# ■ 3 The second of the three spirits

When Scrooge woke up，he realized immediately that the church clock was just going to strike one．He felt sure that the second spirit would Soon visit him．This time he wanted to be ready，so he pulled back all the curtains round his bed himself，and lay there，waiting．At one o'clock，instead of a spirit，a strong light shone down on Scrooge's bed．He felt very frightened．After a few minutes he thought that perhaps the light was coming from the next room，so he got up and went to the door．When he touched it，a strange voice called his name，and asked him to enter．He obeyed．

Although he recognized it as his own room，it looked very different now．The walls were covered with bright green leaves，and there was a good fire burning in the fireplace．On the floor were big plies of the best Christmas food—wonderful rich dark cakes，warm soft bread，colourful apples and oranges，plates of yellow butter，cooked chickens，boxes of chocolates and sugared sweets．Sitting beside all this was a large，smiling spirit，who called out cheerfully to Scrooge， ‘Come in！Chme in，man！I am the ghost of Christmas Present！Look at me！’

Since the first ghost's visit，Scrooge was no longer very sure of himself．So although the spirit's eyes were clear and kind，Scrooge was afraid to look straight into its face．But he could see that its body was dressed in a long green robe，its long brown hair fell freely down its back，and its face wore a warm and friendly smile．Light shone from the torch which it was holding in its strong right hand．

‘Spirit，’said Scrooge quietly，‘take me where you want．Last night I learned a lesson which is working now．If you have anything to teach me tonight，let me learn from you．’

‘Touch my robe！’said the spirit，and Scrooge obeyed．

The food，the room，the fire all disappeared，and they were standing outside in the cold，snowy streets on Christmas morning．Althought the sky was grey and the streets were dirty，the people looked surprisingly cheerful，as they hurried to the bakers'shops with their Christmas dinners，all ready for cooking．The spirit seemed specially interested in poor people．He stood with Scrooge in a baker's doorway and held his torch over the dinners as they were carried past him．Sometimes，when he saw people pushing each other or getting angry，he lifted his torch over their heads，and immediately they became kinder，or stopped arguing，‘because it's Christmas，’they told each other．

‘What does your torch do，spirit？’asked Scrooge．

‘It gives a special taste to people's dinners on this day，’answered the spirit．

‘Why do you use it most on poor people？’said Scrooge．

‘Because poor people need it most，’was the reply．

They went on through London，and came to the small house where Scrooge's clerk lived．Here the spirit smiled，and held his torch high over the door．Inside，Bob Cratchit's wife and second daughter，Belinda，in their everyday dresses，but looking clean and pretty，were putting plates on the table for their Christmas dinner．Bob's son Peter was helping to cook the potatoes，and two smaller Cratchits，a boy and a girl，were running round excitedly．Just then the eldest daughter，Martha，arrived home from work．

‘Here's Martha，mother！’cried the two young Cratchits happily．‘We're having a really big chicken for dinner， Martha！’In fact it was only a small chicken，but it seemed large to the excited children．

‘My dear，how late you are！’said Mrs Cratchit，kissing her daughter several times．

‘We were so busy yesterday，mother！’replied the girl．‘That's why we didn't finish until this morning！’

‘Well！Never mind，now that you're here．God bless you！ Sit down by the fire，my dear！’

‘No，no！Father's coming！’ried the two young Cratchits．‘Hide，Martha，hide！’

So Martha hid herself，and in came Bob in his thin coat and long white scarf，with his son Tiny Tim in his arms．Poor Tiny Tim！He had not walked since he was born，and although he could pull himself and his thin little legs along with the help of a wooden crutch，he was not strong enough to travel far alone．

‘Why，where's Martha？’cried Bob，looking round．

‘Not coming，’said Mrs Cratchit．

‘Not coming！’repeated Bob，his cheerful smile disappearing．‘Not coming on Christmas Day！’

But Martha didn't like to worry her father for a minute，so she ran out from behind the door and kissed him， while the two young Cratchits showed Tiny Tim the chicken，now ready to eat．

Scrooge and the spirit watched as the family sat down to eat．It was a poor enough meal，but to them it seemed wonderful，and they ate every bit of it．

‘It's the best chicken I've ever tasted，’said Bob， smiling round at his family， who， with their mouths full，all agreed．

