CHAPTER ONE

The Ghost of Jacob Marley

Good reader, to begin our story, you must understand that Jacob Marley was dead. There is no doubt at all about this fact. At Marley's funeral, all the important papers, which said that Marley was dead, were signed by the churchmen and the only other person at the funeral. There was no family at this funeral, for old Marley had no family. And he only had one friend. That friend was Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge signed the funeral papers, and Scrooge's name was very well known and respected in the city. So if Scrooge said that Marley was dead, then Marley was dead! Truthfully, old Marley was as dead as the nail in a door.

Now listen! I don't want to say that I know, or that I can imagine what a "dead" doornail is like. Doornails are not alive, of course. Perhaps the nails in a coffin, which hold the lid down, are deader than a doornail would be. But the expression "dead as a door nail" comes from our old ancestors, who were very wise, of course. My simple mind should not challenge the wisdom of our ancestors. Otherwise, terrible things would surely happen to the country of England! So, good reader, you will allow me to say once again that Jacob Marley was as dead as a doornail.

Of course, Scrooge knew that Marley was dead. How could Scrooge not know? You see, Scrooge and Marley were partners for many, many years. Scrooge was a lawyer, and he was Marley's only friend and the only person at the funeral, besides the churchmen. Do not think that Scrooge was sad that Marley had died. On the day of the funeral, Scrooge was a man of business, and signed the papers quickly, the way a lawyer should.

Talking about Marley's funeral reminds me of the beginning of our story. There is no doubt that old Marley was dead. I know that I have said this many times, and the reader is thinking, "when will he stop repeating himself!" But this fact has to be understood first, or the reader will not appreciate the rest of this amazing story. So, Marley was dead, but Scrooge was still alive.

Scrooge did not remove Marley's name from the sign outside their office door. For many years after this, the sign said "Scrooge and Marley, Lawyers," even though there was no Marley. Sometimes customers who had just come to London called Scrooge "Marley", and sometimes they called him Scrooge. Scrooge answered to both names; he did not care. Scrooge did not care about anything at all.

The other important thing that the reader must understand, at the beginning of our story, is that Ebenezer Scrooge was a horrible person. He was a cruel, angry, unhappy, greedy, bitter, clever, sour old man. He was like a hard knife, with a sharp edge, that cut people until they bled. There was no warmth in his body, in his mind, or in his heart. He was always alone, and he wanted to be alone. The coldness and anger inside his heart made his body look very strange. Sometimes, when people passed the old Scrooge on the street, they thought that he looked as if he had been frozen. They always remembered Ebenezer Scrooge, but they did not like the memory. His long, thin nose was red, his thin lips were blue, and his small eyes were as blue as ice. He walked slowly, and his face always had the same sour, angry expression. He always wore a coat, even if it was a beautiful spring day. His voice was as cold as a bitter wind, and unpleasant to listen to. Scrooge seemed to like the cold. He never warmed his office or his house at all, even in the coldest days of the year, or on Christmas!

This is because Scrooge did not care whether it was cold or hot outside. No cold winter could make him cold, and no warm summer day could make him warm. This is because nothing was colder and bitterer than old Scrooge himself. The heaviest, coldest rains and snows in London were better than Scrooge, because they were nicer to look at.

When Ebenezer Scrooge walked the streets of London, you would never see a person come near him and say, "My good friend Scrooge, it's wonderful to see you! How are you today? And when will you come to visit me?" No beggars asked him for money, and no children asked him what time it was. No one ever asked Scrooge the directions to this or that place. Even the dogs of London wanted to stay away from him.

But did Scrooge care? Of course not! This was the sort of treatment he liked. Scrooge wanted to live his life alone. He wanted everyone to stay away from him. The more afraid they were, the better it was!

It was Christmas Eve. Instead of sitting at home next to a nice, warm fire, old Scrooge sat working in his office. Outside it was terribly cold, with a heavy fog. Scrooge could hear the people in the streets laughing and talking. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, but it had been dark all day, and people were lighting candles inside their homes. The fog was so thick that it sat in the streets, and people could not see their friends standing next to them. The air seemed like it was filled with ghosts.

