The first of the three spirits4

The first of the three spirits4 When the clock struck eleven，the dancing ended ．Mr and Mrs Fezziwig stood by the door，shaking hands with each person as he or she went out ，and wishing him or her a merry Christmas． During this time Scrooge had thought of nothing except what was happening in front of his eyes．He remembered and enjoyed it all with the greatest delight．But when the dancing came to an end，he realized that the ghost was looking at him．The light on the spirit's head was burning very clearly． ‘It seems easy enough to amuse these childish people，’said the ghost．‘It was nothing much that Fezziwig did，was it？ After all，he only spent a few pounds，on food and drink and paying the fiddler．’ ‘It isn't a question of money，’replied Scrooge warmly．He was speaking like the young man he used to be，not the old man he was now．‘No，spirit，you see，our employer can make us happy or sad．His words，his looks，all these things are so important！The happiness that he gives is just as valuable as money！’ He suddenly stopped speaking，when he felt the spirit watching him closely． ‘What's the matter？’asked the ghost． ‘Er—nothing，’said Scrooge．‘Just that—I'd like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk now．’ Now Scrooge could see himself again．He was older now， and it was clear that he was beginning to show an unhealthy interest in money．His eyes were restless，and his mouth looked thin and mean．He was not alone，but was sitting beside a lovely young girl．The light that shone brightly from the ghost of Christmas Past showed that she was crying． ‘I know it doesn't matter very much to you，’she said softly．‘You care about gold more than you care about me．Perhaps I shouldn't be sad．Money will give you the happiness that I wanted to give you．’ ‘But I haven't changed towards you，have I？’ ‘You have changed．We promised to marry a long time ago，when we were both poor，and happy to be poor．I have stayed the same，but you have different hopes and dreams now．I loved the man that you used to be，but I know that you do not wish to marry me any more．So I've come to tell you that you're free．Be happy in the life that you've chosen！’And she left him． ‘Spirit！’cried Scrooge．‘Show me no more！Take me home！This is too painful！’ ‘One shadow more！’said the ghost． ‘No more！’cried Scrooge．‘I don't wish to see any more！’But the spirit held his arms，and he could not escape． Now they were in another place，in a room which was not very large，but comfortable．Near the fire sat a beautiful young girl．Scrooge thought she was the girl that he had just seen，until he saw her，now a good-looking married lady，sitting opposite her daughter．The room was full of children，and noise，and shouting，and laughing．Just then the door opened， and the father entered，carrying a great pile of Christmas presents．The noise became twice as loud，as the children received their presents with delight，and kissed their father gratefully．Finally，the younger ones went upstairs to bed，and Scrooge watched more sadly than ever，as the father sat down with his loving daughter and her mother by the fire． ‘Belle，’said the husband，turning to his wife with a smile，‘I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon．Guess who？ Mr Scrooge！He was sitting alone in his office．His partner is dying，and I don't think he has any other friends．’ ‘Spirit！’said Scrooge in a broken voice．‘Take me away from this place．’ ‘These are shadows of the things that happened in the past，’said the ghost．‘You chose the life that you preferred， so why cry now？’ ‘I can't watch any more！It's too awful！Leave me alone， spirit！’And Scrooge，noticing that the ghostly light was burning high and bright，suddenly took the extinguisher，and pushed it down hard on the spirit's head．But although it covered the ghost's head General Purpose Blade and body，Scrooge could not hide the light，which continued to shine out strongly from underneath． Now Scrooge found himself back in his own bedroom again．Feeling very tired，he climbed into bed and at once fell into a deep，heavy sleep．