Disclaimer: I have borrowed some quotes from Dickens, they are highlighted in bold. I have also borrowed a few words here and there and have adapted the sentence. I only take credit for the way I tell the story, and the extra bits I add in. Mr Dickens is the true teller of this tale. This is a re telling of A Christmas Tale as if the SPD Group are reading it out. The characters are in brackets and those that they play. their is also description in brackets. Enjoy!!
My name is Z, and I am here to tell you this tale, a tale of woe and mystery, of fear and greed, of hate and love, of hope and despair and i beg you please do listen, to the lesson I will teach.
Marley was dead, as dead as Mr Dickens himself, you can be sure of that. For this story you must remember this fact. He had a business partner; a man named Scrooge, or Skyler Scrooge to be exact.
Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fires; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
Sky walks wrapped in black coat, top hat and eyes as cold as ice. He walks past a beggar who shivers and even Z shivers as he walks by. He walked by beggars (SPD Cadets) with not so much as a glance. He walked to his office, his former partner had died years before on Christmas Eve.
"Good afternoon uncle and a very merry Christmas" Scrooges nephew Fred suddenly appeared
"Bah humbug" (Borrowed from Mr Dickens naturally)
"Surly you can't mean that uncle, for its Christmas, a time all people are equal and for you to open your heart to the world. Come for Christmas dinner tomorrow with Clara and me!"
"No nephew, I will dine with you, why did you get married?"
"Because I fell in love uncle"
"Love? That's no excuse for such a financially relevant agreement"
"You can't base money on love, if you are in love, enjoy love, don't let money be a burden uncle"
"Bah humbug nephew, good afternoon"
He stormed off leaving Fred (Boom) standing alone shaking his head.
He went into his office and spoke only a few words to his clerk
"No more coal for the fire, you had a piece last week"
Bob (Bridge) looked nervously at Scrooge. He had been his assistant for 14 years and the man had barely spoken a kind word. Bob was someone who kept the Christmas spirit and shared what little he had with all around him.
"Um...Sir tomorrow is Christmas day, I was wondering if maybe, I could have the day off?"
"Christmas day huh? A poor excuse to miss a day of business"
"Their is no business all other businesses will be closed, why waste coal and money?"
"A sad excuse. Fine tomorrow you may have off but be in earlier the next day; you will not be paid though"
"Thank you sir"
Work continued as normal. The clock struck 6pm. Bob nodded his head to Mr Scrooge and left promising to be in earlier the next day.
The snow was falling thickly when Bob left. I was dark out, a mist hung over the city, the last minute dashers were running home, wishing each other a joyful Christmas. The layering snow build a wall around the house, Bob slid and glided but nothing would dampen his spirit. It was home to his wife and dear children whom he loved very much though he could not give them much. He couldn't wait to see the smiling faces and their love brought warmth to his heart.
As the door shut, a clock started chiming 7,then 8 times within a minute. Scrooge looked startled. The fire suddenly went out, he was all alone, all alone in the darkness of his office or was it his mind?
Suddenly a transparent man appeared (Affect produced by projector), a mans face that was familiar but he could not tell for were he had seen this man
"You do not remember me? I am your old partner, Jacob Marley"
"You're dead!"
"That I may be, but a curse on you I see. I was selfish when I was alive."
"No you were a good business man, a firm grasps of the important things, money, wealth and status"
"I was selfish, I ignored my fellow man, and as punishment I am chained to these." Hold up safe deposit boxes "I have been punished, I must now serve my time I the underworld, I must now suffer, for the way I made others suffer"
"But Marley..."
"You do not have the festive spirit, you ignore your fellow men, you ignore the cries for help, you rob the widows and orphans, you are evil, and I fear your chains shall be longer than mine, I am doomed for all eternity to walk this way or even longer, I can't recall. You need help, tonight three spirits will visit you, and without them you will never understand the importance of this Christmas time, to help others who are in need. If you do not heed the alive and warning of these ghosts for I fear your chains and suffering will be worse than mine, learn from the Scrooge, let them teach you the ways to share, to help your fellow man, the first ghost will come when the clock chimes 1"
The spirit appeared as suddenly as it had arrived, the fire started again and Scrooge was left alone with his thoughts.
"Bah humbug!" He cried though shaken by this call, my dear audience do you see why you remembered that Jacob was dead, he was buried, Scrooge had seen him, the only man to mourn him (Well at least for the financial world and for 5 minutes).
Scrooge left his office, the snow had fallen thickly, children were playing, throwing snow balls in the snow, building snowman and laughing to be merry, while he swept by, each child shivered, he ignored the hungry, the needy who begged for help and walked alone to his own room, still shaken though not scared of the vision he had seen.
He arrived home and fell fast asleep...
To be continued...tell me what you think. I have borrowed the work of dickens (Don't sue me, he was a great English writer who understood the world and was not afraid to speak about the poor and homeless, added my own twist and shortened it, but the best bit is yet to come)