And then，the most exciting moment of the day！Belinda put a clean plate in front of each person， and they all turned to look at Mrs Cratchit as she came in from the kitchen．Her face was hot from her morning's work， but she was smiling happily as she carried in-the Christmas pudding， in its little circle of blue fire！

Oh，it was a wonderful pudding！They were all delighted with it．

‘It's your greatest success in all the years that we've been married，my dear！’said Bob．

‘Well，I did wonder how much fruit to put in it，’said his wife，‘but， yes， it's a good one！’And she laughed just like a young girl．

Nobody said that it was a very small pudding for a large family．Nobody even thought it．No Cratchit ever said or thought things like that．

At last，when they had finished their meal，the children cleared the table and washed the plates．Then they all sat round the fire， eating apples and oranges．There was a large bowl of fruit and sugar and hot water and something a little stronger，but only three people could drink at the same time， because the family only owned two glasses and a cup．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 this 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．’

‘No，no！’said Scrooge．‘Oh no，kind spirit！Say that he will live！’

‘If his life does not change soon， he will die before next Christmas．What does that matter？There are too many people in the world，so it's a good thing if some of them die．’

Scrooge was ashamed and sad to hear his own words spoken by the spirit．But he lifted his head when he heard his name．

‘Mr Scrooge！’said Bob．‘Let's drink to Mr Scrooge， whose money has paid for this meal！’

‘His money！’said Mrs Cratchit angrily．‘What can we buy with his fifteen shillings a week？ Why should we drink to the health of a hateful，hard，unfeeling，mean old man like Scrooge？’

‘My dear，’said Bob gently，‘remember it's Christmas．’

‘Well，Bob， I'll drink to his health only because of you and because it's Christmas．Long life to Mr Scrooge！A merry Christmas and a happy new year to him！ He'll be very merry and very happy，I'm sure！’

When the children heard Scrooge's name，a dark shadow came over their happiness for a while，and they were quiet and a little sad．But five minutes later they were talking，and laughing，and telling stories，ten times merrier than before．They were not a good-looking or a well-dressed family， but they were happy and grateful and loved each other．As they disappeared in the light of the spirit's torch，Scrooge could not take his eyes off them， especially Tiny Tim．

By this time it was getting dark，and snowing heavily．The spirit took Scrooge into many houses，where fires were burning cheerfully，and food was cooking，and people were merrily welcoming their friends and families into their homes．The ghost was delighted to see all this excitement，and made sure that he lifted his torch over every poor family，to give them more fun，and better food，and greater happiness．

Then the spirit took Scrooge away from the busy capital，to a wild，lonely place in the country，where no trees grew．Here they visited a small stone house， a long way from any town or village， where an old man and woman were singing Christmas carols，with their children and grandchildren．The spirit did not stay long here， but told Scrooge to hold his robe again．

‘Where are we going？ Not up in the air， surely！’And Scrooge，terribly frightened，looked down as they flew over the land and then over the sea．It was stormy， windy weather， and the waves crashed violently underneath them．

The spirit took Scrooge to a lighthouse built on a lonely rock， several miles from land．A light was kept burning at the top， in order to warn sailors to keep away from the dangerous rocks．Two men lived here in this cold， unfriendly place， far away from their families，but the spirit smiled to see them shake hands，wish each other a merry Christmas，and sing a carol together in front of their fire．

Again the spirit and Scrooge flew on，and together they landed on a ship in the middle of the sea．Here every man， although many miles from home，had a kind word for his friend， or thought warmly of his family，because it was Christmas．

It was a great surprise to Scrooge，while listening to the noise of the wind and waves，to hear a happy laugh．He recognized it as his nephew's，and found himself，with the smiling spirit beside him，in his nephew's bright，warm sitting-room．

When Scrooge's nephew laughed，everybody who was with him wanted to laugh too．He had that kind of laugh．And at the moment， his very pretty wife and several of his friends were laughing with him．

‘He said that Christmas was humbug！Ha ha ha！’cried Scrooge's nephew．

‘That's very bad of him，Fred！’said his wife．

‘He's a strange old man，’said Scrooge's nephew，‘but I'm sorry for him．His money is no use to him，you see．He isn't at all happy or comfortable，although he's rich．It's sad to think of him sitting alone in his cold room．And so I'm going to invite him every Christmas．He can be cross and miserable if be likes，but I'll go on inviting him and one day perhaps he'll think better of Christmas！’

