Karen's Christmas Carol Read online

  Time Is Running Out

  I gave up. I did not try to show Christmas spirit anymore. I felt gloomy and I did not care who knew it! I stomped around. I snapped at anyone who asked me a question. People tried being nice to me. That only made me madder.

  On Friday afternoon we had a dress rehearsal.

  “I cannot believe I have to dress this way!” I said to Hannie and Nancy.

  Hannie and Nancy were wearing beautiful, old-fashioned clothes for their parts as Christmas carolers. But I had to dress up as a boy ragamuffin. I wore an old torn shirt and baggy pants. Everything was in tatters. There were black smudges on my cheeks.

  Pamela did not look any better. But at least she looked like a girl.

  The only good part about Friday was that we got to watch the play when we were not onstage. I had heard some parts of the play before. But I had not seen all the parts put together.

  “A merry Christmas, Uncle! God save you!” said Scrooge’s nephew.

  “Bah! Humbug!” said Scrooge.

  “Christmas a humbug, Uncle? You do not mean that, I am sure!”

  “I do,” said Scrooge. “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You are poor enough.”

  The nephew tried to cheer Scrooge up.

  “Do not be cross, Uncle,” he said.

  “What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this?”

  I loved the play! Scrooge was saying just what I felt.

  Then the ghosts appeared. First came the Ghost of Christmas Past. He showed Scrooge how Christmas used to be.

  I remembered how Christmas used to be for me. Andrew was still my little brother and we celebrated Christmas together. I was much happier then.

  It was time for me to run onstage. The Ghost of Christmas Present was about to appear. The ghost showed Scrooge what everyone thought of him.

  “Oh, I am sorry for him,” said Scrooge’s nephew. “Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself, always.”

  I thought about the people who were feeling sorry for me. I knew Mommy, Hannie, and Nancy were sorry I was so sad.

  Then I heard Scrooge’s voice. It was almost time to come out from under the robe.

  “I see something strange, and not belonging to yourself, protruding from your skirts,” said Scrooge. “Is it a foot or a claw?”

  “Look here,” the spirit said.

  That was our cue. Pamela and I crawled out from under the robe. We were supposed to look angry and mean. That was easy for me.

  “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want,” said the ghost.

  I looked as horrible and mean as could be. It felt good! Then it was time to leave the stage.

  I watched the last ghost appear. He was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. He showed Scrooge a town where a man had died and nobody cared.

  “It is likely to be a very cheap funeral,” said someone in the town. “For upon my life, I do not know of anybody to go to it.”

  This was a very sad part. Scrooge saw what his own funeral would be like if he did not change. I wondered if anyone would care if I disappeared. After all, I had been acting like Scrooge. I was mean and cranky and had no holiday spirit.

  Then, onstage, Scrooge woke up. He still had a chance to change. And he took it!

  I knew I had a chance too. But time was running out. If I was going to change, I had to do it fast!

  Bravo, Andrew!

  I woke up Saturday with lines from A Christmas Carol dancing in my head. They were the lines Scrooge said when he found himself in his very own bed on Christmas Day. (By now I knew almost the entire play by heart!) I recited some for Goosie.

  “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel,” I said.

  There was more to recite, but I did not have time. I had to get up and out of bed. I was a changed Karen Brewer. The new me had an Important Job to do on this Important Day. It was the day of our play. It was a day for me to show my best Christmas spirit.

  I was almost finished dressing when Andrew walked by my door.

  “Good morning, Andrew!” I called. “Come in and say hello.”

  Andrew looked surprised, but he came into my room.

  “Are you ready for your big night?” I asked.

  “I think so.”

  “If you need any help from me, just let me know. You already know your lines very well. But you may need to do a little extra practicing. I will be happy to listen.”

  “Thank you,” Andrew replied.

  We ate breakfast together. In between bites of cereal, Andrew recited his lines for me. He did not miss a single word.

  “You will be great!” I said.

  I was not feeling jealous. I was proud of my little brother again. What Mommy had said was true. Kindness is its own reward.

  That night, before the play, I took lots of pictures of Andrew in his costume.

  “It is my turn now,” said Andrew. “I want to take pictures too.”

  I really did not want pictures of myself dressed as a ragamuffin. But Andrew wanted to take the pictures very badly, and I thought it would be bad Christmas spirit to say no. (Seth said I would look back and laugh at the costume someday. I told him I did not think so.)

  Finally we were ready to go. When we reached the community center, my big-house family was there too. They wished us good luck.

  The play began. Everyone was excellent. Andrew was even better than he had been at the rehearsals. I got along very well with Pamela under the robe. And we crawled out right on cue.

  The audience behaved very well. No one made a sound. They listened to every word we said. Then Andrew said the last line, “God bless us, every one!” The audience of the play jumped up and applauded for the longest time.

  The cast came forward to take their bows. Then we ran backstage. But the audience kept on clapping.

  Ms. Donovan brought out a few of the grown-ups in the cast. Then she brought out Andrew.

  “I would like you to give a special round of applause to the youngest member of our cast, Andrew Brewer!” said Ms. Donovan. She handed him a bouquet of flowers.

  My little brother took a big bow.

  “Bravo, Andrew!” I shouted. “Bravo!”

  He stood up and gave me the best smile ever.

  A Christmas Carol

  Andrew walked back to his seat and handed me his flowers. I was surprised he did not want to keep them himself to show everyone.

  I did not get a chance to ask him about it, though. Andrew got swept away by people who were giving him hugs and kisses. I did not feel left out. I got plenty of hugs and kisses too.

  “Karen, you were wonderful!” said Kristy. “I loved your ragamuffin scowl.”

  I did it again to make Kristy laugh. The rest of my family congratulated me one by one. Then I saw Hannie and Nancy coming my way.

  “Hi, Karen! You were great!” said Hannie.

  “And you were great carolers,” I replied. “I cannot wait to go Christmas caroling with you for real.”

  I talked with my friends until Seth said, “Karen, it is time to go. Mommy and Andrew are already in the car.”

  When I reached the car, Andrew jumped out and threw his arms around me.

  “Thank you!” he said.

  “You are welcome,” I replied. “But all I did was carry your flowers. Here, you can hold them now.”

  “No, they are yours,” said Andrew.

  “Mine? What for?” I asked.

  “They are for being the best big sister.”

  “Best? I think I have been the worst big sister!”

  “No way!” said Andrew.

  We talked on the way home. Andrew said the only reason he was such a good Tiny Tim was because of me.

  “I thought of you the whole time,” said Andrew. “I did the part just the way you would have.”

  “I did not think you wanted anything to do with me,” I said. “You did not even seem to want to be near me.”

  “I did not mean to hurt
your feelings. I was trying to be grown-up, like you,” said Andrew. “I was being a pendent.”

  I had to think for a minute.

  “You mean independent!” I said.

  “Uh-huh,” said Andrew. “Did you like all the gifts?”

  “The gifts were from you?”

  “Yup,” Andrew said. “Mommy and Seth helped me. I gave them to you because I am happy we are together again. I did not like living away from you.”

  “I am happy we are together too,” I replied. “I loved all the gifts. They gave me back my Christmas spirit. That was the best gift of all.”

  Andrew and I spent the rest of the ride planning for Christmas. It was only a week away.

  When I got into bed that night, I made a plan of my own. I thought of the special gift I was going to get my little brother. I had seen a fancy copy of A Christmas Carol in the window of the bookstore downtown. Andrew was too young to read it by himself. But I knew he would like to listen to it. And he would always have the book to remind him of his first starring role.

  Merry Christmas, Andrew! Merry Christmas, and welcome home.

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1998 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1998

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-06074-4