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OUR FAVORITE
(CREEPY) CLASSIC
HOLIDAY TALE
ADAPTED BY SCOPE EDITORS
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
LISA K. WEBER
10 ScholaStic Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012
www.ScholaStic.com/Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012 11
SCENE 1
N1: Its Christmas Eve in London, 1843. Jacob Marley is
dead as a doornail.
N2: This is not recent news. Marley has been dead for
years. But it is important that you understand this
pointthat Jacob Marley is deador nothing
wonderful can come from the story we are about to tell!
N1: As I was saying, it is Christmas Eve in London. Our
story begins in the offices of Ebenezer Scrooge and his
long-dead business partner, Jacob Marley.
BOB CRATCHIT: Mr. Scrooge, sir, might I add some coal
to the fire?
EBENEZER SCROOGE: Absolutely not! Coal costs
money. Doesnt your coat keep you warm?
CRATCHIT: Not really, sir.
SCROOGE: Then I suggest you get a new one.
CRATCHIT: But sir . . .
SCROOGE: Thats enough, Mr. Cratchit. I
suppose youll want the day off tomorrow too.
CRATCHIT (hanging his head ): Yes, sir.
Christmas comes but once a year.
SCROOGE: You want me to pay you for a day
when youre not working? Then youd better
be here even earlier the next morning.
N2: Scrooges nephew, Fred, arrives in hopes
of spreading cheer.
What does it mean to live
a fulfilling life?
AS YOU READ,
THINK ABOUT:
FRED: Merry Christmas, Uncle!
SCROOGE: Bah! Humbug!
FRED: For Christmas? Humbug? You dont mean it.
SCROOGE: I do! What reason have you to be merry?
Youre not wealthy.
FRED: Come, dear Uncle. What reason have you to be
so gloomyyou, with all your riches?
SCROOGE: Bah! Humbug! What is Christmas but a time
for wasting money on things you dont need? If I had
my way, every idiot who goes about saying Merry
Christmas! would be boiled in his own pudding.
FRED: Uncle!
SCROOGE: Nephew! You celebrate the holiday in your
way, let me celebrate it in mine.
FRED: But you dont celebrate it.
SCROOGE: Then let me not celebrate it. What good will
Christmas ever do for you? What good has it ever done?
FRED: Many things do us good without
making us rich, Uncle. Though holidays have
never put a scrap of gold in my pocket, I
believe I am all the better for having
celebrated them.
CRATCHIT: Yes, I agree.
SCROOGE: Quiet, Mr. Cratchit, or youll
celebrate Christmas by looking for a new job.
FRED: Dont be angry, Uncle. Have Christmas
dinner with us tomorrow.
SCROOGE: Humbug.
FRED: But why not?
SCROOGE: Thats enough! Good day,
Nephew.

Circle the character you will play.
*NARRATORS 1 & 2 (N1, N2)
*BOB CRATCHIT, Scrooges clerk
*EBENEZER SCROOGE, a rich old accountant
FRED, Scrooges nephew
JACOB MARLEY, the ghost of
Scrooges dead business partner
GHOST CHORUS
GHOST 1, the Ghost of Christmas Past
MR. FEZZIWIG, Scrooges rst employer
GHOST 2, the Ghost of Christmas Present
TINY TIM CRATCHIT, the Cratchits sickly son
CAROLINE CRATCHIT, Bob Cratchits wife
ALL CRATCHITS, Bob, Caroline, and Tiny Tim
GHOST 3, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Note: This part has no speaking lines.
BOY, a passerby
*Starred characters are major roles.
CHARACTERS
Readers Theater Play
Charles Dickens is
sometimes called
the man who
invented Christmas.
In England,
Christmas wasnt a
big holidaybut this
famous story made
it one.
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12 ScholaStic Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012
wander the world forever. Woe is me!
SCROOGE: But why are you chained?