Inside Scrooge's building, the door to his office was open, so that he could watch his clerk, whose name was Bob Crachit, and make sure that he was working hard. Bob was sitting in a dark little room and copying letters. Scrooge's office had one small fire, but Bob's room was so much smaller that it could not keep a mouse warm. But Bob could not build a bigger fire, because Scrooge kept all the coal in his office and would not share it. So the clerk had to wear his thin coats, and try to warm himself with a candle at his desk. Of course, this was impossible.

Suddenly Scrooge and Bob heard a cheerful voice. "Merry Christmas, uncle, and God bless you!" someone said. It was Scrooge's nephew, who had suddenly run into the building.

"Oh, be quiet!" said Scrooge. "Christmas is stupid!"

Scrooge's nephew had walked so quickly through the snow and fog that his cheeks were red, and his skin seemed to glow. His face was handsome, and his eyes sparkled happily.

"Christmas is stupid?" said the nephew. "Surely you're not serious, dear uncle!"

"I am serious," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas? What right do you have to be merry? What reason do you have to be merry? You're poor, you don't have any money!"

"Oh, uncle!" said the nephew cheerfully. "What right do you have to be angry? What reason do you have to be unhappy? You're rich!"

Scrooge did not know what to say to this, so he said "Bah!" in an angry way, and tried to continue his work.

"Don't be angry, uncle!" said the nephew.

"Why shouldn't I be angry," Scrooge almost shouted, "when I live in a world of fools? Merry Christmas? I don't have any use for Christmas! It's only a time to pay more bills, and find myself a year older, and not any wiser, and not any richer! I always find that I haven't done enough work, and there are more papers to read, and sign. If I was the king of this country, every man who walked around saying 'Merry Christmas' like a fool would be cooked just like a Christmas turkey!"

"Uncle, that's terrible!" cried Scrooge's nephew.

"Nephew!" said Scrooge firmly. "You celebrate Christmas in your way, and let me celebrate it in my way!"

"But you don't celebrate it," said the nephew.

"Well, let me leave Christmas alone, then!" said Scrooge. "It's a ridiculous holiday! Just like all holidays! I don't know why you think it's so wonderful. You don't make any money during holidays!"

"I believe that all holidays are good, uncle, even though I do not make any money on those days. You are right," said the nephew slowly. "Christmas is a very poor time of the year for me. But I have always thought of Christmas time as a wonderful, happy time of the year. It is a time to be with family, and friends, and to give to the poor. It is the only time of the year when men and women are happy to open their hearts and be joyful. So, uncle, even though I do not make any money on Christmas, I believe that it is wonderful! So I say, God bless Christmas!"

Bob Crachit, the clerk, began to clap and cheer at the nephew's speech. But then he realized that Scrooge would be angry with him, so he quickly turned around and tried to work.

"You, Bob Crachit! If I hear another sound from you, you'll celebrate your Christmas by losing your job!" Scrooge shouted. Then he looked at his nephew. "You're a very powerful speaker. I'm surprised you aren't interested in politics!"

"Don't be angry with me, dear uncle. Come and eat dinner with us tomorrow!"

"Nephew," said Scrooge, his face turning red, "I'd rather eat dinner with you in Hell first!"

"But why?" cried the nephew. "Are you angry with me for getting married?"

"Why did you get married, nephew?" asked Scrooge.

"Because I fell in love, of course!" said the nephew.

"Because you fell in love?" shouted Scrooge, as if this was the most ridiculous thing in the world, besides Christmas. "Goodbye!"

"Uncle, you never told me you didn't agree with my marriage. Why don't you come and dine with my wife and I?"

"Good afternoon! Goodbye!" said Scrooge.

"I don't want anything from you. I am not asking you to do anything for me. Why can't we be friends?"

"Go away!" said Scrooge.

"Uncle, I am sorry with all my heart to see you so angry. We have never had any quarrel before. I hope I haven't done something to offend you. But I really believe in the spirit of Christmas, so I will say it again. Merry Christmas, uncle! And God bless you! And a happy New Year too!"

"Leave my office this minute!" shouted Scrooge.

