A Christmas Carol, stave by stave

All 5 staves. What happens, in a line. Then each one in five words.

Scrooge is mean to everyone at Christmas. That night the ghost of his dead partner Marley visits. It warns him three spirits are coming.

Marley's ghost warns mean Scrooge

The first spirit shows Scrooge his past. A lonely boy. A kind boss called Fezziwig. The woman who left him for his love of money.

First spirit shows Scrooge's past

The second spirit shows Scrooge Christmas now. The Cratchits' small dinner. Tiny Tim. Fred's party. Two starving children called Ignorance and Want.

Second spirit shows Christmas now

The last spirit shows Scrooge the future. A man has died and no one cares. Tiny Tim is dead. The dead man is Scrooge.

Third spirit shows Scrooge's death

Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning. He sends a turkey to the Cratchits, goes to Fred's, raises Bob's pay, and keeps Christmas all year.

Scrooge wakes and becomes kind