MARLEY: Each link of this chain is a punishment for
some kind deed I failed to do. Oh, why did I not show
charity?
SCROOGE: But Jacob, you were always such a good
businessman. You made so much money!
MARLEY: I should have been kinder. Ebenezer, do you
know the weight of the chain youre making? Seven
Christmas Eves ago, your chain was as heavy and long
as mine is now. And you have been adding to it
with each passing year.
SCROOGE: Jacob, what can I do?
MARLEY: Hear me, Scrooge! You will be haunted by
three spirits. Listen to what each tells you! Expect the
first when the clock strikes one.
GHOST CHORUS: Owwooooh!
SCENE 3
N1: At 1:00 a.m., Scrooge awakens to see the first ghost,
a gentle spirit in a long white gown.
GHOST 1: I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I will show
you your life as it used to be. Rise and walk with me.
N2: They pass magically into Scrooges past. The ghost
and Scrooge are suddenly standing inside an old
warehouse.
GHOST 1: Do you
know this place?
SCROOGE: I held my
first job here. Why,
theres old Mr.
Fezziwig. He was a
decent man.
N1: Scrooge sees
himself as a cheerful
young man.
FEZZIWIG: Its
Christmas Eve! Yo
ho, everyone! No
more work tonight.
Clear the floor for
dancing and fiddling
and celebrating!
FRED: So be it. But I shall keep my Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas, Uncle! Merry Christmas, Mr. Cratchit!
CRATCHIT: And a happy New Year!
SCROOGE: Theres a preposterous notion: My clerk,
with barely enough to feed his family, and a sickly child
too, talking about a happy new year. I must be mad!
SCENE 2
N1: That evening, Scrooge sits alone by his fireplace.
GHOST CHORUS: Owwooooh!
N2: He hears a door fly open and the rattling of chains.
SCROOGE: Whats that noise?
N1: Passing through the heavy door, a ghost with
death-cold eyes enters Scrooges chamber. Its head
is wrapped in bandages; chains are wound around
its body.
SCROOGE: You dont scare me! Im not a man to be
frightened by shadows.
JACOB MARLEY: You dont believe in me?
SCROOGE: I do not.
N2: The ghost shrieks and shakes its chains. Scrooge
drops to his knees and covers his face.
SCROOGE: Mercy, dreadful spirit! What is it you want?
MARLEY: There is much that I want! I am the ghost of
your partner, Jacob Marley. I must drag this chain and
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Jim Carrey
(below) is one
of the many
actors who have
played Scrooge
(right). The
word scrooge
derives from
this story.
Based on what
you know about
the character,
what do you
think it means?
www.ScholaStic.com/Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012 13
N2: Food is brought in.
The music begins.
Everyone starts dancing,
including young Scrooge.
GHOST 1: Look at this waste of
money . . .
SCROOGE: Waste of money?
Look how happy everyone is.
Fezziwig was always making
people happy. It was the
little things mostlythe way
he looked at you or patted
you on the back.
GHOST 1: With whom are you
dancing? You look so happy.
SCROOGE: Its Belle. Ah, young
Belle . . .
GHOST 1: You loved her, but you
didnt marry her.
SCROOGE: I needed to seek my
fortune first.
GHOST 1: You mean, you could earn no
money simply by loving her. You chose wealth
instead of love.
SCROOGE: Spirit, why do you torture me? Show me no
more. I dont wish to see it.
N1: The spirit disappears. Scrooge is suddenly back in
his room, alone.
SCENE 4
N2: The clock strikes two.
GHOST CHORUS: Owwooooh!
GHOST 2: I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. You
have never seen the likes of me before!
N1: The second spirit is gigantic, and as grand and
joyful as the Christmas season. Its eyes are clear and
kind, yet they frighten Scrooge.
SCROOGE: Spirit, take me where you will. Let me learn
from you.
GHOST 2: Look upon me! You and I will go and see
things as they are now. Off with us, then!