His nephew left him. He wasn't angry with his uncle. He knew what kind of a man Scrooge was, but he was always nice to him anyway. The nephew told Bob Crachit, the clerk, that he hoped he would have a good Christmas. Of course, this clerk was a much nicer man than Scrooge, because he said, "Merry Christmas to you, too, sir!" very softly so that Scrooge couldn't hear. But Scrooge did hear.

"There's another man," thought Scrooge, "who is a stupid fool, just like my nephew. He only makes 15 shillings a week for money, and he has a wife and family. And he talks about a Merry Christmas! I'm going to leave the country!"

Unfortunately it seemed that Scrooge was not going to have a peaceful afternoon. Immediately after his nephew left, the door opened and two other men walked in. They were well-dressed men, and they took their hats off and stood in Scrooge's office. They had many books and papers in their hands, and they bowed to Scrooge.

"This office is Scrooge and Marley's, isn't it?" said one of the gentlemen, looking at a paper. "And are you Mr Scrooge, or Mr Marley, good sir?"

"Mr Marley has been dead for seven years," said Scrooge. "He died seven years ago, on this very night!"

"Well, I am sure that you will be able to help us, Mr Scrooge," said the other gentlemen.

When the man said the word "help," Scrooge looked angry, because he did not like to help people. "Who are you?" he asked the gentlemen.

"At this happy time of the year, Mr Scrooge," said one of the men, "it is very important to help the poor and needy people of our city. Many thousands of people need basic things like food, clothing, and shelter. During Christmas, these poor people may also enjoy a few special things, such as small toys for their children. Some of us are trying to raise money to help these people. Would you give some money to help the poor at Christmas?"

Here were more people bothering him about Christmas! "Gentlemen, I want to be left alone," said Scrooge. "I don't celebrate Christmas, so I won't help other people celebrate Christmas. If they're poor and lazy, then that is their own fault."

"But sir! Many people die in the cold at this time of year!" said one of the men angrily.

"Well, the population of this country is too big. A few deaths won't hurt!" said Scrooge.

These two gentlemen thought that they had never met anyone as horrible as old Scrooge, but they said nothing. Instead they turned around and left the building, without another word. Scrooge returned to his work. He was very pleased with himself for having made the troublesome gentlemen leave.

Outside, it became darker and colder. Men with carriages and horses ran around in the streets, offering to take people to their homes. People could barely see in the fog. Near Scrooge's building there was an old church with a large clock on its tower. This clock could not be seen because of the fog, but the hours passed quickly. In the small, dark streets, some people had built a large fire and were standing around it, their faces red from the heat. Poor men and boys in thin clothes were warming their hands and bodies near the fire, and eating the hot baked nuts that were sold in the streets. Sometimes this was the only food they had all day. The food shops were warm and bright, and filled with people buying foods for the Christmas dinner the next day. In his large, beautiful house, the mayor of London was ordering his fifty cooks to make an enormous Christmas dinner for his many guests. In houses all over London, men were making Christmas sweets while their wives went out to buy the beef.

A group of young boys knocked at Scrooge's door. They were singing Christmas songs to people, in exchange for a little money. When Scrooge opened the door, the boys immediately began to sing a Christmas song. But Scrooge looked so mean and horrible standing there, that the boys immediately ran away. "I'd rather sing for the devil!" said one boy.

When it was time for Scrooge to go home, he locked his office door and went into the room where Bob Crachit was working. He was feeling especially mean and angry, because people had been bothering him about Christmas. He hated Christmas and everything about it!

"Well, Crachit, you'll probably want to stay home tomorrow, won't you!" said Scrooge.

"Yes, sir, if it's convenient for you," said Bob Crachit.

"Well, it isn't convenient for me! And it's not fair. Why should I give you a day's salary, if you are not working?" Scrooge said angrily.

The clerk did not know what to say. "It's only once a year, sir," he said.

"So what, I don't care! That's no reason for robbing me of my money, every December 25th!" said Scrooge, putting on his coat. "All right, you can stay home tomorrow. But be here early the next morning!"

Bob Crachit promised that he would, and Scrooge left without another word. The office of Scrooge and Marley was closed, and the clerk and Scrooge went in different directions. Bob Crachit stopped to say hello to the boys on the street, because it was Christmas. Then he ran home, thinking happily of his wife and children, and the next day. At least he would get to spend Christmas with his family! Scrooge went and had dinner at his usual restaurant, and read the newspapers while he ate. He did not speak to anyone, of course, and no one spoke to him. After dinner he sat at the table reading his papers and books for a while, and then walked home.

