Bob said he didn't believe there ever was such a goose cooked
Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness
Were the themes of universal admiration
Eked out by the apple sauce and the mashed potatoes
It was a sufficient dinner for the whole family
Indeed, as Mrs
Cratchit said with great delight, surveying one tiny atom of a
Bone left upon the dish, "They hadn't ate it all at last."
Yet everyone had had enough, they said, and the youngest Cratchits
In particular were steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows
Then Mrs
Cratchit left the room alone to take the pudding up
While she was out, all sorts of horrors were supposed
"Suppose it were not done enough?
Suppose, suppose it broke in turning out?
Suppose somebody got over the wall of the
Backyard and stole it?" In half a minute, Mrs
Cratchit entered with the pudding, like a speckled
Cannonball blazing in half a quart of ignited
Brandy and bedecked with a sprig of Christmas holly
Bob Cratchit said that he regarded it as
The greatest success achieved by Mrs
Cratchit since their marriage
Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or
Thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family
Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing
At Bob's elbow stood the family display of glass
Two tumblers and a custard cup without a handle
Bob served out the punch with beaming looks
"Merry Christmas to us all, my dears
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
God bless us!" which all the family re-echoed
"God bless us everyone," said Tiny Tim, the last of all
"And Mr
Scrooge," said Bob
Scrooge was astonished to hear his own name
"I give you Mr
Scrooge, the founder of the feast."
"The founder of the feast?" said Mrs
Cratchit
"The founder of the feast!
He's an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man
You know he is, Robert, better than most." "Christmas Day, my dear
Christmas
I'll drink his health for the day's sake
And for yours, Robert, but not for his
A merry Christmas and a happy New Year to Mr
Scrooge
I have no doubt he'll be very merry and very
Happy." The children drank the toast after her
It was the first of their proceedings which had no heartiness in it
The mere mention of Scrooge's name cast a dark shadow on
The party which was not dispelled for fully five minutes
After it had passed away, they were 10 times merrier than before
All this time, the chestnuts and the jug went round and round
And by-and-by they had a song about a lost child traveling
In the snow from Tiny Tim, who sang it very well indeed
There was nothing of high mark in this
They were not a handsome family
They were not well-dressed
Their shoes were far from being waterproof, but they were happy
Grateful, pleased with one another and contented with the time
Scrooge had his eye upon them and
Especially on Tiny Tim until the last
