03-02-01-圣诞欢歌 [10]
，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
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