Scrooge lived in a building that had once belonged to old Jacob Marley. It was a very dark and frightening old building, and most of the rooms inside were offices. But there were a few rooms that Scrooge lived in. It was so dark and foggy outside that Scrooge had to walk very slowly, with his hands in front of him, so that he would not bump into something and fall down. Finally he saw the building where he lived. It had a tall black gate around it, and its door was tall and red, and it had an extremely large, round doorknob in its center.

Now, there was nothing at all strange about the doorknob on this door, except that it was larger than many others. Scrooge saw it every day, and he never paid attention to it. After all, all doors had doorknobs! It is also true that Scrooge did not have an imagination. Even when he was a little boy, he had not had one. The reader must also understand that since Scrooge had spoken to the visiting gentlemen earlier that day, he had not thought about Marley once. Truthfully, in the past seven years, Scrooge had not thought about Marley at all. So, dear reader, it was extremely strange that, when Scrooge went to open the door to his house, he saw that the doorknob had changed into Marley's face.

Marley's face. The pale, cold moon appeared from behind the clouds, and shone on the doorknob, and Scrooge saw very clearly the face of old dead Marley where the doorknob used to be. The face was not angry or fierce looking. Its eyes, nose, and mouth were Marley's. Scrooge noticed the eyes most. Marley's wide eyes were staring at Scrooge, and they did not move or blink. There was a look of fear in them.

As Scrooge stared at this strange vision, it became a doorknob again. The face was gone.

Now, it would be untrue to say that Scrooge was not surprised, or that he was not aware of a strange, terrible feeling in his heart. Other men would call this feeling "fear". But Scrooge had never been afraid of anything before, so he entered the house as usual. He lit a candle to see with.

He did stop for a moment, and look at the doorknob again cautiously, as if he expected to see the terrible face of his old partner staring at him. But there was nothing there. "Bother!" Scrooge said, and closed the door loudly. The loud sound echoed through the cold, dark rooms of the building, but Scrooge was not the sort of person who is afraid of the dark. He took his small candle and walked up the stairs to his rooms. It was so dark that many lamps wouldn't have lit the house, so Scrooge's little candle did not do any good.

Scrooge didn't care. He preferred the dark. But before he went to bed he walked through his rooms, making sure that everything was all right. He had not quite forgotten the face in the door!

Everything in the rooms was normal. There was no one hiding under the table or the bed. There was a small fire in the fireplace, and a little bowl of medicine next to the bed, because Scrooge had a cold. In the bedroom, the sitting room, and the room where the firewood was kept, everything was quiet and ordinary looking. Scrooge's sleeping clothes were hung up in the closet, and his slippers were by the bed. Very satisfied, Scrooge shut the door that separated his rooms from the rest of the building. But he locked himself in, which was not his custom. Then he went into the sitting room and sat down by the fire.

It was an extremely small fire, and it was useless on such a cold night. Scrooge had to lean over it before he began to feel any warmth. The light from the fire made shadows on the walls of the dark room. As Scrooge sat there, he could not help but remember Marley's strange and terrible face looking at him from the door. It seemed to Scrooge that the face kept appearing in the shadows. "Bah!" said Scrooge, and walked around the room a few times.

When he sat down again, Scrooge happened to look at a bell that hung on the wall. It was an old bell that had not been used for some time. As Scrooge stared at the bell, he was horrified to see it begin to move by itself, swinging back and forth slowly! At first the bell rang softly, but the sound grew louder and louder until it seemed to Scrooge that the whole house was filled with the sound of bells!

Scrooge did not know how long the terrible bells rang, because he had run to his bed and put pillows over his ears. But after a while the sound of the bells grew softer and softer until it was gone. "What is going on in here?" said Scrooge angrily, but his body was shaking and his face was pale.

But the strange sounds weren't over yet. After the bells had stopped ringing, Scrooge heard an even louder sound that came from down below, on the first floor. It seemed as though someone was dragging many long, heavy metal chains around the floor. Scrooge had heard that ghosts often wore heavy chains. The sound of the chains grew louder and louder—the person was walking up the stairs!

