But this did not worry the Cratchits at all. Now
Bob lifted his glass and said, 'A merry Christmas to us all,
my dears! God bless us!'
The family repeated his wish, and Tiny Tim said, last of
all, 'God bless us every one!' He sat very close to his father,
on a small chair. Bob held his son's thin little hand in his
own. The boy had a special place in his father's heart.
'Spirit,' said Scrooge, with an interest that he had never
felt before, 'tell me if Tiny Tim will live.''In the future I see an empty chair by the fire, with a
crutch beside it. If these shadows do not change, the child
will die.