CHAPTER 3
The Second Ghost
Later, Scrooge woke up suddenly. He looked
around his bedroom — there was nobody there.
He went to the door of his livingroom.
`Come in, Ebenezer Scrooge,' said a voice.
He opened the door, and saw something very
strange. The room looked so different! The walls
of the room were covered with Christmas trees
and there was a big fire burning. The floor and
table were hidden by the most delicious kinds of
Christmas foods you can imagine. There was
holly all around the room and the green leaves
were bright with the light from the fire.
Sitting on top of all the food was a happy young
giant, holding a burning torch which lit the
room. He was wearing a long, green dress with
white fur at the bottom. He had curly brown
hair and a hat made of holly.
`Come in, come in,' said the giant. 'I'm The
Ghost of Christmas Present.'
`If you've something to teach me,' said Scrooge,
`take me anywhere you want. I learnt a lot from
the first ghost.'
`Touch my dress,' said the ghost.
Scrooge did, and soon the trees, the food and
the room had disappearedScrooge found they were walking in a London
street on Christmas morning. The shops were
full of lovely things to eat. Everyone there
was happy.
They left the Cratchit's poor but happy house,
and walked through the snowy streets of
London. Everyone was going out to evening
parties with their friends and families. Suddenly
they were in a cold, grey, empty place. Scrooge
and the ghost looked through the window of a
small house. Inside there was a big family in a
small room. They were all singing Christmas
songs together. They were very happy.
`Who are they?' asked Scrooge.
`They are poor miners,' said the ghost. 'People
who work hard inside the Earth we live on.'
The ghost took him to the Cratchit's house,
where they were preparing their small Christmas
dinner. Scrooge watched as the poor family ate
one goose and some potatoes, and a very small
Christmas pudding. They were still as happy as if
they had eaten a king's dinner.
Scrooge looked at Tiny Tim, the youngest
child, who was ill and could not walk.
`Will he be here next Christmas?' he asked.
`With help,' replied the ghost.