Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with a happy smile, ‘My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?’ No poor man asked him for money,no children asked him the time, no man or woman ever,in all his life, asked him the way. Animals as well as people
were afraid of him. Dogs used to hide in doorways when
they saw him coming. But what did Scrooge care! It was
just what he wanted. He liked being on the edge of people’s
busy lives, while warning everyone to keep away from
him.
One Christmas Eve, old Scrooge was working busily in
his office. It was cold, frosty, foggy weather. Outside it
was already dark, although it was only three o’clock in
the afternoon, and there were candles in all the office
windows. The fog covered everything, like a thick grey
blanket.
Scrooge kept his office door open, in order to check
that his clerk, Bob Cratchit, was working. Bob spent his
days in a dark little room, a kind of cupboard, next to his
employer’s office. Scrooge had a very small fire, but Bob’s
fire was much smaller. It was very cold in the cupboard,
and Bob had to wear his long white scarf to try to keep
warm.
‘Merry Christmas, uncle! God bless you!’ cried a happy
voice. Scrooge’s nephew had arrived.
‘Bah!’ said Scrooge crossly. ‘Humbug!’
‘Christmas is humbug! Surely you don’t mean that,
uncle?’ said his nephew.
‘I do,’ said Scrooge. ‘Why do you call it “merry”
Christmas? You’re too poor to be merry.’