A piece of "8-The End of it."

Yes! and the bed-post was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best ans happiest of hall, the Time in front of him was his own. There was still time to put things right.

"I will live in the Past, the Present, ans the Future!" Scrooge repeated, as he got out the bed. "The Spirits of all Three shall work within me. Oh Jacob Marley, and the Christmas Time, O than ¡k you for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!"

He was excited and glowed with his good thoughts, and his brojen voice could hardly speak. He had been crying violently in his fight with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.

He took one of his bed-courtains in his hand. "They are not torn down", he said. "They are here. I am here."

Scrooge was now dressing, and he kept putting on the wrong clothes. "I don't know what to do", cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same brasth. "I am al light as air, as happy as a bird, as merry as a schoolboy. A Merry Christmas to everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world! Hello!"

He had run into the sitting-room and was now standing there, quite breathlees.

"There's the plate that the gruel was in!" he said, walking round the fire-place. "There's the door where the Ghost of Jacob Marley entered! There's the corner where the Ghost of Christmas Present sat! It's all right, it's all true, it all happened. Ha, ha,ha!"

Although Scroog had been out of practice for so many years, it was a wonderful laugh. It was the father of a long line of sinning laughs!

"I dont know what day of the month it is!" said Scrooge. "I don't know how long I've benn among the spirits. I don't know anything. I'm quite a baby. Never mind, I don't care. I'd rather be a baby. Hello! Hello, there!"

He stopped. The churches were ringing out the loudest bells he had ever heard. Bang, hammer, ding, dong, bell. Bell, dong, ding, hammer. Oh, wonderful, wonderful!

Running to the window, he opened it and put out his head. No fog; clear, bright, lively. Golden sunlight; lovely sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, wonderful, wonderful!

"What's today?" cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes. He had stopped to look around him.
"Eh?" replied the boy, in great surprise.
"What's today, my fine fellow? said Scrooge.
"Today?" replied the boy. "Christmas Day, of course."
"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. Thay can do anything the like. Of course they can. Hello, my fine fellow!"
"Hello!" replied the boy.
"Do you know the shop at the corner, in the next street? The shop wich sells turkeys and the other Christmas birds?"
"I should hope so", replied the boy.
"An intelligent boy!2 said Scrooge. "Do you know whether they've sold the turkey -the big turkey that was hanging up there?"
"What, the one as big as me?" asked the boy.
"What a delightful boy!" said Scrooge. "It's a pleasure to talk to him. Yes, that's the one."
"It's hanging there now", replied the boy.
"Is it?" said Scrooge. "Go and buy it".
The boy thoug Scrooge was joking. "No, no. I'm serious. Go and buy it, and tell them to bring it here. The, I'll tell them where to take it. Come back with the man and I'll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes, and I'll give you double!"

The boy was off like a shot. "I'll sed it to Beb Cratchit's!" whispered Scrooge. "He shan't know send it. It's twice the size of Tiny Tim."
His hand-writing was not very firm, but he wrote the adress. And he went downstaris yo open the door. As he stood there, waiting for the turkey, the door knocker caught his eye. "I shall love it, as long as I live!" cried Scrooge, touching it with his hand. "I hardly ever looked at it before. What an honest expresion it has in its face! It's a wonderful knocker! Here's the turkey. Hello. How are you! Merry Christmas!"

...

"8- The End of it."
A Christmas Carol.
Charles Dickens.