Author's Note

"Despatched" is spelt that way in the book.

"That was horrible!" a Funk Troll kid cried. Half of the kids in the room began crying. "Poppy, look what you've done. You've made the kids cry," Branch said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Poppy apologized. "Here, we'll have a short break and come back later. How's that sound?"

"Can we have lunch?" Benjamin asked.

"Yeah, we can have lunch. But first..." Poppy held up her hand, holding up three fingers. She counted down on them, staring at her Hug Time Bracelet. The flower opened and dinged. "Hug Time!" she cheered.

"Wait, no!" Branch cried, scrambling out of the way. Poppy managed to get him inside the circle of Troll kid hugs. He sighed heavily.

"Isn't that better? A break from reading to hugging and physical interaction?" Poppy asked.

"No," Branch said darkly.

"Lunch will make you feel better!"

Poppy walked to the corner of the room and opened a large picnic basket. "An indoor picnic?" a Rock kid asked.

"That's right!" Poppy exclaimed.

After they've all had their lunch, leaving some of the kids, and Branch still eating, Poppy picked up her scrapbook again.

"Scrooge had no occasion to be told that the bell was ringing again upon the stroke of one. He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right nick of time, for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger despatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention."

Scrooge looked at his clock as he waited for the minute to pass. If the ghost didn't show, then he could go back to bed. Scrooge stood, dusted off his night robes, and waited. Once the clock ticked past one, he listened for anything, watched for anything, waited for anything, but there was nothing. "Hah! That'll show you, Marley! No ghost! You just like tricking me is all!" Scrooge triumphantly walked towards his bed, pulling off the covers. He was just about to get in it when his clock ticked loudly and a sound of laughter came from the room next door.

"Laughter?" Scrooge asked to himself. "Who would be laughing at this hour? In my house, no less!" Scrooge left his blanket uncovered and left his room. He cautiously walked down the hallway until the laughter became louder.

He checked inside every room, hoping one would have the Troll laughing, but each room came up empty.

Eventually, he came to the last room on the floor before he heard the laughs as clear as day. He prepared himself for the worst before he entered the room. "Hah!" he yelled as he jumped into the room.

He looked at the room. The room before had unopened jars of rations and materials. Now, the room is filled with food of all kinds, hot and fresh. In the center of the room sits a four legged pink Troll with a green hat, a laurel fit snugly above the brim.

"W-who are you?" Scrooge asked.

"Me?" the ghost asked. "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present!" he replied, followed by a laugh. "Or you can call me Cooper!"

"The Ghost of Christmas Present?" Scrooge checked. Copper replied with a nod. "What's with all the food? In my bunker? And where did you put my rations?"

"Oh don't worry, that ol' gross stuff is still here!" Copper laughed. "This food is real but it'll be gone by the time I leave. And your place was just more convenient!"

"That 'ol' gross stuff' is my food!"

"Don't worry, it's not gone, grumpy!"

Scrooge couldn't come up with another answer so he stayed silent. "So I hear from you ol' pal, Marley, that you need some Christmas help?" Cooper asked. Scrooge didn't answer.

"Bad mood, I see," the ghost said. "Well, I know what'll cheer you right up!" Cooper grabbed Scrooge's hand and pulled him along, through the wall. Scrooge held his free hand up in case of a collision.

Cooper let go of Scrooge's hand after they made it through the rock and into Troll Village. There are children running, choirs singing and Trolls just chatting. There are wreathes hung on all the doors and everyone has a smile.

"It's the singing of the street corner choir," Cooper started singing, leading Scrooge along slowly through the village. "It's getting home and getting warm by the fire. It's true, wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas.

"A cup of kindness that we share with another, a sweet reunion with a friend or a brother," Cooper sang, pointing at three Trolls hugging and laughing. "In all the places you find love, it feels like Christmas."

He stopped in the center of the village, near the big tree. "It is the season of the heart, a special time of caring. The ways of love made clear."

"And it is, the season of the spirit," the nearby choir joined in with the ghost. "The message if we hear it, is make it last all year."

Cooper pointed to a pair of Trolls. An orange Troll is handing a green Troll a wrapped present. "It's in the giving of a gift to another." The orange Troll waved him off while the green Troll happily opened his present to a pair of mittens. "A pair of mittens that were made by your mother. It's all the ways we show love, that feel like Christmas."

Cooper started walking again, so Scrooge followed. "A childhood that we'll always remember," Cooper sang as a few kids ran past them. "It's the summer of the soul in December. Yes, when you do your best for love, it feels like Christmas."

Cooper pointed to the pair of conjoined Trolls that Scrooge scared off the day before. "It is the season of the heart. A special time of caring. The ways of love made clear." The two Trolls hugged.

"It is the season of the spirit, the message if we hear it, to make it last all year. It's in the singing of the street corner choir." The choir joined in again. "It's going home and staying warm by the fire. It's true wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas. It's true, wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas."

"Okay, so Christmas is exciting and everyone is giving each other gifts and hugs and..." Scrooge paused and looked at a pair of Trolls. One Troll handed the other a card for a Christmas dinner. He opened it and glitter shot out of it, into the Troll's face. "...and glitter," Scrooge gagged at the word. "But what's so 'special' about it?"

"Ah, impatient, Mr. Grumpy," the ghost replied.

"It's Scrooge, thank you," Scrooge replied. The ghost ignored him. "Onto our first house, Mr. Bob Cratchit!"