Ebenezer Scrooge was an old money lender in London. He was rich, but he was a very greedy, stingy and selfish man. He wasn´t friendly to people and he didn´t help anyone. His only friend and partner, Jacob Marley, died many years ago.
His clerk, Bob Cratchit had to work in a cold room because Scrooge didn´t want to spend money on coal to heat the room.
At Christmas Scrooge´s nephew Fred came to invite him to Christmas dinner at his home and to wish a “Merry Christmas”, but Scrooge only answered angrily “Bah, humbug.”
On Christmas Eve, Scrooge was sitting alone in his cold living room at home. Suddenly the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley appeared. He said to Scrooge, “Change your life! You must become a better man. You must be kind to people, you must laugh with them. Three ghosts will visit you this night.” Scrooge was terribly afraid. Then he went to bed.