N2: The ghost and Scrooge appear in the doorway of a
small house. They see a table and a small fire burning.
SCROOGE: Where are we?
GHOST 2: You dont know the house of your own
clerk, Bob Cratchit? Come inside. The family is
sitting down to Christmas dinner.
N1: Cratchits son, Tiny Tim, hobbles to
the table using an old wooden crutch.
TINY TIM: Mother, there never was such a
grand goose as this!
CRATCHIT: This is splendid, my dear,
a triumph.
SCROOGE: So excited over a small
goose! Youd think it was a prize
turkey.
GHOST 2: It is all they can
afford. They are not a well-off
family.
SCROOGE: True, but theyre a
happy one. Look how pleased they
areespecially that little Tim.
CRATCHIT: A toast! To Mr.
Scrooge, the founder of
our feast.
CAROLINE (angrily): The founder
of our feast? The founder of our feast,
indeed! I wish Mr. Scrooge were here
right now. Why, Id give him a piece of
my mind to feast upon!
CRATCHIT: My dear, lets not be bitter.
CAROLINE: Ill toast his health because its Christmas,
but thats all. Merry Christmas to the unfeeling,
unkind, miserly founder of this feast, Mr. Scrooge.
ALL CRATCHITS: Merry Christmas!
TINY TIM: And God bless us, every one!
SCROOGE: Tell me, Spiritwill Tiny Tim live?
GHOST 2: I see an empty seat. I see a tiny crutch with
no owner.
SCROOGE: Oh, no! Say he will be all right. Say it!
GHOST 2: If there is no change in his surroundings, the
child will soon die.
GHOST CHORUS: Owwooooh!
N2: Scrooge stands horrified as the ghost vanishes.
Again, Scrooge finds himself back in his
bedroom.

14 ScholaStic Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012
SCENE 5
N1: At 3:00 a.m., another ghost appears.
This third phantom is cloaked in a black
robe. Nothing can be seen of it except one
outstretched hand.
SCROOGE: Are you the Ghost of Christmas
Yet to Come?
N2: The ghost does not answer. It points
its long, bony finger into the night.
SCROOGE: Ghost of the Future, I fear
you most.
N1: The spirit takes Scrooge to a lonely cemetery
covered in weeds. A coffin is being lowered into a
grave.
SCROOGE: Whose funeral is this? Why is no one here to
mourn? Tell me, Spirit, is there anyone in this town
who cared for this person?
PASSERBY 1: When did he die?
PASSERBY 2: Last week.
PASSERBY 1: What was the matter with him?
PASSERBY 2: An empty heart, I suppose.
PASSERBY 1: Little good his money did him.
PASSERBY 2: Not a single person to mourn him!
PASSERBY 1: But think of all the money he saved with
such a cheap funeral!
PASSERBY 2: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
N2: The phantom points toward the gravestone.
SCROOGE: Before I look, Spirit, tell me one thing. Can
this future be changed?
N1: The spirit gives no reply. Scrooge trembles. He
looks upon the gravestone and reads the words
Ebenezer Scrooge.
GHOST CHORUS: Owwooooh!
SCROOGE: No, Spirit! Hear me! Can I erase the name
upon this stone? I am no longer the person I have
been. From this night on, I will be a kind and generous
man. I will honor Christmas with all my heart!
SCENE 6
N2: When Scrooge awakens the next morning, he is so
happy to see daylight that he laughs out loud. For a
man who has been out of practice for so long, it is a
splendid laugh. He opens his window and calls to a boy
passing by.
SCROOGE: What day is it today, my fine
fellow?
BOY: Today? Why, its Christmas Day!
SCROOGE: I havent missed itthank
goodness! Do you know the prize turkey
hanging in the butchers window?
BOY: The one thats as big as I am?
SCROOGE: Yes, that one. Ill pay you to go
buy it and have it brought to Bob
Cratchits house.
BOY: Yes, sir! Merry Christmas, sir!
