Answer:
On a chilly Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean-spirited, miserly old man, sits in his counting-house. Because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire, his clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom. Fred, Scrooge's nephew, visits him and asks him to his annual Christmas party. Scrooge is also approached by two portly gentlemen who ask for a donation to their charity. In answer to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!" Scrooge responds with bitterness and venom, spitting forth an angry "Bah! Humbug!"
Scrooge receives a disturbing apparition from the ghost of his deceased partner, Jacob Marley, later that evening after returning to his dark, freezing flat. Marley tells his tragic narrative, appearing worn and white. His spirit has been cursed to walk the Earth, weighed down by heavy chains, as a punishment for his greedy and self-serving life. Marley is hoping to save the day.