After tea，the cheerful little group sang songs，and played music．Scrooge recognized the song that his little sister used to sing， and remembered sadly what the ghost of Christmas Past had shown him．Later the friends played guessing games，and Scrooge joined in the games with delight．Nobody except the spirit could hear him，but he often guessed the right answer．

‘It's time to go now，’said the ghost，smiling at the old man's childish excitement．

‘No，spirit，please，let me stay a little longer．Look， they're playing a new game！’

It was a game called Yes and No，in which Scrooge's nephew had to think of something，and the others had to ask questions to discover what it was．The only possible answers were Yes or No．Scrooge heard that Fred was thinking of a living animal，a wild animal，sometimes an angry animal， which lived in London and walked in the streets．Every time he answered a question，Fred could not stop himself laughing．At last，his wife's dark， pretty sister started laughing too．

‘I know what it is，Fred！I know！’she cried out．‘It's your uncle Scro-o-o-o-oge！’

Everyone laughed until they cried．What a wonderful game！ What a clever idea of Fred's！But at last Fred dried his eyes， and said，‘We've been very merry because of him， so I think we should drink to his health．Here's to Uncle Scrooge！A merry Christmas and a happy new year to the old man！Uncle Scrooge！’

‘To Uncle Scrooge！’they all cried，cheerfully lifting their glasses．

Uncle Scrooge wanted to thank them，but the spirit hurried him away．The ghost seemed much older now： his brown hair had become grey．

‘Are spirits' lives so short？’asked Scrooge．

‘My life in this world ends at midnight tonight．Listen！It's a quarter to midnight now！’

The church clock was striking the three quarters．

‘Excuse me for asking，spirit，’said Scrooge，‘but what are those strange things near your foot？’

‘Oh man， look here！’said the spirit sadly，and brought out from under his robe two ghostly figures， a boy and a girl．They were thin and poorly dressed， with cold， mean eyes and dry，yellow skin， and their faces showed only a frightening and murderous hate．Scrooge had never seen anything so terrible or so sad．

‘These miserable children are Man's，’said the spirit．‘The boy is Crime．The girl is Need．They will destroy Man if nothing is done about them．’

‘Can't anyone help them？’cried Scrooge．

‘Are there no prisons？’said the spirit，turning on Scrooge for the last time with his own words．‘Are there on workhouses？’

The clock struck twelve．Scrooge looked，but could no longer see the ghost or the children．He was alone again．

■ 3 三幽靈中的第二位

當斯克羅吉醒來的時候，他立刻發現教堂的鐘就要敲響1點鐘了。他肯定第二個幽靈不久就要來看望他了。這次他想做好準備，所以他自己把他床周圍的簾子都拉開了，躺在那兒等著。1點鐘時，幽靈沒有來，但一束強光從上面照在了斯克羅吉的床上。他害怕極了。幾分鐘之後，他以為光是從隔壁的房間照過來的，所以他起身下床來到了門口。當他的手摸到門時，一個奇怪的聲音叫他的名字並讓他進去，他聽從了。

儘管他認出這是他自己的房間，但它現在看上去已完全不同。牆壁被鮮亮的綠葉所覆蓋，壁爐裡燃燒著熊熊的火焰。地板上擺著大堆的上好的聖誕食品——味道濃郁的巧克力蛋糕、熱乎乎鬆軟的麵包、五顏六色的蘋果和桔子、一盤盤的黃油、燉好的雞、一盒盒的巧克力和糖果。坐在這些東西旁邊的是一個身材高大、面帶笑容的幽靈，它高興地對斯克羅吉高聲喊，“請進！請進，夥計！我是今日聖誕鬼魂！看著我！”

自從第一個鬼魂的來訪，斯克羅吉對自己就沒了把握。所以儘管幽靈的眼睛明亮且充滿善意，但斯克羅吉還是不敢正視它的臉，但他能看見幽靈身穿一件綠色長袍，它長長的棕色頭髮隨意地散落在背上，它面帶熱情友好的笑容。光是從他強有力的右手握著的火把裡發出的。