"Ridiculous!" said Scrooge. "This isn't happening!"

His face grew even paler, though, when the person passed through Scrooge's door—without opening it—and walked loudly into the room!

"I know him! It's Marley's ghost!" Scrooge thought, but he was too shocked to say anything! He could see through the ghost's body, but Scrooge was sure that it was Marley's ghost. The ghost's clothes and hair were the same as Marley's were seven years earlier. The ghost wore a heavy chain wrapped around his body. The chain was covered with many locks and heavy metal boxes.

The room had become as cold as ice, and the ghost was standing there in front of him. His eyes saw it clearly. Scrooge observed everything about this ghost, but still he did not believe what he was seeing. He decided to speak to the ghost, to see if it would answer.

"Well, well! I don't like evening visitors when I'm trying to go to bed!" said Scrooge, as loud and angry as always. "What do you want? I didn't invite you here!"

"Many things!" said the ghost. It was Marley's voice.

"Who are you?" said Scrooge.

"Who am I? Ask me who I was, when I was a living man," said the ghost.

"Oh, all right. You're very particular, for a ghost!" said Scrooge. "Who were you, when you were alive?"

"In life, I was Jacob Marley, your partner," said the ghost.

"Well ... can you sit down?" asked Scrooge. He was wondering if a ghost could sit down in a chair, and he wanted to see.

"I can," said the ghost.

"Do it, then!" said Scrooge. He was trying to act as if everything was normal.

The ghost sat down on the edge of a chair, looking at Scrooge all the time. "I don't think you believe in me," said the ghost calmly.

"You're right—I don't believe in you!" said Scrooge.

"Well, can you prove that I am not real?" said the ghost.

"Well ... no, I can't!" said Scrooge angrily. He didn't want to look at the ghost's face. The ghost's face was so horrible, and its large eyes never blinked. The ghost was staring at him, and Scrooge felt colder and colder.

"Do you see this toothpick, ghost?" said Scrooge. He wanted to make the ghost look at something besides himself.

"I do see it," said the ghost. The ghost was still staring at him.

"But you aren't looking at it!" said Scrooge.

"But I see it, anyway. I see everything!" said the ghost, and gave a terrible cry. It shook its chains, and the sound was terrible! Scrooge felt as if his blood was turning to ice. He fell to the floor on his knees, putting his hands over his ears.

"Man of the living world!" said the ghost. "Do you believe in me, or not?"

"Yes!" said Scrooge. "I do! I must believe in you, ghost. But why do ghosts walk the earth, and why do they come to me? Why are you here?"

"It is required that each man should be good to other men. But if he is not, when he dies that man's spirit is doomed to walk the earth forever, and see all the happiness that he might have had in life, and cannot ever have again! Oh, pity me!" said the ghost, and gave another terrible cry. It shook its loud, heavy chains and waved its hands in the air, as if it was very upset.

"Why are you wearing those terrible chains, ghost?" asked Scrooge.

"After I died, I had to wear the chains that I made for myself in life," said the ghost. "I made these chains little by little. I built them piece by piece, until they were as long, cold, and heavy as they are now. It was my choice to build these chains. Surely, they are familiar to you?"

At first Scrooge did not understand what the ghost meant. But as he looked more closely at the chains, he saw that there were many heavy moneyboxes hanging on them. They were the same kind of boxes that Scrooge kept his money in. Scrooge trembled.

"And would you like to know," said the ghost, "the weight and length of the terrible chain you are building for yourself, right now, this very minute? Seven years ago, on the Christmas Eve of my death, your chain was as full and heavy as this. For seven long years, you have continued to build it. Just think how heavy it must be now. It is waiting for you!"

Very upset and afraid, Scrooge glanced around him, almost expecting to see his body covered with terrible heavy chains like the ghost's.

"Jacob, old friend!" cried Scrooge. "What is the meaning of this? I don't understand. Do you have anything good to tell me?"

"No!" said the ghost. "I have only bad news to bring you. And I cannot tell you everything I would like to. I can only stay here for a short time. My curse is that I must walk the world, never resting! When I was alive, my mind never left our office. I was always thinking of money, and more ways to become rich. Now I must roam the world, never stopping!"

