man and I'll give

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you a shilling. Come back with him in less than

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five minutes, and I'll give you half a crown. The

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boy was off like a shot. He must have had

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a steady hand at a trigger. Who could have got

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a shot off half so fast. I'll send it to

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Bob Cratchit's whispered Scrooge, rubbing his hands and splitting with

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a laugh. He shan't know who sends it. It's twice

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the size of tiny Tim Joe Miller never made such

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a joke as sending it to Bob's will be the

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hand in which he the address was not a steady one.

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But write it he did, somehow, and went downstairs to

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open the street door, ready for the coming of the

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polterer's man. As he stood there waiting his arrival, the

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knocker caught his eye. I shall love it as long

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as I live, cried Scrooge, patting it with his hand.

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I scarcely ever looked at it before. What an honest

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expression it has in its face. It's a wonderful knocker. Oh,

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here's the turkey. Hello, whoop, how are you merry Christmas?

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It was a turkey. He never could have stood upon

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his legs that bird. He would have snapped him short

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off in a minute, like sticks of sealing wax. Why

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it's impossible to carry that to Camden Town, said Scrooge.

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You must have a cab. The chuckle with which he

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said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for

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the turkey, and the chuckle with which he paid for

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the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the

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boy were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with

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which he sat down breathless in his chair again and

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chuckled till he cried. Shaving was not an easy task,

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for his hand continued to shake very much, and shaving

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requires attention, even when you don't dance while you're at it.

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But if he had cut the end of his nose off,

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he would have put a piece of sticking plaster over

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it and been quite satisfied. He dressed himself all in

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his best and at last got out into the streets.

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The people were by this time pouring forth as he

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had seen them, With the ghost of Christmas present, and

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walking with his hands behind him, Scrooge regarded every one

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with a delighted smile. He looked so irresistibly pleasant in

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a word, that three or four good humored fellows said,

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good morning, sir, am Maddy, Christmas to you. And Scrooge

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said often afterwards that of all the blithe sounds he

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had ever heard, these were the blithest. In his ears.

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He had not gone far, when coming on towards him,

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he beheld the portly gentleman who had walked into his

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counting house the day before, and said Scrooge and Mortley's

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I believe it sent a pang across his heart to

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think how this old gentleman would look upon him when

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they met. But he knew what path lay straight before him,

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and he took it. My dear sir, said Scrooge, quickening

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his pace and taking the old gentleman by both his hands.

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How do you do? I hope you succeeded yesterday. It

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was very kind of you. A merry Christmas to you, sir,

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mister Scrooge, Yes, said Scrooge. That is my name, and

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I fear it may not be pleasant to you. Allow

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me to ask your pardon, and will you have the

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goodness here? Scrooge whispered in his ear. Lord bless me,

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cried the gentleman, as if his breath were taken away.

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My dear mister Scrooge, are you serious, if you please,

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said Scrooge. Not a farthing less a great many back

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payments are included in it. I assure you will you

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do me that favor, My dear sir, said the other,

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shaking hands with him. I don't know what to say

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to such spoonefit. Don't say anything, please, retorted Scrooge. Come

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and see me, Will you come and see me? I will,

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cried the old gentleman, And it was clear he meant

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to do it. Thank'e, said Scrooge. I am much obliged

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to you. I thank you fifty times bless you. He

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went to church and walked about the streets and watched

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the people hurrying to and fro and patted the children

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on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into

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the kitchens of houses and up to the windows, and

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found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never

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dreamed that any walk, that anything, could give him so

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much happiness. In the afternoon, he turned his steps towards

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his nephew's house. He passed the door a dozen times

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before he had the courage to go up and knock,

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but he made a dash and did it. Is your

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master at home, my dear, said Scrooge to the girl.

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Nice girl, very yes, sir. Where is he, my love,

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said Scrooge. He's in the dining room, sir, along with mistress.

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I'll show you upstairs if you please. Well, thank'e, he

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knows me, said Scrooge. With his hand already on the

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dining room lock. I'll go in here, my dear. He

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turned it gently and sidled his face in round the door.

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They were looking at the table, which was spread out

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in great array. For his young housekeepers are always nervous

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on such points, and I like to see that everything

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is right, Fred, said Scrooge, dear heart alive. How his

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niece by marriage started. Scrooge had forgotten for the moment

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about her sitting on the corner with the footstool, or

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he wouldn't have done it on any account. Why, bless

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my soul, cried Fred, Who is that? It's I, your

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uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me?

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And Fred let him in? It's a mercy. He didn't

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shake his arm off. He was at home in five minutes.

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Nothing could be hardier. His niece looked just the same.

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So did Topper when he came. So did the plump

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sister when she came. So did everyone when they came.

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Wonderful party, wonderful games, wonderful unanimity, wonderful happiness. But he

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was early at the office next morning, Oh, he was

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early there. If he could only be there first and

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catch Bob cratch it coming late. That was the thing

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he had set his heart upon, and he did it. Yes,

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he did. The clock struck nine, No Bob. A quarter

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past No Bob. He was full eighteen minutes and a

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half behind his time. Scrooge sat with his door wide

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open that he might see him come into the tank.

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His hat was off before he opened the door. His

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comforter too. He was on his stool in a jiffy,

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driving away with his pen as if he were trying

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to overtake nine o'clock yello, growled Scrooge in his accustomed

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voice as near as he could feign it. What do

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you mean by coming here this time of day? I

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am very sorry, sir, said Bob. I am behind my time,

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you are, repeated Scrooge. Yes, I think you are. Step

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this way, sir, if you please. It's only once a year, sir,

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pleaded Bob, appearing from the tank. It shall not be repeated.

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I was making rather merry yesterday, sir. Now i'll tell

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you what's my friend, said Scrooge. I am not going

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to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore

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he continued leaping from his stool and giving Bob such

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a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into

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the tank again. And therefore I am about to raise

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your salary. Bob trembled and got a little nearer to

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the ruler. He had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge

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down with it, holding him and calling to the people

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in the court for help and a strait waistcoat. Ah,

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Merry Christmas, Bob, said Scrooge with an earnestness that could

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not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back.

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A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have

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given you for many a year. I'll raise your salary

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and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will

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discuss your affairs this very afternoon over a Christmas bowl

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of smoking Bishop Bob, make up the fires and buy

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another cold stuttle before you dot another eye, Bob cratchit.

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Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all

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and infinitely more. And to tiny Tim who did not die,

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he was a second father. He became as good a friend,

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as good a master, and as good a man as

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the good old City knew, or any other good old

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city town or borough in the good old world. Some

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people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he

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let them laugh, and little heeded them, for he was

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wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this

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globe for good, at which some people did not have

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their fill of laughter in the outset, And knowing that

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such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it

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quite as well they should wrinkle up their eyes and grins,

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as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own

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heart laughed, and that was quite enough for him. He

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had no further intercourse with spirits, but lived upon the

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total abstinence principle ever afterwards. And it was always said

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of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well.

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If any man alive possessed the knowledge, may that be

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truly said of us and all of us, And so

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as tiny Tim observed, God bless us every one and

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of a Christmas Carol Stave five by Charles Dickens