“幽靈，”斯克羅吉輕柔地說，“你想帶我去哪兒就去哪兒。昨天晚上我接受了教訓，而且這教訓現在正在生效。如果今晚你也有什麼讓我借鑑的話，請讓我向你領教。”

“拽著我的長袍！”幽靈說，斯克羅吉從命了。

食品、房間、爐火都消失了。是聖誕早晨，他們正站在冰天雪地的戶外。雖然天空灰濛濛的，街上也很髒，但當人們拿著他們的聖誕晚餐匆匆趕往麵包房準備烤制的時候，他們看上去都出奇的歡喜。幽靈似乎對窮人特別感興趣。它和斯克羅吉一同站在麵包房的門口，當晚餐從它面前經過時它把火把照在上面。有時當他看見人們相互擁擠或發脾氣時，他把火把舉在他們的頭上，他們立刻就會變得溫順或停止爭吵，“因為今天是聖誕節，”他們彼此告誡著。

“你的火把是作什麼用的，幽靈？”斯克羅吉問。

“它能給人們今天的晚餐帶來特殊的味道，”幽靈回答說。

“你為什麼大多把它用在窮人身上？”斯克羅吉問。

“因為窮人最需要它，”幽靈回答說。

他們繼續前行，穿過倫敦，來到了斯克羅吉僱員居住的狹小住處。在這兒幽靈笑了，把他的火把高高地舉過房門。屋裡，鮑勃·克拉奇蒂的妻子和二女兒貝琳達身穿她們平日的服裝，但看起來乾淨漂亮，她們正往桌子上擺聖誕晚餐用的盤子。鮑勃的兒子彼得正幫著燒土豆，兩個再小點的克拉奇蒂，一男一女，正高興地來回跑著。這時大女兒瑪莎下班回來了。

“瑪莎回來了，媽媽！”兩個小克拉奇蒂高興地喊著。“晚飯我們能吃到一隻真的很大的雞了，瑪莎！”實際上它不過是一隻很小的雞，但對這些興奮的孩子們來說它似乎很大。

“我親愛的，你這麼晚才回來！”克拉奇蒂太太邊說邊吻了女兒好幾下。

“我們昨天非常忙，媽媽！”女孩回答說。“所以我們直到今天早晨都沒有幹完！”

“哎！既然你回來了就沒關係了。願上帝保佑你！親愛的，來坐到火邊來！”

“不，不！爸爸回來了！”兩個小克拉奇蒂嚷道。“藏起來，瑪莎，藏起來！”

所以瑪莎藏了起來，鮑勃身穿他的薄大衣戴著白色的長圍巾走了進來，懷裡抱著小蒂姆。可憐的小蒂姆啊！自從他降生就沒行走過。儘管他藉助於一個木柺杖能夠拖著身軀和他那瘦骨嶙峋的腿往前走，但他畢竟太弱了，一個人走不了多遠。

“怎麼了，瑪莎呢？”鮑勃高聲喊道，並朝四周看了看。

“還沒回來呢？”克拉奇蒂太太說。

“還沒回來！”鮑勃重複了一遍，他歡快的笑容不見了。“聖誕節了，還沒回來！”

但是瑪莎不想讓父親為她多擔心一分鐘，所以她從門後跑出來，吻了父親，這時兩個小克拉奇蒂在給小蒂姆看那隻已經燒熟了的雞。

當全家人坐好準備吃飯時斯克羅吉和幽靈看著。這是一頓粗茶淡飯，但對他們來說它似乎是很豐盛的，他們把它吃了個精光。

“這是我曾經吃到過的最好吃的雞。”鮑勃說，並對全家人都笑了笑，每個人的嘴裡都塞滿了吃的，他們都表示同意。

接著是這一天最激動人心的時刻！貝琳達在每個人面前放了一個乾淨盤子，當克拉奇蒂太太從廚房出來時，大家都轉過身看著她。由於從一大早就開始忙，她的臉發熱，但當她把帶著藍火圈的聖誕布丁拿進來時，她幸福地笑了。