Whenever Scrooge was thinking hard about something, he always put his hands in his pockets. He did this now, and said quietly, "You must travel very slowly, Jacob."

"What do you mean?" said the ghost.

"Well, you have been dead for seven years. Have you been traveling all this time?" asked Scrooge.

"Yes! No rest, no peace. I live in regret!" cried the ghost, and gave another terrible cry. It moved its chain so loudly that Scrooge's ears hurt. "Even though I am sad and sorry now, I can not have the opportunities I missed when I was alive!"

"But you were a good man of business, Jacob," said Scrooge. He was thinking of himself as he said this.

"A good man of business? Perhaps, but I did not understand what my true purpose on this earth really was! My real business was to help all mankind, through good deeds. That was my real business! But all I thought about was money. How selfish I was! I should have paid more attention!" cried the ghost. It moved its chains and sighed loudly.

"My pain is the worst at this time of year, Christmas time. Like you, I believed that Christmas was ridiculous. I never had a kind word or a thought to give to anyone at this time of year. I did not give to the poor, and I thought only of myself and my money. I did not care about anything, at Christmas time, or any other time! If I had, I might have been saved!" Scrooge saw that tears were falling down the ghost's face.

"Now listen to me!" said the ghost. "My time here is nearly gone."

"I'm listening, Jacob! Please, have pity on me!" cried Scrooge. He wondered what terrible thing the ghost was about to tell him.

"I have sat next to you for many days and nights, watching you. It is a terrible part of my punishment. You have never been able to see me, but tonight you can. The reason for that, I cannot tell you."

When he thought of Jacob Marley's terrible ghost watching him all the time, Scrooge felt even more afraid.

"I have come here tonight to warn you. You have one chance and hope left of escaping my punishment when you die. I have come to try and help you."

"You were always a good friend, Jacob," said Scrooge. "Thank you!"

"Ebenezer Scrooge," said the ghost, "you are going to be visited by three Spirits!"

"Three Spirits?" said Scrooge. He did not want to see any more ghosts. "Well ... I think I'd rather not see any more spirits!"

"Without their visits," said the ghost, "you will become just like me, as I am now. The first Spirit will arrive tomorrow morning, at one o'clock."

"Couldn't I just see them all at once? Wouldn't that be faster?" asked Scrooge.

"Silence!" cried the ghost in a terrible voice. Scrooge fell on his knees again. "The second Spirit will arrive on the second night, at the same time. And the third Spirit will arrive on the third night, at midnight. Now, you will see me no more. And if you want to escape my fate, remember me, Ebenezer Scrooge! Remember what I have said!"

Then the ghost picked up its chains. He stared at Scrooge for another long minute, and then slowly began to walk towards the window. Scrooge saw the window begin to open by itself. When the ghost reached the window; it turned around and motioned with its hand for Scrooge to follow. When Scrooge was only a few feet away from the ghost, it raised its hand for him to stop. Scrooge was surprised and afraid to hear strange noises in the air, words and cries of pain and regret. Were there other ghosts in the room?

Jacob Marley's ghost floated out of the window. When Scrooge went to the window to watch it leave, he saw an amazing sight. Many ghosts floated in the air, and they all wore long, terrible chains. Many of the ghosts had once been people Scrooge knew! They were the ghosts of other lawyers and businessmen. All of them cried out in terrible pain and sadness. Scrooge realized that all the ghosts were unhappy because they had never been good and kind in life. Now that they were dead, they had lost their chance.

Scrooge watched the ghosts fade into the mist and fog. The last thing he heard was the voice of Jacob Marley's ghost crying out together with all the others.

Scrooge closed the window and made sure that all the doors were locked. He did not know why he did this, because if any ghost wanted to visit him, a locked door or a closed window would not keep it out! Scrooge tried to say, "Bah!" in his loud and angry voice, but he could not speak. He was shaking too much, and his voice was only a whisper. He suddenly felt extremely sleepy and tired. It was late, and he had had a strange, frightening evening. All he wanted to do was sleep, and forget the ghost of Jacob Marley. Scrooge undressed, climbed into bed, and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

(end of section)