Context: Ebenezer Scrooge, a heartless miser, is conducted in a vision by the Ghost of Christmas Present to the house of Scrooge's underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit. It is Christmas day, and the poverty-stricken family is making what cheer they can from their limited fare. Despite the grim-ness of their lives, there is no despondency or self-pity among them. Cratchit fears most for his small crippled son, Tiny Tim, whose survival is doubtful; but he calls a blessing upon his family, and they all return it, Tiny Tim last in the group. The spectacle cracks the hard heart of Scrooge, and Tiny Tim's unconscious courage and innocent love for his family are especially wrenching to the old man.