噢，多好的布丁啊！他們看到它都很高興。

“親愛的，這是我們結婚這麼多年來你做的最成功的一件事！”鮑勃說。

“哎，我的確不知道里面該放多少水果，”他妻子說，“不過，是的，它很不錯！”她像一個小姑娘似地樂了。

沒有人說這布丁太小，尤其對這麼個大家庭來說。沒有人這麼想過。

最後，當他們吃完飯後，孩子們收拾好桌子並把碗洗乾淨了，他們團團圍坐在爐火旁吃著蘋果和桔子。有一大碗水果、糖、熱水和略含酒精的東西，但只有三個人可以同時喝，因為他們家只有兩個玻璃杯和一個茶杯，但克拉奇蒂一家並沒因此而犯愁。鮑勃現在舉起杯子說，“祝我們大家聖誕快樂，親愛的！上帝保佑我們！”

全家人重複著他的祝願，最後，小蒂姆說，“願上帝保佑我們每一個人！”他緊靠著爸爸坐在一把小椅子上。鮑勃手握著他兒子瘦小的手，這個男孩在他父親的心目中佔據著特殊的位置。

“幽靈，”斯克羅吉以他以前從未有過的熱情問，“告訴我小蒂姆是否能活下去。”

“將來我會看到火旁邊有一把空椅子，邊上有一根柺杖。如果這些影子不變的話，他就會死去。”

“不，不！”斯克羅吉說。“噢，善良的幽靈！說他會活下去的。”

“如果他的生活近期內不能改變的話，他在明年的聖誕前就會死去。這又有什麼關係呢？世界上的人太多了，所以若有一部分死了的話，豈不是件好事嗎？”

斯克羅吉聽到幽靈重複著他曾說過的話感到羞愧悲傷。但聽見自己名字的時候，他抬起了頭。

“斯克羅吉先生！”鮑勃說，“讓我們為斯克羅吉先生乾杯，是他付的錢使我們才能吃上今天的這頓飯。”

“他的錢？”克拉奇蒂太太生氣地說。“他一星期給的15先令夠我們買什麼的？ 我們幹嘛要祝一個像斯克羅吉那樣可恨、刻薄、沒有感情、吝嗇的老頭健康？”

“我親愛的，”鮑勃溫柔地說，“記住今天是聖誕節。”

“好吧，鮑勃，我祝他健康只是看在你的面子上，況且今天還是聖誕節。祝斯克羅吉先生長壽。祝他聖誕、新年快樂！我肯定他會很快樂和幸福的！”

當孩子們聽到斯克羅吉的名字時，不悅籠罩了他們原本高興的笑臉，他們都不出聲了，並且有些沮喪。但10分鐘後他們又開始有說有笑，講故事，比先前要高興十倍。他們一家人長相平平，穿著一般，但他們幸福，對彼此充滿感激之情並且互愛。當他們在幽靈的火把的光下消失的時候，斯克羅吉的目光無法從他們的身上移開，尤其是小蒂姆。

這時天漸漸黑了，雪下得很大。幽靈帶著斯克羅吉去了很多家，每家都燃燒著歡樂的火焰，燒著吃的，人們都興高采烈地歡迎著他們的朋友和家人的到來。鬼魂看見這興奮的場面很是高興，凡是在窮人家它都把火把高高舉起，目的是給他們帶來更多的歡樂、更好的食品和更多的幸福。

然後幽靈帶著斯克羅吉離開了繁忙的都市，來到了鄉下一個荒涼、偏僻的地方，這裡連一棵樹都不長。在這裡他們去了一所石頭房子，它離所有的小鎮和村莊都很遠。房子裡一個老頭和一個老太太同他們的孩子們一起正唱著聖誕頌歌。幽靈沒有在這久留，它讓斯克羅吉再一次地抓住它的袍子。

“我們要去哪兒？當然不會是去天上吧！”斯克羅吉嚇得要命，當他們飛過田野然後又飛過海洋的時候，他朝下看著。風雨交加，海浪在他們下面咆哮。幽靈帶著斯克羅吉來到了一座建在一塊孤零零的礁石上的燈塔上，礁石距陸地有數英里之遙。燈塔頂上有一盞燈一直亮著，為的是提醒水手們遠離那些危險的岩石。在這個冰冷荒涼的地方住著兩個男人，他們遠離自己的家人，但當幽靈看見他們握手，彼此祝福聖誕快樂並一起在爐火前唱著頌歌時，它笑了。