SCROOGE: The Cratchits wont know who sent it. And
then I must join my nephew for dinner. Oh, joy!
SCENE 7
N1: Scrooge spends the rest of the day spreading
Christmas cheer, joyfully sharing his wealth with
neighbors and strangers.
N2: The next day, Scrooge arrives at the office early.
Cratchit enters, shivering from the cold.
SCROOGE: Youre 18-and-a-half minutes late!
CRATCHIT: Its only once a year, sir. We had quite a
celebration last night. A kind stranger sent us a prize
turkey, and we had a merry time into the wee hours. It
wont happen again.
SCROOGE: Ill tell you what. Im not going to stand for
this any longer.
N1: Poor Cratchit. He is certain he is about to be fired.
SCROOGE: Therefore, Mr. Cratchit . . . Im doubling
your salary!
N2: Cratchit is stunned.
SCROOGE: Merry Christmas, Mr. Cratchit! A merrier
Christmas than Ive ever given before. And your salary
is just a start. Ill assist your struggling family any way I
can. And Timwhatever he needs, hell have it. Now
lets warm up this place. Put some more coal on the
fire. Before you dot another i, lets have more coal!
N1: Scrooge is even better than his word. He becomes
as good a man and as good a friend as the city has ever
known. It is said from this point forward that if any
man knows how to celebrate Christmas, it is Ebenezer
Scrooge.

Charles Dickenss
stories were the Harry
Potter books of his day.
Dickens published his
novels in parts, and his
eager readers would
wait anxiously for each
installment to come out.

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www.ScholaStic.com/Scope DECEMBER 10, 2012 15
Write About Fulfillment Charles Dickens once wrote, No one is useless in
this world who lightens the burdens of another. What do you think that means? How does
this quotation relate to A Christmas Carol and How Charles Dickens Changed the World?
Use evidence from both texts in your answer. Send it to DICKENS CONTEST. Five
winners will get Andrea Warrens Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London.
CONTEST
GET THIS
ACTIVITY
ONLINE
Y
oung Charles
Dickens was living
a nightmare.
From sunup to
sundown, he labored in a
dark, rat-infested warehouse,
applying labels to
bottles. And the end of
the workday brought
no relief. He lived in a
dilapidated boarding
house. To escape, he
would wander the
streets of London.
At only 12 years old,
Charles was on his own.
How had this
happened? Charless
father had gone
deep into debt. In
19th-century England,
no programs existed
to help the needy. In
fact, the public tended
to believe the poor
deserved their suffering.
To pay the butcher and
the baker, Charles had
to sell his familys belongings:
chairs, pictures, carpets
even his beloved books. But
that wasnt enough. And
those who couldnt pay their
debts, like Charless dad,
were sent to debtors prison.
So that the family could
AUTHOR PROFILE
stay together, Charless mom and
five siblings went with his dad to
jail. Charles, however, had to quit
school and go to work to pay the
family debts.
Those dark days would haunt
Charles until the end of his life, but
they also inspired his stories. He
was particularly concerned about
the plight of the poor. Many of his
novels dramatized the suffering
they endured. In fact, he wrote so
much about their hardships that a
new word was added to the English
language: Dickensian.
It means resembling the
conditions described in
Dickenss stories. The
word is used to describe
particularly squalid and
impoverished living and
working conditions.
Dickenss tragicyet
incredibly popular
novels evoked a deep
sympathy for societys
most vulnerable. Wealthy
readers were moved
to call for reforms. In
1870, the year that
Charles Dickens died,
England passed a
sweeping reform called
the Education Act, which
made it possible for all
kids to go to school.
By then, Dickens
had become a rich man,
thanks to his runaway
literary success. Yet
he remained
a faithful
champion of
social causes
until his last
breathjust like
Ebenezer Scrooge.
How Charles Dickens Changed the World
By Kathy Satterfield
Even young
children had to
work to survive.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)
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