幽靈和斯克羅吉繼續向前飛，他們又都同時落在了大海中央的一條船上。在這兒，雖然離家甚遠，但每個人都向朋友說了一句祝福的話，或者向自己的家人給以溫馨的祝福，因為今天是聖誕節。

當斯克羅吉正聽著風的吼叫和浪濤的洶湧時，他很吃驚地聽到了笑聲。他聽出這是他外甥的笑聲，他發現他和面帶微笑的幽靈一起來到了他外甥明亮溫暖的起居室。

斯克羅吉的外甥笑著，和他在一起的人也都想笑，他的笑就具備這樣的感染力。此刻，他漂亮的妻子和他的幾個朋友和他一起在笑。

“他說聖誕節是騙人的！哈哈哈！”斯克羅吉的外甥大聲說。

“他真是太壞了，弗雷德！”他妻子說。

“他是一個怪老頭，”斯克羅吉的外甥說，“但我很是為他感到難過。你知道，他的錢沒有給他帶來什麼，他既不幸福也不舒服，雖然他有錢。想到他獨自一人坐在他那冷颼颼的屋子裡我心裡就不是滋味，所以每個聖誕節我都將去邀請他。他愛發脾氣，那就發好了，但我會繼續邀請他，也許終究有一天他對聖誕節的感覺會好起來的。”

下午茶後，這幾個歡快的人唱歌並演奏音樂。斯克羅吉聽出了他小妹妹過去常唱的那支歌，記起了“昔日聖誕”幽靈給他看過的東西。後來朋友們進行了猜謎遊戲，斯克羅吉高興地同他們一起猜。只有幽靈能聽見他說什麼，但他請的答案大都正確。

“現在該走了，”鬼魂說，這個老頭孩子般的興奮勁兒使他覺得好笑。

“不，幽靈，請讓我再多呆一小會兒。看，他們又要做一個新遊戲！”

這個遊戲的名字叫‘是與否’，在這個遊戲中斯克羅吉的外甥要想點什麼事情，其餘的人便可以問問題以便知道他想的是什麼。唯一可能的答案就是‘是和否’。斯克羅吉聽見弗雷德在想一隻活著的動物，一隻野獸，有時是一隻暴怒的動物，它生活在倫敦，走在大街上。他每回答一個問題，弗雷德就情不自禁地大笑。最後他那長得黑黑的漂亮妻妹也開始笑了起來。

“弗雷德，我知道它是什麼！我知道！”她大聲喊道。“它是你舅舅斯克羅——吉！”

大家都笑得流出了眼淚。多麼精彩的遊戲啊！弗雷德的主意多妙啊！但最後弗雷德擦乾了眼睛說道，“我們剛才很快活是因為他，所以我想我們應該為他的健康乾杯。這一杯是祝斯克羅吉舅舅的！祝他老人家聖誕快樂、新年幸福！斯克羅吉舅舅！”

“祝福斯克羅吉舅舅！”他們異口同聲地喊道，高興地舉起了灑杯。

斯克羅吉舅舅想感謝他們，但幽靈催他立刻離開。鬼魂現在看上去老了許多：它棕色的頭髮變成了灰白色。

“幽靈的生命如此短暫嗎？”斯克羅吉問。

“我的生命在今天午夜時結束。聽著，現在離午夜只差一刻鐘了！”

教堂的鐘正在敲響三刻的時晨。

“幽靈，請問，”斯克羅吉說，“你腳邊是什麼東西？”

“噢！夥計，看這個！”幽靈悲傷地說，並從他的長袍下掏出兩個鬼魂似的塑像，一個男孩一個女孩。他們骨瘦如柴，破衣爛衫，目光冷漠犀利，皮膚乾燥發黃，他們的臉上充滿了可怕的、凶狠的仇恨表情。斯克羅吉從未見到過如此可怕、糟糕的場面。

“這些悲慘的孩子屬於人類，”幽靈說。“男孩叫‘罪惡’，女孩叫‘需要’。如果不為他們做點什麼的話，他們將毀掉人類。”

“難道就沒有人能幫助他們嗎？”斯克羅吉高聲問道。

“難道沒有看守所嗎？”幽靈說著斯克羅吉自己曾說過的話，並最後一次把臉轉向他。“難道沒有濟貧院嗎？”

鐘敲響了12點。斯克羅吉看著，但他再也看不到幽靈和孩子們了。又剩下他一人了。